Computer Constipation

I typed up all of these blogs entries but I can't find a way to copy them onto Blogger from Microsoft Word. I've done it before on at TGS so I think it is a restriction that my aunts office computer has on it. I also can't email anyone my blog entries because email is also blocked. So that means there probably wont be anymore blogs entries (at least until I get back in Ohio).
I know my many readers will be greatly disappointed but what can I do, it is what it is.
Anyway I'll try to find an alternative but I can't make any promises. Sorry.

Until next time...

You Can't Snooze a Rooster

So this morning I woke up at six o'clock to the crowing of the rooster in the abandoned lot next to my aunts apartment, actually I've come to find out that there were several roosters and hens and chicks. You can't snooze a rooster, it's the perfect alarm clock. Maybe I'll take one to college with me. Harmony text messaged me asking if I could meet her at Kennedy Airport. If only I hand left New York a day later or she had left for Japan a day sooner it would be possible but alas...
Around lunch I met up with my great aunt Sylvia and she chaperoned me around the island. In her opinion every female is being constantly stalked by someone who is waiting for the opportunity to rob, rape and murder them so when I suggested going to the beach by myself she told me horror stories of rapes and drownings (her way of saying no with out actually having to say the word). Seeing that she's lived on the island all of her life I guess she has good reason to be overprotective, she knows stories that the travel agency wouldn't be too anxious to reveal to you. Although vehemently overprotective my great aunt is really cool. Last time I was here she taught me how to open a coconut with a machete. Before she retired she was a nurse so she has cared for many of the islanders at one point, or at least one of their relatives. They all know her as Nursie, or Nurse Pete (her last name is Petersen). She told me that she doesn't remember who most of the people who greet her on the street are but she talks to them all the same.
We took a taxi up to Christiansted (which is like the city). When I say taxi I don't mean taxi in the traditional sense of the word, the taxi's in St. Croix are 15 passenger vans that pick up customers on the side of the road and will take you pretty much anywhere on the island (which is only 8 by 25 miles) for a flat fee of $2.50 ($2.00 for seniors...citizens). They serve as reliable transportation because the bus only runs once every hour. We walked through Christiansted, and sat at the Seaside it was hott but the breeze was nice.
When we got back to Frederiksted I stayed at her house for a while. She has this dog named Macho who will bark at everyone except for my aunt Vickie and for some reason...me. This made me really happy because most animals hate me as if I were the Devil's daughter. Sitting on the porch a group of uniformed school children passed the house and one little girl no older than seven, carrying a backpack waved and said "Good Afternoon Mrs. Pete" it was really cute. She had a squeekie little girl voice and tan dreadlocks (there are alot of Rastafarians on the island).
On our way back to my Aunt Vickie's apartment we got some of the best chicken I have had in a long time. Within a few minutes my aunt joined us (she works during the day) and we ate at the Pier. The sunset was beautiful. Everyone is really nice here, so far my fist day has been really pleasant.

Until next time...

Welcome to Kentucky

Yesterday I caught the plane at JFK to St. Croix. It was the first time I'd traveled on a plane alone (even as I traveled as a child I was always at least with Cole). It was interesting. The in flight movie was Waterhorse (I was bored with it within an hour). My Isle-mates were a Spanish speaking woman who crossed herself (father, son and the holy spirit, The Trinity) on take off and landing and a guy who slept the whole three hours. The plane food was really good, like, North Star Diner good, like, Cosi good, but they didn't have plastic forks on the plane which I found strange.
I was worried that the flight would be delayed and I'd miss my connection, but that didn't happen. On my second flight I realized that the safety procedures were covered extensively for water landings (there not much that can be done if your plane crashes on the ground). In the instructions it says you're not supposed to inflate you life vest until your in the water...what happens if you cant swim and you vest malfunctions, you drown, that's what happens. The stewardess was in training and upon arrival in St. Croix she said "Welcome to Kentucky", I thought that was funny.
The second plane ride was beautiful. The sun was setting and that combined with the clouds hovering over the water, it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. The minute I stepped off the plane in ST. Croix I regretted not packing more summer clothes. It's 85 degrees and I feel every one of them (Oh why did I insist on bringing 3 sweaters?!:)

There's hardly any wireless Internet on this island so my entries may not be as frequent as usual, but I'll try to keep in touch!

Until next time...

Amen for NYC

Today was my last day in New York. I leave for St. Croix tomorrow afternoon. Because it's my last day I spent it leisurely. First we went to Harlem to visit a little bakery called Make My Cake. They make the most delicious cake I've ever tasted. Next we drove around downtown New York and mocked the little dogs prancing around 5th avenue. Driving around I saw the Statue of Liberty from the street. She looked so insignificant through the city haze, but she's probably dazzling up close. We parked (it took forever to find a spot) and walked to the site of the World Trade Centers. It was eerie how quiet it was, like a church. In my last blog I spoke of horrible deaths, dying in the World Trade Centers must have been a horrible death.
I like New York. It's so busy, all of the time, its comforting. I don't want to leave. Some people may think of the urban sprawl as overwhelming but I see it as cozy. On some streets you can barely see the sky, it makes me feel small (but not insignificant). I feel as though I'm an ant working with all of the other ants to try and build something better for themselves. I really don't want to leave. I have to come back sometime soon and do all of the touristy things that I've wanted to do forever and then later maybe I can work with all the other ants.
St. Croix should be fun. I have alot of relatives that I'm supposed to be visiting. Plus I cant wait to go swimming. I don't have anymore interview to do in order to stay on track with my Walkabout Proposal, but I do have to transcribe what I have. I also have to finish my math and my Symposium Presentation. My presentation makes me a little nervous. I've attended the Graham School for four years so by now I know how to effectively bull shit a presentation but I think that it would be better for everyone involved if I don't do that this time around. In order to convince my audience (and myself) that my walkabouts have been worthwhile I have to do some reflecting...I'll save that for another blog (that nobody is going to read).

Until next time...

"This isn't about me being a Vampire or you being a human... This is about us"

For the past few days I've been interviewing relatives. Yesterday I interviewed my great aunt Viola (My grandfathers sister,). To put it plainly I was terrified of the interview. I hadn't spoken to Aunt Viola in years and my last encounter with her I think I was in a pissy mood (kind of shut off and distant). I thought that she'd see the interview as an inconvenience. Thankfully she didn't. When I went to her appartment she was very inviting and seemed happy to see me. It turns out that she favors my mother above all of my aunts, which makes me a shoe in for her affection. I met my three year old cousin Kemoni. She was shy at first (for about two minutes) and then she was all over me. She watches alot of children's television and has adopted the voice of Dora the Explorer. Everything she says is an explanation! and she randomly started talking about roller-skating and about how if you practice, practice, PRACTICE! you'll learn in no time!
The interview with my aunt went okay. I think if I would have known more about her before hand I would have had more questions. Nevertheless I learned alot. Apparently my great great grandmother Helen Brunstaff (my great aunts mother) was a terribly abusive mother. Many of my questions dealt with childhood memories and unfortunately it seems as though alot of her childhood memories are stained with the abuse of her mother. I knew her mother was a "loose cannon" but I hadn't imagined some of the stories that she told me. It's wrong that children have to struggle to be themselves because they have sucky parents. When we began to talk about my grandfather, aunt Viola became a bit agitated, she shifted her position and averted her eyes. My grandfather died on a shitty commercial airliner that aparently hadn't been serviced in years. They ran out of seats so they let him stay in the cock pit. The plane went down in the Caribbean and although they never found his body, the thought of how he died still leaves everyone a bit shaken. Aunt Viola closed the subject saying in a wavery voice, "He must have died a horrible death".
I feel as though most of my interviews are preliminary and not the stories that I set out for. The problem is that I don't know the family as well as I probably should so I don't know the subject specific questions that would probably trigger these stories. Maybe I'll come back over the summer and expand my interviews.
Today I interviewed my cousin Essie. I had never met her before and was again nervous about the interview. She was really nice and lyrical. Her accent wasn't as thick as Aunt Viola's so it was much easier to understand her. The interview was short, only about twenty minutes but through the interview I learned how her side of the family connected with mine.
I'm glad that I'm getting to know people and making connections with relatives. I finally feel as though I'm a good student/teen/person again.

Until next time...

Salt Fish, Polyester, Y El Numero Dos

Yay!! The wireless internet is working!! I was upset because the laptop was connecting to a wireless network but not letting me access the internet so I screwed around looking at Jessi's "My Pictures" (which by the way has a picture of Ed in drag playing an inflatable guitar) and when I was finished it was working again. Today I woke up three hours after I intended to but that's okay (really, it's not) because I still got done what I planned to get done (although if I had woken up on time I could have gotten 3 hours worth more of work done). My Uncle Raymond dropped me off at my grandmothers and I interviewed her for 2 hours. In this span of time I learned scores of information that I hadn't known about before. For one, even after Danish rule in St. Croix a great deal of land was still owned by the Danes and most poorer African Americans participated in the Cruzian equivalent of share cropping. I also learned (among other things) that I had an uncle named Vernon who died when he was just a week old because his heart only had 2 chambers. This made me sad, it seems that so much could have been prevented if medical attention was readily available to the poor. My grandma and my grandfather also didn't realize that they had sickle cell until She moved to New York and my aunt got really sick, it was then that they found out that everyone in the family had this disease that seriously affected every third child (which is two out of their 5 living children).
After the interview I stayed around for a little and looked through old photo albums. Although I have been denying it all of these years I now have to cave in and admit that yes, I do look just like my mother, its kind of eerie actually. I love photo albums and peeking into the past. I really want to copy all of the pictures and have my own set (ode to the 1970's from which most of the pictures in the photo album dated back to) but I have neither the time nor the resources for that. Among the dorky pictures of pubescent hair mishaps, poyester mini skirts, glamor shots and photo booth still frames was a really depressing family portrait of my grandma and her children all looking glum during their mourning period after my grandfathers went "missing". Everyone is sad and isolated looking(despite this being a family portrait) and my uncle (the youngest and only,at that time, living boy) is even wearing one of those little pins that pilots give to children (my grandfather went missing after his plane went down somewhere between Puerto Rico and St. Croix, he's probably dead... but one always hopes). Why would anyone want documentation of such a bad time in their lives? The brain forgets bad things for a reason, why would you want to jog its memory with a picture of terribly depressing things? Maybe the photo helped them grieve in some way. Before I left my grandmother gave me a gourd. Apparently her grandmother (who she stayed with alot because her mother was always working) used to cook using gourds as bowls. I also tried fish for the first time. I've decided that from now on I'm going to try things before turning my nose up at them. I've never had fish before (except swordfish which tastes alot like chicken) because it smells like... fish (BTW if you didn't know this already I have a condition called "picky eating", it has a 1:3 recovery rate). Today I tried Salt Fish and Funji (which are staple foods in St. Croix) Salt fish is just a kind of Fish with a sauce on it but Funji is mashed up okrah and cornmeal. The Salt Fish didn't taste too bad and I wouldn't be too adamently opposed to having some again and the Funji didn't have too much of a taste, it's kind of like rice, it takes on the taste of whatever you're preparing with it.
Anyway It was late and I needed to be getting back to my Aunts so I (and my grandma) took the bus. I felt really bad, my grandma is pushing eighty and has a bad hip but according to her she could smell my fear (of trying to find my way to the bus stops and transfers in the middle of the night) so she insisted on coming with me (much to my relief). I stopped by a family friend Mrs. Mercer and said hi. There was a really embarrassing point in our brief conversation when she said "And you are...", and I having encountered this question before in relation to my year in high school answered, "graduating this year". Mrs Mercer looked at me for a while and that's when my grandma intervened ans said "Jordan, Virginia's daughter". I was really embarrassed but luckily there were only three people present for the incident. On the street it was late and everything was closed we caught the 41 and then the 25 (my grandma lives in the Bronx and my aunt lives in Yonkers).
While we were on the bus spanish speaking lady and her young daughter boarded, they spoke no English (past the number 2). First she tried to pay the fare in dollars which aren't accepted, only coins. So the friendly passengers collected 2 dollars between them. Then she wasn't sure of her stop, so a game of charades was played in order to communicate with her. Eventually she got off 2 stops before the line ended right outside of her house (we had guessed that she was waiting until the end of the line and then transfering to the number uno bus... I guess her team wins) I'm glad that she got where she needed to go, it must be hard living in a country whose native language you don't speak. That's what I love about New York, there's such a mixture of people and personalities. I think I might move here some day.

Until next time...

Monday

My day centered around mastering the Voice Recorder and compiling a list of interview questions (things I had planned on doing yesterday before I realized that I couldn't blink without falling asleep). I called my grandmother and set up an interview time for tomorrow. The rest of the day was devoted to sorting out piles of copied birth, death, baptismal, and census records. This I enjoyed until I got to the point where everything was hand written. I learned that it's not the the tedium of connecting relatives that is mind numbing but instead deciphering the illegible handwriting that's been left as a legacy for anyone (me) who wishes to connect the dots. Another hurdle is the innumerable love- children that have that seem to consist of most of my relatives. This is especially trying because the computer program that my aunt has for making family trees doesn't allow you to input both children from marriage and children from partners, without that function the family tree would be pretty measly. So instead of easily entering names and dates into the computer that would sort everything out for me, I have to scrawl out marriages and dates onto paper, piecing together relationships and then copy my findings onto a master sheet. Based on today I know I'm going to have to recopy this "master sheet" over and over again (stupid computer program).
Aside from that I discovered that I forgot my toothbrush at home (sorry for lying to you in my last blog) and spent a while looking for a replacement.
I'm kind of nervous about my interview tomorrow. With my grandma I don't think I'll be as nervous as with others (which is why she's first in line), plus I can work out kinks, fill in a few blanks and get some preliminary info on the rest of my interview subjects.

Well I'm going to rest up before the big day.

Until next time...

I'm Leaving On a Embraer RJ35, Don't Know When I'll be Back Again...

I made it!! I'm sitting in a really cozy bed, on Jessi's laptop, typing my journal entry in a really peaceful and somewhat secluded part of my aunt and uncles house. I've had a really long sleep (I went down at 7:30pm and woke up at 7:00am) but I'm still a little tired. Its amazing how quickly things have moved in the past week (walkaboutwise). I had to leave Sunday instead of my planned Saturday but it has all worked out so far. The underlying is what's happened between my last blog and my waking up this morning.
Saturday Evening: I (aided by my mom and Cole) packet frantically for New York and so far I think I have everything. Usually I forget something important like a phone charger, lotion or a tooth brush but I think I "done good" this time. While I was packing Jessi (and Jim) came over to wish me off/ give me a camera and laptop. The camera I was expecting (she's been trying to get rid of it ever since she upgraded to something that's an eighth its size with pretty much all the same if not better functions), the laptop I wasn't, now I cam blog, access the internet, and upload photos while in St. Croix!!.
Sunday: After I finished packing, combing my hair, removing my nose stud, not washing the dishes (it's my turn to wash them and I expect that they will still be there upon my return), talking to people who seem to have picked the worst possible time to call, and getting my affairs in order, I went to the airport with an hour to spare (although I was actually supposed to be there with two hours to spare). I seems as though nobody travels on Sundays (in Columbus at least) because there were no lines and the airports was pretty much deserted... strange considering an airport is one of those things that is always in motion, there's always someone coming or going, for some reason I find that comforting. It's because of this that I found a nearly desolate airport unnerving. After listening to my mom argue with a check in lady for over charging us an extra $5 on a ticket that cost so much money that $5 is not only measly but so miniscule that it doesn't need mentioning (perhaps that the reason my mom chose to fight this battle) I checked my bag. I felt bad for the check-in lady, it wasn't her fault, it was the system.
Because there was apparently no one leaving Columbus except for me, the security line was non existent, my mom and I killed time by noting how the stewardessing industry has changed in the past forty years (as in you used to have to be somewhat attractive to be a stewardess, not any more). When it was time to leave she hugged me twice and said she was proud of me (sniffle). I went through security and got to gate B34 with 15 minute before departure. Assuming that every one was on the plane by then and that everyone was waiting for me I tried to board but was denied seating because only first class had been seated at the time (I hate first class priority). After about three minutes of waiting I was seated. The plane was only three seats wide (two at one window and one on the other), it was a pretty tight fit. The steward had a rally bad announcement voice, he sounded drunk, but as far as I could tell he wasn't. With the combined claustrophobia, drunken sounding steward, the sudden feeling of imminent death I get whenever I board a small plane and the fact that I had slept a total of five hours in the past two days I went to sleep almost immediately after the plane wheels left the ground, I watched Columbus turn into a model city but by the time the plane reached the clouds (which were ominous) I was asleep. I woke up in time it watch the Model City New York get more and more detailed. Flying over New York it seems so much less overwhelming, it looks like Sim City, I can see abandoned projects (the actual projects, like ghetto neighborhood projects, THE projects), sunken cranes and boats in various bodies of water, and miniscule cars carrying miniscule people to their miniscule activities in their miniscule pre determined lives. As the plane landed in LaGuardia and the people and places grew they seemed so much more realistic almost as if my actually going through with walkabout isn't a dream.
NEW YORK: After much searching and a suspected robbery (a shift eyed guy had the same size, color, brand and extended compartment bag as I have (this is why you shouldn't buy luggage at Target), the only difference was that is green was slightly more faded) I found my luggage. Nobody was there to pick me up so I called my mom to tell her that I got in okay, apparently there was a huge tornado some place close to Columbus right before I took off. I called my aunt, she told me to hang tight because she was on her way. While waiting I got some Wendy's and eavesdropped on multi lingual conversations that people were having in the food court. After my aunt found me we waited for my uncle and watched the news. The story about Myanmar's Cyclone was being covered,
Aunt Vera: "That's horrible"
Me: "Yeah I heard an estimate of perhaps a final death doll of 100,000".
Aunt Vera: "There's going to be alot of traffic"
Me: ".... What?"
Aunt Vera "The Met's game just let out, there's going to be a lot of traffic"
(Apparently she was reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen:)
After we found Uncle Raymond we went to Stew Lennard's (my favorite grocery store) and got lactose free milk, egg whites and various other groceries. I love Stew Lennard's, the stores layout is mazelike and at almost every turn there is some kind of display with animated characters (animated as in moving) singing to produce themed songs.
After shopping I was asleep with in 10 minutes.

Well I think I'll do some reading before starting my day.

Until next time....

Ahhh!!

Its amazing how quickly a bad day can turn into a good day. On Thursday I met with the Assistance League again and proposed my walkabout for St. Croix. I felt good about the meeting/ interview. Usually as an after thought I find a variety of mistakes, mis speakings, fumbles and unfinished thoughts but not this time. I was ten minutes late (completely the fault of a late COTA bus and a missed transfer) but I called school and told them I would be late and called my dad for a ride. Friday was a bad day until I found out that my walkabout was approved and I got the same amount of money offered to me before (which was surprising), I talked to Roger and Amy about math and New York is on!! I just got finished shopping now I'm getting ready for the flight I have to catch tomorrow at 1:45p. I have a bunch of calls to make and things to do so this wont be a very long blog but I thought that I should take a moment and update my readers on my progress as of the past few days.


Until next time...

Senioritis

I feel as though I've wasted my senior year, I honestly don't think I'd be too disappointed if I don't graduate this year, it would give me a chance to redo everything. I don't really know whether or not I want to go to college directly after high school or I want to take a gap year. I'm not that excited about the prospect of studying another 4 years without a break. I'm tired of school. I think that with a gap year I could put things into perspective, grow up a bit and go to college in 2009 with a real purpose for going and a skip in my step, I would be going because I want to go not because it's what is expected of me. On the other hand although I'm not excited about going to college, many of the the colleges I applied to gave me pretty good financial aid packages and I'm not sure whether or not they will transfer over if I postpone attendance for a year.
Of course my mom on one hand thinks I should go to college immediately, but on the other hand doesn't think that I'm ready to live and go to school independently and I have to agree with her, I'm staking tens of thousands of dollars on the premise that I'll wake up to go to class in college when I can't seem to do that for math class at the Graham School.
I try to take advice from my mom seriously (mostly because I've grown to realize that she's usually right) but she went to college for speech pathology and realized three years into her education that she wasn't interested at all in speech pathology and almost dropped out when the women of our family sat her down and convinced her that she only had 1 more year to go and that it would be a waste to throw away three years tuition at a private college without getting a degree. She stuck it out and hasn't done anything related to speech pathology since.
My dad (who doesn't seem to really care about whether I take a gap year) went to college for theatre, got a masters in African American studies and has worked as a mail handler for the past 20 plus years (although I must credit him for several plays that he acted in on the side during his employment at the United States Postal Service). My point being why rush into what's expected of me? My parents did and now aren't doing anything near what they spent all of that money in college to become. I've wasted enough money and tested the limits of acceptability and I want to make an investment in something that I'm certain about, especially something as big as college.
Well if I take a Gap Year I either want to find somewhere where I can work on my French while still being of service to people, although the French is a little bit self serving, I have the opportunity to do something great and don't want to waste it like I did my senior year. At the very least I'll have fluency in French to show for my work for a year and at the very most a years worth of great experiences and connections made for aid work during and after college. Maybe if I work and study over the summer I can find a really cool gap year paid for by myself. It would be really nice not to have my parents pay for it.
I talked to Mary for the first time at Graham today. She's a really nice person and really understanding. She asked my about my walkabout and college and I kind of unloaded my doubts onto her. She said that I shouldn't feel unaccomplished and that although my walkabout is only two weeks long and kind of rushed I should take what I can get and get the most out of any experience. Thats' just what I'm going to do with this upcoming month, get as much out of it as I can, and we'll put college on hold (I find it to be a distraction).

Until next time...

...Knock on wood

Today I went to Math Study Hall and turned in a bunch of work and got handed back some to finish. I talked to Roger about my walkabout conflicting with math and we've worked it out. I'll turn in all of my late work tomorrow, take the remainder of section 8 with me on my walkabout along with a text book, do that work, study for the test and cumulative final and take them when I return from my walkabout, turning in my completed section 8 worksheets and therefore passing Advanced Algebra and graduating on time. As a result my walkabout is on!(knock on wood)
I talked to my aunt (Vickie and Vera) over the weekend and they both seem psyched about it. I wish I could spend another week in New York but there isn't any time, especially with the math class conflicts. Maybe I'll go back over the summer.
On a slightly unrelated note I think I'm going to have to take out my nose piercing. I realized that my walkabout conflicts with it. I'm going to be interview the elderly women of my family and fear it might be a distraction/ hindrance and I don't want anything to get in the way of my being taken seriously. I'll just get it re pierced when I get back to Ohio where nobody takes me seriously.

well, until next time...

Chronic Bedclinger

Despite yesterdays rosy predictions, today so far has been terrible. I woke up late and missed math (and most of the school day). This isn't good because I really need to talk to Roger. I also wanted to go to Dos de Mayo (although I don't have any money). I guess I'll wash my hair and do a bunch on chores so that I'll feel as though I would have accomplished something today. I really need to get my sleeping under control, I don't want to be an alarmist but I think I may have a problem (other than the obvious school conflict problems). I sleep way to deeply. My mom and Cole will tell me that I'll respond to their nudging when my alarm clock goes off but when I actually do wake up hours later I won't remember anything. I almost always oversleep and its really started pissing me off! especially when I really need to be someplace. It cant be that I'm just lazy, can it. I'm assigning my self a 1:00am bedtime ( I don't have to wake up until 9:00am) and see how that effects things.
Anyway, this weekend is going to be a productive one. I'm planning out the nuts and bolts of my walkabout and finishing the last of my math homework. I borrowed "Love in the Time of Cholera" from the Library so I guess I'll get started on that... I really need a social life.

Until next time...

Strike that. Reverse it.

So far today has been a pretty good day. I went to the Math Study Hall and got many questions answered and as a result by the looks of it I should be pretty much back on track by Friday (as in this Friday!!). I came home and found my mom at home many hours earlier than she usually is so we had a chance to talk about things such as walkabout, college and plaque (she had just got back from the dentist).
Starting with walkabout, we combined my wants and expectations with those of hers and aunt Vickie's and came up with a revised walkabout plan.

1. I take the Greyhound (cost $55) to New York for anywhere between 3 days and a week and work on getting interviews from grand, great and great great relatives of my family (almost all of whom live in New York). I hope to be staying with my other aunt (Vera) who is also really interested in conducting interviews and genealogy, she is also retired and actually has a guest room and an answering machine and an email and is one of the more technologically savvy of the Henry clan. In New York it will be much easier getting around so on my free time I can site see (that is if I have any free time).
2. After the week is through I will be taking a flight from JFK to St. Croix and spend a week with my Aunt Vickie. Here we will go over the interviews and learn more about the family tree. Instead of focusing on genealogy research I will hopefully be volunteering at the Queen Louise Home for Children and doing similar things that I would have been doing in Morocco, caring for orphans and such. With a shortened time period in St. Croix I will have less of a chance of getting "bored".
   

I'm pretty excited about this revised proposal!!

Until next time...