Whats Going On?

January 2014

Wednesday January 1, 2014

I decided to be a little crazy and drive up to Philly for the third week in a row. I took the rest of the week off using family sick leave again (technically Mumina was still in the hospital and was scheduled to get out that day but they held her for another day). Again nothing really happening at work. Hardly anybody shows up around this time (Christmas week and new Years week) and it gets super slow. So I went up there to surprise her. I didnt tell her I was coming. I got there about 8 pm. Again, her mom left and I stayed the night with her. She was scheduled to leave the next day.

Saturday January 4, 2014

Me and Mumina went out. A big storm had hit Thursday, and Friday was extremely cold so we dared not to go outside. Plus, she can get sick easily if she’s out in super cold weather. So we went out since it was more tolerable this day. We went to a plaza down the street. I went to the Latino barber shop I went to before (again, no blacks, but there were some whites). Mumina went to the Korean nail salon next door. I got my hair trimmed up by a chick (the first time I got a haircut by a chick). She did a decent job, but cut my beard down which I didnt like. I guess I didnt specify that, but oh well. It’ll grow back. Mumina got her fingernails done. They did alright but apparently not very good. The polish started peeling later that night. After our beauty-ups we went to the mall down the road. We grabbed something to eat, got some candy, and got our photos taken in one of those photo booths. We had a nice time. It was nice to finally go out together again since we first went out several months ago. On our way back we stopped at K-Mart to pick up an antenna for the TV so we can watch the football games. Her parents were also out and they picked up an antenna, too, for the TV in the living room. I hooked up the antenna I got to the TV in Muminas room. We watched the games that night, including my Colts winning in historic fashion, so I had a great night. It was a pretty good day overall, Alhamdulillah.

Sunday January 5, 2014

I left Muminas house in the morning and stopped by Kamau’s house to join the family in our Google Hangout. It was only my second hangout that I made it to. It had been a couple of months since my last time so it was nice to finally chat with the fam again. We had a good time. We got into some intense discussion, but thats always fun. Its always good to share ideas. Insha’Allah I’ll try to make it to more hangouts, especially since Im not working my other job anymore. We’ll see. After the hangout I headed back to SC to get ready for another slow week at work.

Monday January 6, 2014

I was assigned to a new project at work where I would be the lead inspector, which should give me a chance to get some good experience actually being out in the field. Technically Im supposed to be a project manager, but since we dont have many projects going on and plus I told my boss I want more field experience, he put me on this one as inspector. Its a road re-alignment project and includes a new bridge so I should get experience with a bit of almost everything on this job. It should be starting pretty soon and may keep me busy this spring, summer, and fall....maybe even into next year or so. I dont know how long its supposed to take, but I should be on it a while. Its pretty exciting...gives me a chance to take on new responsibilities and prove myself. I’ll represent my black people and show that we can be reliable. Yes, I am black and accept black people as my people, but not nigs...definitely not nigs. Anyways, it shouldnt be too difficult. We’ll see.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

I finally caught up with the collection agency that has my apartment debt so I can pay that off and take that off my record. Thats what was really holding me back from getting an apartment. I had the money so I went ahead to pay it over the phone to take care of it right away. The guy I was talking to was easy to work with. I settled the debt for 20% off what I owe so that was good enough (even though I was hoping to do 50% but whatever). Dave Ramsey says to not give your info over the phone and to get the settlement in writing before paying but I chose to do it anyway. I was hesitant at first and had to call back later before paying, but it all worked out. I’ll probably follow his advice for some of my other debts but this one I want to get taken care of right away so I can get a real place to live. I got documentation that I paid it immediately so I could begin looking for a place right away. Good deal.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

I rode out to check out some properties I saw listed on the internet (mainly craigslist). I was in my work truck checking on my new job site but made some detours. There were two management companies that had property listings of places I wanted to check out, such as duplexes and houses for rent. The first one I called and they told me the place wasnt ready to even be checked out (DONT LIST IT THEN!) and another one that was still being rented (Again, DONT LIST IT THEN!). I quit them and went to the office of the other place. I asked about one place and they said it just got rented. Ok. The next place they couldnt find the key and finally they said it doesnt have heat and wasnt ready (DONT LIST IT THEN!...Geez). So I quit them too and rode around trying to find other places. I did some roadside checks for places listed but didnt follow up on them (either too far out or one bedroom....I was looking for two bedroom). I also stopped at an apartment complex near the masjid and not too far from my job, but they didnt have any 2 bedrooms and were a little more expensive than I wanted to pay anyway. Later in the afternoon I checked out a townhouse apartment which had an upstairs/downstairs layout which I thought was cool. I decided on that one before realizing later on the application (since the lady didnt tell me) that it uses gas heat, which I try to stay away from. I was told gas bills can be pretty expensive. With the rent rate already being above what I wanted I decided not to pursue it. Plus, after thinking about it, having stairs would be bad for Mumina when she moves in. So I canceled that one out. This was supposed to be the last day for me at the hotel, but since I couldnt get a place right away I extended it another week. I figure it’ll give me more time to find a decent place at a decent rate. Plus, my New Years resolution is to not get screwed.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

I went to Columbia by myself to drop off some final plans for my project that was completed a few months ago. Afterwards I stopped at a restaurant that some of my coworkers suggested to me for some southern home cookin. It was nice...nothing extra special. I had a fish sandwich and some mac n cheese (which was actually really good). After I ate and was leaving the table me and the waiter had a major handshake fail. We were saying our thanks and goodbyes and he reached out to shake hands but I missed it and then I reached out as he turned around and he missed it....embarrassing. I hope no one caught it. That was bad. Oh well. I’ll get it next gadget...next time.

When I returned I finally checked out an apartment thats less than a mile from my job. Its right across a bridge over the highway and about a 1 minute drive. The location is perfect, especially if Mumina moves in. It had just occurred to me the previous day how sweet it would be to be able to leave at 7:59 and be at work on time at 8. Right now Im about 5 minutes away and in Greenville I was 5 minutes, but 1 minute? Thats great. These apartments are a little more than I was expecting to pay, but I cant beat the location. Its well worth it. I keep reminding myself that “ITS RIGHT THERE!” when Im at my job. The location is kinda country too so its not in a bad neighborhood, which means I dont have to see nigs everywhere like my last apartment. I had no problem getting approved and I should be moving in next Thursday Insha’Allah. I would walk to work from there, but the problem is there are no sidewalks and it would be dangerous to cross the narrow bridge, although I have seen some people crossing it. Oh well, cant have everything. Im excited about it. Alhamdulillah.

Friday January 10, 2014

I made a decision Thursday night that I will get up early and jog/walk at a nearby park before going to work, which I did this morning. I had to be firm with myself because I havent been getting any type of exercise in since I finished with my other job. That job at least had me walking a bit at break times but not as much overall walking as when I was doing putaway. Since I began that job I had gone down about 15 lbs, but I noticed since I stopped I had quickly put back on 10 lbs. I decided I need to push myself into a routine where I get up early to jog after praying Fajr and also eating better. I found myself eating too many unhealthy snacks along with coffee/hot chocolate mix which isnt good for my health and also is a waste of money. I also wanna start lifting. I had lifted for a little bit before I moved out the last apartment using a cinder block I had, but stopped when I hotel hopped. I want to get back to doing that. The apartment complex Im in now has a small fitness center so I may try that to see if I can get into it. Otherwise I’ll stick to doing my lifting in the apartment. The other option is to go to the masjid to lift because they have lifting equipment. We’ll see. Either way I definitely need to be doing better.

Saturday January 11, 2014

I got up early to jog again. I almost convinced myself not to since it had rained heavy the previous night and was still drizzling. It rained afterwards but it did stop while I jogged and walked, so it was good timing. I have to tell myself to stop making excuses.

I headed to moms a little later that morning. Me, mom, and Taahirah went out to walk at the big park in Lawrenceville. It was a good walk. We stopped by Aldi before heading back to the house. I stayed there for a few hours before going over to watch the Colts-Pats game with Ali at his place. We had a good time. He ordered a pizza and mom sent me over with some tortilla chips with cheese dip and some cheese cake. Obviously it didnt go well for my Colts but its always good to watch a game with my brother. I headed back to moms before the game technically ended because it was already late and it takes about a half hour to get back. Better “Luck” next year, Colts.

Sunday January 12, 2014

Of course me and mom had to get some good old badminton in. We played for just a bit. We tried to make the game a little interesting by adding something but I dont feel like trying to explain it. It didnt work out. I headed back later that night. Mom sent me back with a few items to put in my apartment when I move in.

Wednesday January 15, 2014

I went to the apartment office to sign the lease and get the keys. Officially the start of my lease was Thursday, but it was good to get the keys this day because I needed to begin unloaded the stuff I had from mom’s that had filled my car and was sitting there for a few days. I went back to the hotel but didnt feel like doing anything else. I probably should have moved the rest of the stuff this night but all I did was get it ready to be moved.

Thursday January 16, 2014

I had to leave work for a little bit to go back to the hotel to finish loading my stuff into the car before checkout at 11. For some reason they only have one cart to load stuff and when I got there someone was already using it and someone else was up next to use it. I decided to just load it all by hand which ended up being a good 5 or 6 trips up and down the elevator to the car. That was tiring. I probably coulda waited for the cart but I’d rather not wait doing nothing. I needed the exercise anyway. That was fun. I had told my boss I was just gonna run down the street and be right back but I took about a whole hour. Oh well. Nobody cares. Im not doing much of anything these days so it really is no problem if I leave the office for a bit. I think a bunch of other people disappear for hours too in their state vehicles. I dont think we have any active projects going on so I dont know where they go. Anyways, I’ll miss the hotel room. Interesting experience. I’ll miss the constant-arguing black couple next door to me. Good times.

I went to Big Lots and got an air bed that I may be sleeping on for a while. I didnt get much else. Alhamdulillah I got a good sleep in the first night at my new apartment. Let the new chapter in my life begin....

Friday January 17, 2014

After work I headed to Greenville to go to the only Halal meat store in the area. I probably shoulda waited until after rush hour since traffic is always bad on I-85 at rush hour, especially between Greenville and Spartanburg in both directions. Anyways, after being stuck in traffic for a bit I got some meat, then went to Publix to get some groceries to stock the apartment, then of course to ALDI to get some even cheaper groceries to stock the apartment, then to Walmart to get a just a few little household things for the apartment. So it turned out to be a long night of shopping (a little too much for this nig). Of course I was tired after hauling all those groceries in so that was that. Now off to Philly!

Saturday January 18, 2014

I got up early and cooked some breakfast, the first time I’ve actually cooked in a long time. I hardly even cooked when I was at the other apartment but I guess I missed using a stove and oven. I whipped me up some eggs with cheese and hashbrowns and some veggie sausage links. Also, I cooked some breaded fish patties to make some sandwiches and packed some fruits for another long trip to Philly. I made sure I had enough to eat for the trip because Im being firm that I will not buy anymore snacks or junk food, especially since I spent a good bit on groceries so I need not spend any more on any type of food or drink for a while, except when I run out of essentials (yogurt, fruits, etc.).

I drove up to Philly once again, probably the last one for at least a month. I need to slow down and take it easy. Anyways, the drive up was good. I made it in my best timing yet (10 hours). I usually stop a lot more than I did because I usually drink a bunch of water along the way and therefore stop to use the rest room a lot. I would usually keep refilling my water bottle so the cycle continues. With stopping for prayer I have been ending up taking close to 12 hours, but this time I stopped efficiently, including for prayer. At one of the many expensive, rip-off toll booths I ran into the same toll-taker who actually recognized me from my last trip going back. Its a black girl that wants me who joked with me the first time that she didnt have any change before giving me change and this time she said it was nice to see me again and asked how I had been. Im off the market, girl, take it easy. That shows me Im coming up there too much when I run into the same person at a toll booth. Anyways, I got there about 6:30pm, prayed, ate, and watched some movies with Mumina and family. It was a nice night.

Sunday January 19, 2014

Me and Mumina went out to the mall in the afternoon. We didnt spend a whole lot of time there. We got our fingers checked for our ring size because she had gotten me a ring but was too small, then went to Barnes and Noble to see if they had a certain book she was looking for (which they didnt), then I got us some smoothies. We left and stopped in a few other stores on our way back, but didnt get anything. When we got back the first football game (Pats/Broncos) had started. Muminas parents had been out since before we left and returned a little after we got in. Me and her dad watched the games while Mumina and her mom watched some movies in her parents room. We enjoyed the games together....another nice father-son bonding experience. Yep. Good day. I always enjoy spending time with her and her family.

Monday January 20, 2014

I left after praying the noontime prayers to head back to good old South Carolina. On my way back on I-85 in Virginia close to NC I noticed the steering wheel vibrating and it begin to feel really weird, similar to another trip back from Philly a few months ago. This time I exited the highway because I knew something bad was imminent. Last time I waited too long and my tire blew out, caused by a piece of plastic underneath the car above the wheel that hung down out of place. In the parking lot of a Loves gas station I went around checking the tire pressure in all tires. I started on the passenger side and noticed all the pressures were a bit high but the tires were fine. I got around to the front driver side and noticed right away that the tire was starting to shred. I saw the piece of plastic on this side was hanging down and was shredding just like on the opposite side the last time this happened. I was thinking that this cant be a coincidence, this piece of crap car is falling apart on me. So I got a knife that I had used for my weekend job and tried to cut some plastic but that wasnt working. I ended up bending the plastic up and out of the way of the tire, which seemed to be fine. I hesitated to get back on the road, especially since I didnt change the tire. I saw the metal exposed on the tire but stupidly thought I might get by on it because I didnt feel like changing the tire. Well as soon as I got back on the road, before I got on the highway ramp, I noticed the drive was still feeling weird as if a tire is going to blow so I pulled over into a lot that had some parked construction vehicles but didnt seem like anybodys property. I could have gone back to Loves to change the tire and have better lighting but I didnt want to drive on that tire any longer. I had no outside lighting in that lot so I kept the door open as I changed the tires. The guy who helped me last time gave me some good advice to put the spare donut tire onto the rear so its not subject to turning. So.....I jacked up the car and removed the front bad tire and the rear good tire and spent quite some time and sweat trying to get the spare on the rear and the good tire on the front. I had to jack the car up and down a few times in the process to do it right so that was fun. I heard some rustling in the grass at one point so I thought the night might get a little more interesting by getting attacked by a dog or wolf and having to fight and kill it before proceeding with my mechanic work. But that didnt happen so I had no real problems. I got back on the road and it felt a lot better and I felt a lot safer. Im just glad I was able to get all the lug nuts off without having to call anyone. Last time one of the nuts were on there so tight I sheered it off when I put my weight on the wrench and it wouldnt turn. This time was much easier thankfully. Alhamdulillah I made it back safely but I may have to think about ditching this car before it falls apart even more and get a different vehicle. I dont know, we’ll see. Im just glad I made it back okay, it coulda been a lot worse.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

I went to the local Spartanburg Mazda dealer to check the car out. I had called my original dealer in Greenville to explain what happened and asked if there was a way I can file a complaint or something. I didnt really expect anything to be done. He told me it was probably my fault why the plastic would come loose like from hitting curbs or something. When I took it to get it looked at the guy told me the tire was worn so thats what caused the tire to start shredding. No kidding. It was so worn because its been scraping against plastic which you can tell from the shredded piece of plastic still hanging. Im sure my tires are pretty worn from too much natural wear, yeah, but not to the point where it goes out like that. Apparently some pins were missing that were holding the plastic up, which tells me its a manufacturer fault. He also said maybe when I turn the wheels it catches the plastic but that would be a stupid design if the plastic is so close to the turning radius of the wheels. Anyways, it just seems to me that its not coincidental that both sides had the same thing happen and only months apart. Again, I wasnt expecting anything to happen or for them to do anything, so it all didnt really matter. Moving on, I went to get my tire replaced from a used tire place, then went to Firestone to get a long overdue oil change and also got an alignment while at it. So I should be alright. Just gotta figure out if I’ll do anything about the Mazda. I may keep it but I’m gonna see if I can work something out with the lienholder (Wells Fargo). I owe way more than the car is worth and my payments are high so I may look into selling it back or working out some type of deal with them. I thought about just stop paying them, let them take the car, and get a different, cheaper vehicle so I can get outta debt sooner. I know they will charge me a bunch to break the contract and put stuff on my already shoddy credit and chase after me if I dont pay so Im not sure if its worth it to give the car up. We’ll see.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Mom and Taahirah came by to check out my new apartment. Mom brought me a plant and some of my crap from her house. I had baked some brownies to welcome them. We prayed and talked for a bit before heading out to eat at Moe’s. Afterwards, Mom urged me to get a plug from Home Depot next door to Moe’s because the plug on the tall lamp she gave me ripped off when it got caught out the car door when I left her house a few weeks earlier. I thought it was doomed but mom told me how to fix it. So I got that then we took a walk at the main park in Spartanburg. We had a nice time. I drove them around a little before heading back to the apartment. Mom left soon after we returned. They seemed to enjoy the visit and I was happy to have them over, although it was brief. It was nice having my first visitors.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I had gone into work only to realize that our office was closed due to the weather. It had snowed the previous night. Several people still showed up but went home after a little while. I stayed for a few hours because I was trying to do some stuff on the computer since I dont have computer access at the apartment. The maintenance office in the same building as us was operating because they had crews out working to clear the roads. So I spent the rest of the day chillin. Nice day off.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

I once again showed up to work and even more people showed up and stayed, but we were technically supposed to open at 12 because the roads were still slick. I dont mind showing up since I live 1 mile from the office so I dont bother checking to see if we’re open or not. Some people came at 12, but the ones who showed up early left at 12 since we’ll be paid for the 4 hours we miss anyway. The roads actually werent so bad but I can understand why they still closed. What they do is post closures or partial closures for all state offices by county for “non-essential” government offices. Since Im in the construction office obviously no construction is going on. So for the rest of the afternoon I had gotten together with the Christian guy from my job and another Christian guy I met from my other job I had worked. I suggested they meet since they had similar experiences having visions and communications from God so we met at a restaurant and talked ‘God’. Mostly the guy from my current job did all the talking since he is pretty connected and experiences a lot spiritually so he was relaying a bunch of stuff. It could be Jinns or whatever it is but he receives pretty accurate information on people and claims its from God. I dont doubt him but just disagree on what he believes about Jesus. Anyways, we had a good talk. Later I washed clothes at the laundromat down the road and that was it for the day.