OMG! I need to take a nap. What's the deal? I drove myself over the deep-end building my first website from scratch. Why? Why not?

I just wanted to see if I could get a good(beautiful and functional) site up without Dreamweaver or a CSS checker. All I can say now is, it's up. Hey Stef, do all the links work? Nope!

Two pages of my portfolio don't have JavaScript hooked in yet... yet. I hope to all pages of my beautiful website up and running before next week. I figure I'll drop my original layout, html and CSS in Dreamweaver and fix it there. Wish me luck.

After I "finished" building and testing what I had, I was asked to design a logo for a leadership summit that's coming up next month. I'm so blessed I can throw together great work in less than 24 hours. Although, planning ahead does help too.

While I met with my client, I made a couple quick mock-ups of the logo. When I got home, I sketched a few more ideas then headed to my trusty G4. I came up with three designs. I really only liked one, but it needed some tweaking.

At about 6:30AM, I headed off to my neighborhood Starbucks, with design pad in hand and the iPod on my hip. After an hour sipping my latte and a lot of people watching, I managed to come up with a few more/better ideas. When I got home, I went to town and my final design was complete.

I met with my client this afternoon and she absolutely LOOOOOOOOOVED what I came up with. I was smart, though. Remember the very first idea I came up with and tweaked? I showed her that one first. Then I presented the best, second. "You've out done yourself!" I love those words put together like that!

I guess increased insanity brings out the best ideas in some situations. I am sooo tired. Hopefully I'll have sweet dreams about the car I hope to purchase next month.

Fast Forward...

So, Frankie is this really great guy who I've had the honor of knowing for about 5 years. At one point we both worked at A|X Armani Exchange at the Dallas Galleria. Honestly when I first saw him, I didn't give a second glance. And as I think back, I'm glad I didn't.

Why? Because that would have meant he was just another guy; not worthy of my friendship. Some walk by gander. Like I said before, I've known him for five years; but only recently have we become genuine friends. I mean, we get one another. And some part of me occasionally wonders why we're not "together." In reality I DO know why.

Our relationship is simply platonic, plus I am still getting used to having a close guy friend. Am I weird? Of course! I remember when I was younger, thinking any guy who was nice to me wanted to date or fuck me. Now that I'm older and more mature, my relationships seem different... better, I should say.

Frankie and I talk, text and voice mail almost everyday. We make time for our friendship and it's great! I have to say he is a wonderful blessing in my life. I guess I'm bringing this up because I don't really think he realizes what an incredibly beautiful person he is. I just think most guys who meet Francisco have absolutely no idea that they've come across the last guy they would ever "date."

Over the past year, I've discovered my friend Frankie is the perfect boyfriend. How so?

He loves to cook. He loves to love. I mean how many guys will put others before themself? He is raising a beautifully hyper Jack Russell Terrier (Sams). He has a healthy relationship with his family. He has his own car. Oh, and did I mention he has incredible style? Yeah, he has GRRReat style, so no makeovers for Mr. Macias.

Enter the flaw.We both try so fucking hard to pretty ourselves up on the exterior, as though that actually matters. We both LOVE receiving attention from others... even if it's short lived. Our superficial sides have to be satisfied as well, right? Hmmm, for now.

I just wish we could fast forward through getting our shit together, receive fantastic job offers and meet some incredibly wonderful guys for the long haul because I do not like pointless dating.

Okay, I drive a 2001, beautiful blue VW Passat. My lease ends in March 2006, but my parents have been trying to get me out of it all summer. The leasing company has stopped leasing = I need a new car.

Anyway, I figured I might as well get another VW. They're German awesomeness and they're affordable Audis (big secret). So, Wednesday I visited Park Cities Volkswagen. That was the official shitty decision of this week.

As approached the receptionist to request salesman, this guy walks up to me and asked if he could help me. Enter Stef-the-snob. My first impression was "are you supposed to be a VW salesperson because you look everyday in that hideous plaid shirt and khakis?" Honestly, I could not get past this visual mistake for duration of my visit.

Okay, that was the first disaster. Next, I simply stated, "I would like to see a 2006 Passat." Enter the second disaster. Shit-head responded with "...why not a Jetta?" I'm hating myself for walking through the door of this place at this point.

"Well, I currently have a 2001 Passat and I want to replace it with a new model," I informed him. Easy, right? NOPE! This fucktard proceeded to argue with me. He said the new Jetta was the same size as my Passat and yada-yada-yada. What I don't get is why this idiot was trying to sell me (1) a car I clearly did not want and (2) why he was trying to sell me a cheaper car. The Passat I was looking at was around $30k while the Jetta was at $22k.

This guy was obviously not much of a salesman. And I was still wondering where his white VW polo (with the little logo on the chest) was. That's their uniform, damnit! Anyway, after being frustrated for ten minutes, Chris (dumb-ass salesman) FINALLY decided to show me the Passat on display in the showroom. The car was fucking beautiful... on the inside. I hate the tail end of it, though. The front's okay.


I got in the driver's seat and I was in heaven. The silky black perforated leather was sooo soft and I have to say I love that 6 disc in-dash CD changers are becoming standard on 2006 model vehicles. Anyway, I think Mr. Salesman was trying to give me some details on the car, but I instantly tuned him out. I did my research before I walked in the door, and he wasn't saying anything I didn't already know. It just sounded like he simply memorized (poorly) the basics on the car.

Now I know why he trying to sell me a Jetta, 'cuz he didn't know shit about the 2006 Passat. He could not intelligently answer a single question I asked. Plus, I think he figured I was younger than he was (I look 17-18) because he seemed okay with cursing in my presence. I wanted to smack him up side his head like I was his daddy! FUCKTARD!!!

The end was near, and ALL I WANTED was to drive the fucking car! That's what you do when you go to a dealership! You find what you think you want and take a test-drive to reinforce your decision. So, I asked to take a test drive. Chris told me I had to come back the next day. So, I left.

The next day(yesterday), I drove to BOARDWALK Volkswagen. I asked the receptionist to find me a salesman. I was greeted (professionally) by Gary, a retired medical supply business owner turned VW salesman of the year from 2001-2004. And what was Gary wearing? A white polo with a navy collar and a Volkswagen logo on the chest.

Needless to say, I came to the right place. Gary had full knowledge of Passats, old and new. He informed me of ALL the improvements made to the vehicle and made me excited about the car. We took a spin around the neighborhood and I was oh so very pleased with the car's performance. At this point, I only had to decide on a color since I already knew I wanted a 2.0T with luxury package2=hot shit.

I filled out the credit paperwork, negotiated with the guy in the finance office and we made a fantastic deal where my payments would be $40 less than what I'm paying for my car now. did I mention this new car is $5,000.00 more than the old ome? No hassles. No frills. No one pushed any unnessessary additions on me. What a fucking AWESOME experience!!!

Why can't life be easy and managable like this everyday? I mean, really.

NEW LIGHT...

After an AWFUL night out last-last weekend, I've been seeing things differently. My friendships... work situation... living situation. It's weird because I thought things were okay, sort of. I guess a couple hours of trauma can enlighten a guy.

Long story short, I went to a drag show with two acquaintances from school. They were piss-ass drunk while I was not. They were ALL over the place. They were super touchy feely with me... big no-no... and constantly disrespected others around us.

News flash! I am very reserved in public, yet am able to have a great time without being piss-ass drunk; so I escaped the torturous two and ran home to my big comfy bed at 12:30PM on a Saturday night. That one evening was the dawn of a renewed, more focused Stef.

I kicked ass on my pseudo-final exam (practical quiz) Tuesday... My relationships seem stronger... I'm more confident in myself and my ability. I'm so proud of me!

It's very difficult to think of all the evacuees who are still without a home; and those who only have shells left of what they used to call home. Sure, I was in New Orleans on the last day of sanity. Friday, August 26th was a good, humid day. We almost got hit by a street car. We saw people jogging on the street car lines. We saw all the beautiful homes on St. Charles and had an incredible meal at Jaque-imo's.

People keep telling me, "wow, you got to enjoy it in it's last days." I got to experience New Orleans... finally. But, what about everyone else? I can't watch the news without shedding a few tears. This was another disaster at home. 911 and now this. Only difference is this (the levies not being able to withstand such force) was foreseen by many, yet was of little concern by the big wigs at the head of this country.

Now there are people from Louisiana, relocated all over Texas, trying to make a new start. My prayers go out to them . Not only because they've lost everything, but because most of these "refugees" are brown people who have lost everything. I turn in FOX news and all I see are a screen full of brown people like me. These are my brothas and sistas. Who's helping them now?

I would start sounding hateful, but I can't. Why? Because there are so many fortunate folks all over the US who want to help these people. My mother's reaction to the delay in assistance is "this is full fledges genocide!" I understand where she's coming from. New Orleans' poor population is so unreal. I don't think anyone knew how bad the poverty level + poor black population was until Katrina hit.

On the positive end, there are just as many people out there who want to help out. It's like a war recovery mission at home. As Americans, we tend to stick together during times of crisis. It's weird, 'cuz at the same time we'll tend to cuss each other out during rush hour. God bless America!