When the Boy I Wanted Also Wanted Me

My first super crush hit me like a freight train when I was 11 years old. David was a quiet boy in my class, very athletic, very cute and one of the cool popular kids. By contrast, I was an awkward girl with bad hair, thick glasses and bucked teeth. I wasn’t athletic, cool or popular. It’s a wonder I even got past grade 6 because every day was spent pining and admiring David from across a classroom, cafeteria and playground. Sigh. He was so dreamy.

We never said a word to one another but he must’ve known that I was into him. I’m sure the love that hummed from my body like electricity was obvious to everyone. It went on like this for months until one day I realized that if I didn’t tell David how I felt, I would just die of a heart explosion because mine was so full it hurt physically.

Being a brave bold soul, I sent my best friend Terri to profess my love to David for me. I had a 15 minute window of opportunity between the last school bell and my bus leaving so Terri was to run and find my true love, tell him how I felt, find out how he felt, and report back to me. The wait was 15 minutes of pure agony. When Terri finally returned to me she was red-faced, sweaty and panting from her sprints across school. I closed my eyes and braced for rejection.

“What did he say?”

Terri said nothing. She took my hand, placed something in it, and closed my fingers around it. I opened my hand.

There in my palm was a gold chain with a gold initial pendant. D.

David had sent his chain back for me to wear and his message was loud and clear: He loved me, too. The energy that coursed through me could have lit up the planet.

It was a moment of the purest joy I’ve ever known.

I ran to catch my bus, fastened his chain around my neck and smiled all the way home.

***

David was my boyfriend for about a week, which, in grade 6, is equivalent to (at least) six months. We had a good run.

Hello, friends. Tell me about a time when you experienced joy.

5min/365days

Mrs. Silan, my 12th (11th?) grade english teacher, required us all to keep a journal and write in it every day. It didn’t matter what you wrote about, the assignment was to write non-stop for 5 minutes. Most of the stuff I wrote about was typical at that age: boys, parties, parents. I kept every one of the composition notebooks I filled since then, even though none of the writing is any good and only makes me cringe with embarrassment for my teenage self.

If the goal of the assignment was to get us into the habit of writing often, then it was a success because I have been writing since (though not as often as every day). Paper journals turned into online journals which opened a door to opportunities to write regularly for a number of Guam magazines. I honestly don’t think I’m a great writer, in fact, I don’t even think of myself as a “real” writer. All I know to do is to write about things I’m actually experiencing…I’m no good at making stuff up.

I realized the other day that the reason I’m not very good is because I don’t practice enough. Can I get a duh? I’ve decided to get back into the basic practice of writing every day for 5 minutes non-stop. 5min/365days is my newest resolution and the one I’m most excited about. It’s hard to feel any excitement about my other resolution to each more vegetables.

Happy New Year, friends. What are you going to do in 2012?

Japanese KitKat galore

Thanks to my friend Reina, I hit the Japanese KitKat jackpot today. How many of these flavors can you identify?

Good Morning

Make a Wish

Last night the cashier at Circle K rung up my total and it made me smile. $11.11 on 11/11/11 was a pleasant surprise.

Did you make a wish at 11:11?

Everybody Needs a Little Time Away

People are always moving away from here. To be honest, sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me because I don’t want to move. Then I think maybe the reason I don’t want to move is because the more I travel and explore the world, the more Guam appeals to me.

That said, I’m off to Italy in a few days. I just know it’s going to be exactly as I imagine it is: fascinating ruins of ancient civilization, old world charm and romance, beautiful descendants of Roman gods who all look like they stepped out of pages of fashion magazines. Ciao.

What it’s like to live on Guam (Part 1)

Lately I’ve noticed people have found L13 by searching “What’s it like to live in Guam” so I thought it might be helpful to write about my 25 years of experience in living here. There is a lot of ground to cover so this will be written in parts. If there is something specific you’d like to know about, please post in comments and I’ll get to it. I’m sure there will be holes to fill since I’m writing this off the top of my head.

The Island
You can get all the statistics and logistics here and here but to sum up, Guam, a United States territory, is a very small island in the pacific ocean. If you live in the United States and are used to long weekend road trips across America, better prepare yourself because there will be none of that here. You can drive around the entire island in under 2 hours if you don’t stop at any of the scenic spots. But while 212 square miles sounds really tiny, I think you’ll be surprised at how much bigger it seems when you’re here and driving around. (And yes, you are most definitely going to need a car to get around.)

Aesthetically, I think Guam is beautiful but she does have her ugly bits (scattered graffiti, litter, abandoned buildings). The southern half of the island is green and mountainous (very pretty drive), the northern half is flatter and where most of the development is. I live in Tumon, the center of Guam’s tourism industry and home to many hotels, restaurants and bars. Tumon is one of the few villages on island where you can walk around and not feel weird about walking because everyone drives here. Guam is just not laid out in a way that makes it easy to walk from one place to another. There is a public transit system (bus) but to be honest, I’ve lived here for 25 years and I have no idea how the system works. In Tumon, for $3 you can hop onto a trolley/shopping bus that will take you to major shopping sites (utilized mostly by tourists and my boyfriend).

If you’re wondering about the weather, this is pretty much it all year round.

We have three seasons: dry, rainy and mango. Prepare yourself for the heat and humidity. After all, Guam is a mere 13 degrees north of the equator.

What To Expect
First things first: Guam is a United States territory but please do not expect it to be anything like the states because that is an unrealistic expectation. On Guam we use American currency, we speak English, we have American franchises and stores like McDonald’s, Friday’s, KMart, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Ross, Macy’s, etc. DSL and cable broadband service is available to most of the island. There are several cellular (mobile) providers here but there is no AT&T, Sprint or other national based carrier so you will have to sign up with a local carrier unless your stateside plan includes Guam. Check and make sure! Don’t assume that because you turned on your Verizon phone and you’re getting a signal here, the fees are the same. Data roaming charges are extremely high. Guam carriers support iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones. [Television, Internet & Mobile service providers: GTA TeleGuam, MCV, IT&E, iCONNECT, DOCOMO Pacific]

Like most places in the world, traffic is at its ugliest during the morning and evening commutes. I work from 9AM to 6PM and by the time I’m on the road heading to/from work, traffic seems to have cleared up. When school is in session, Guam’s roads might be congested as early as 3PM. For the most part, the conditions of Guam’s roads are acceptable with the occasional pothole and signs of wear. Some of the older roads are coral based and are super slick when wet so please be careful. There are no bicycle paths. Wearing a seatbelt is required by law, wearing a helmet on a motorcycle or scooter is not.

Shopping can sometimes seem limited here so online ordering is going to be your best friend. Amazon, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, BH Photo & Video are some online stores that ship to Guam via USPS. I’ve bought tons of stuff from eBay. Unfortunately, not all online retailers recognize Guam as a U.S. territory but there are a lot more now than, say, 5 years ago. If you are military you probably will not shop at the local grocery stores. If you aren’t military, expect higher prices than what you are accustomed to and a more limited selection on items. However, if there are things you absolutely must have, by all means suggest or request from the local grocers. I know people who have done this and were able to get what they needed/wanted.

Things To Do
I think one’s level of satisfaction and contentment on Guam correlates with what one does with one’s time here. If you only like ice skating and fox hunting you are going to be miserable here. However, if you are open minded, here you have an opportunity to try things that you might not otherwise experience if you were landlocked…like SCUBA diving and other ocean activities. Guam has a number of beautiful golf courses and there is a Boonie Stomping group that offers guided hikes every Saturday morning. If fitness is your thing, it seems like there is a 5K every weekend and a triathlon every couple of months. If dining out is your thing, man have we got tons of restaurants here in nearly every cuisine. All restaurants here are non-smoking.

You won’t miss any major movies because there are several theaters here that feature all the latest releases. Major film releases often premiere with a midnight show which means you see it before the rest of the world (however, most smaller independent films don’t make it into Guam’s theaters).

As far as the nightlife goes, there are a few clubs for dancing, a few pool halls and a plethora of karaoke bars. There are places that feature great live music (most Guam bands are cover bands). A cover charge at a bar is rare. Smoking policy is left up to bar owners but there are plenty of non-smoking places. A pack of cigarettes cost about $7 here. The legal drinking age on Guam is 21.

I really hope you make friends with people who live here because I think that is key. Your new Guam friends will invite you to events and gatherings where you will meet other people who might invite you to other things and on and on. I think the more people you befriend will increase your opportunities for fun experiences.

Which brings us to Part 2: The People (coming soon)

9 on 8.2.2011

Latitude13 will be 9 years old in a couple of weeks and I think I’ll celebrate with a redesign. Back in the day (before “blogs” were blogs) I’d stay up all hours coding a website from scratch. Now I just spend a couple of hours here and there testing WordPress themes and deciding which to activate. I really like that I get more sleep now.

FOR GUAM: How to Register with Netflix if you are seeing the “Not Available in Your Country” Screen

So you’ve heard and seen all the posts from your Guam friends saying they’re finally able to stream Netflix movies on Guam. This is great news! You want to partake in the fun so you go to Netflix to register for an account only to find this message:

Bummer. I have a couple of theories to explain why many of us are seeing this and it seems to be limited to NEW USERS who are signing up for the first time. If you already have a Netflix account you shouldn’t have a problem logging in with your existing account. First theory (and the most likely to be the cause) is your computer’s IP address is probably not a United States IP and Netflix knows it and won’t let you in because of it. An IP address is basically a unique number that every computer is assigned when it connects to the internet. Some computers always have the same IP, other IPs change whenever the computer goes online (this would explain why some people see the “Not Available” message sporadically). If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigned you an IP that originates in, say, Japan or South Korea, Netflix will deny access. But don’t be sad. There’s a way to get your Netflix account set up. It’s easy and I successfully tested it myself earlier tonight.

1. Go to http://freeproxyserver.ca/. A proxy server is kind of like a computer that sits between your computer and the internet. Proxy’s a middle man. He can hide your identity (IP address) and make it look like your computer is located in another country, like somewhere in middle America. You might use a proxy server if you were in China and wanted to access blocked sites like Facebook and Twitter. Or you might use a whole network of proxy servers to make a ransom call and transfer the ransom money and make it difficult to be traced by the feds like Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. haha. ha.

We’re going to use http://freeproxyserver.ca/ to sign up for Netflix. Scroll down and enter netflix.com where you see myspace.com. Click browse. It will take you to the Netflix site where (hopefully) you won’t see the “Not Available in Your Country” message. If you don’t, great! All you have to do now is register for your account.

Once you’re registered, SIGN OUT of your newly created Netflix account and quit your browser.

2. Relaunch your browser and go to Netflix.com. You’re probably going to see the “Unavailable in Your Country” message again. Ignore it because it’s a lie! Click “Member Sign In” at the top right. You should be able to log in and watch movies instantly now.

Remember, you really only need to do this if you are signing up for a Netflix account for the first time. If you already have a Netflix account you should still be able to log in even if you see the “Not Available” message. Tip: Clear your browser cache and delete all cookies (you’ll find this in preferences or settings or privacy). You can also try using a different browser. I usually use Chrome but tonight I used Firefox to register for a new account then went back to Chrome to log in and stream. If you still have problems after this, the next step would be to contact Netflix customer support and/or your ISP.

I hope this was helpful. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. Happy streaming.

What are your favorite non-musical sounds?

What are five of your favorite non-musical sounds?

Mine:
ocean waves from underwater
my cat sneezing
laughing babies
the roar inside the plane as it races down the runway
soft snow underfoot

Honorable mention:
Matthew MacFadyen reading Jane Austen

Things I Love About Living On Guam

Running into at least one person I know at the supermarket any hour of the day. And recognizing a few more I don’t formally know.

Anywhere I am on the island, there is a beach that is 15 minutes or less away.

If I invite a friend over, the first question they ask is, “What can I bring?”

Having been raised to never show up at a party empty-handed, even if it’s just a case of drinks or a custard pie you bought at a bakery.

Aunties and uncles who are not blood relations but are my aunties and uncles by association. Nen, I used to ride the bus to school with your dad when we were little. Come kiss your auntie!

Being an auntie by association. Kids, this is your auntie Josie. She and I used to ride the bus to school together. Go kiss your auntie!

Almost always I can tell the difference between a Chinese person, a Korean person and a Japanese person by sight. If not by sight definitely by accent or name.

If I was in a real jam and I needed a really REALLY big favor I could call someone. Actually, I could call lots of people.

Work, food, shopping, the beach – basically anything I need in life – is within a 5 mile radius from my apartment.

I would never go hungry here. There is food everywhere and people share what they have.

The sense of belonging I feel when I meet someone for the first time and we do the one degree of separation thing to figure out how we are connected.

Growing up and coexisting with different ethnicities and being able to greet people in a dozen languages.

I’m guaranteed a gorgeous sunset at least three times a week. It’s probably more like 5 or 6 times a week but I suspect I’ve been desensitized by the consistent barrage of gorgeous sunsets.

Turning on any of the radio stations and hearing the voice of someone I know in real life. Same goes for local television programming.

If I was ever in need of medical treatment that is not covered by my insurance policy, there is no doubt in my mind that someone would organize a fundraiser for me.

There are many other things I love about Guam but I would be here for days to list them all. There are, of course, things I don’t like about living on Guam but today I choose to focus on the good. -xoJMo