... to Sniffy McSnifferson.

BLOW YOUR FREAKING NOSE!!! You're an adult for crying out loud, and that is gross and annoying!

Sincerely,

Me

Thora

The annual trip has been booked!

My parents are going on sabbatical and will be spending 6 weeks in Kona, so my brother and I will join them there for Christmas. It's a great deal, because they're doing a house swap with this friend of theirs that lives there, which will save a lot of money on accommodations.

It will definitely be a different experience than in previous years, as we've always gone to Honolulu, but I'm excited to visit a new island....

Thora

I never got around to posting more of my pictures from South Africa, because it would take too long to upload them all to Photobucket.

However, I did make a slideshow of about 200 of the best pictures. If you're interested, check it out!

South Africa 2008

Thora

So we're planning the annual trip to Hawaii once again. Things will be a little different this year, but I'm very excited!

My parents are taking a sabbatical, and will be spending that time over in Kona. A friend of theirs has a home there that won't be in use, and they've offered them the use of that, which is awesome. My brother and I will fly over and join them for a week or so over Christmas.

So that means we won't be in Honolulu this year. I'm going to miss...

Thora

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of the trip.



Enjoying the pretty man pictures on the backs of our magazines on our flight from Paris to Johannesburg.



One of the 3 mountains at the property where we stayed.
...

Thora

I'm finally home! After 2 days of flights and layovers and so many adventures, I'm back safe and sound from my 3 week trip to South Africa.

It was an incredible experience. I met some awesome people, made some lifelong friendships, and got to help some of the sweetest people ever.

I'm too tired and jet-lagged to even think about sharing any of my stories, but I'll get around to that eventually.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a resort about a 4 hr drive...

Thora

I leave for South Africa on Sunday morning! Hard to believe the time is finally here.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to do laundry, and start my packing. I need to make a list of everything that I'll need to bring, so I won't forget anything.

I called my bank yesterday, and they'll have South African Rand ready and waiting for me on Friday morning. I'm not bringing too much, just a bit so I can have some actual cash on me. I'll use my credit card for everything...

Thora

Only 20 days left until I leave for South Africa! *Cue dramatic freak-out right here.*

I've done basically all I can to prepare for this trip. I have all my shots, my prescriptions are all up to date, and all my paperwork and insurance is in order. I have extra rechargeable batteries, a new memory card for my camera (holds 2500 pics), and I'll be able to borrow a few things (alarm clock, adapter, etc.) from my parents.

I have a few small things to buy, but...

Thora

I leave for South Africa in just over a month. Crazy!

I've been trying to figure out my vacation time for a while now, and finally had to enlist the help of HR, as it was too confusing, and I was calculating a different answer every time. Yes, I do suck at math, but I was doing the calculations slowly, and was using a calculator. The way that it's set up for our company to calculate vacation time is absolutely insane, and very difficult to figure out.

They...

Thora

Instead of working this afternoon, I've been doing stuff for my South Africa trip. Oh well. It's gotta get done, and sometimes it's easier to get it done during working hours.

I've made an appointment for this afternoon to visit my doctor. I've been getting quite the run-around from various people about the shots we'll need before we leave, and how much they'll cost, etc. I think I've finally nailed everything down now, which is good. I've gotten one shot, and have...

Thora

I'm looking for a roommate at the moment, and have come across quite a few characters in the process. Take last night, for example.

It's after 10pm, and I'm getting ready for bed. I was tired, and was planning on reading in my bedroom for a while, when all of a sudden my cell phone rings.

It freaked me out, because nobody calls me that late, and it's never on my cell phone. The call display shows up "Private," and as I have all my friends/family's phone...

Thora

Every year at around this time, we have our annual staff picnic at work. Normally we have a BBQ in a nearby park, but this year we're going to the zoo!

I haven't been to the one here before, so I'm looking forward to it. I pass by it on a regular basis, and I always thought it was some rinky-dink little game farm or something, but apparently it's pretty fantastic. A co-worker goes there pretty regularly with his kids, and says it's great. I trust his judgement, so I'm...

Thora

I'm no longer going to be doing my annual swim competition in July. I made the decision this weekend. I've known for a while that it wasn't going to work out, yet I hung on to the hope for a little while longer.

Since I'm without a roommate at the moment, I'm very broke, as I'm paying the full rent and all the bills on my own, which is quite difficult on my salary. I can afford things just fine if I have someone to share the costs with, but on my own, that's hundreds of dollars...

Thora

Today has been such a good day. Work was insanely busy, but that's okay.

I got an email this afternoon from a company that I did a survey for, and I've won their monthly draw! My prize is a Sirius Radio thing, and a 6 months subscription! Very cool! I rarely listen to the radio, so it wouldn't be worthwhile to keep and use. So, I'm going to try to sell it. Apparently the whole package is worth a few hundred dollars, which I could definitely use. I'm so broke that any kind of...

Thora

So my iPod isn't dead after all. This is just so weird. I thought I'd plug it in one last time this evening, just for the hell of it. If that didn't work, I was gonna try what you had suggested, Jase.

I walked away from the computer for about an hour or so to watch the end of the hockey game.

I just picked it up now, and it works!!! There was barely any battery showing, but at least I could get it to work!

This is...

Thora