Let's make the most of this beautiful day, since we're together I might as well say...

As many of you have already witnessed on Facebook, I've been having some more neighbor problems...I suppose "problems" is an understatement, as I have had to call the police on him 4 times in the last 2 weeks. He is INSANE. That blog I wrote "Adventures in Homeownership, Part 1" was only the beginning...here's the story.

His name is Jim Sterkenberg. He's a middle-aged, single, chronically pissy man. I smile at him in passing in the parking lot, and all I get back is a scowl. I say hello when I see him outside, and somehow I become invisible. He's given me more problems than I ever thought one person could, and I have absolutely come to my wits end.

I could use pages and pages of words to tell all the stories of what this coward has done to make my life miserable, but I'll just let this video sum it all up. Listen to it, and I'll explain what it is.



From 10pm on Tuesday night to 6am on Wednesday morning, this pounding is ALL I heard. His unit is directly above me, and what he would do is go to every room and take something like a broom and pound on the floor a few times. He'd stop for a few minute and then go make the rounds to each room again. By 12:45 (right after this video was shot) I called the cops the first time. Throughout the night I called the cops 2 more times. I had to miss half a day at work because of this idiot, I didn't get even 20 minutes of sleep that night. At the end of the video you can hear water running loudly, this is my neighbors shower. When he has it on, I can hear it clear as day. He turned his shower on at 8:30pm on Tuesday and had it on alllllll the way until 7am on Wednesday.

"Won't you be, please won't you be my neighbor?"

One of those weeks...

It's been a rough week, not gonna lie. I'm struggling with a lot of things, the main one being the fact that I feel very alone, even though I know I'm not. When I moved houses and wards, I lost a lot of old friends, and that's been extremely hard for me to deal with. Most people I know have a least one close friend they can call on, but I don't feel that way. I wish I did. Anyway...I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, and kind of let it all out. I'm not looking for sympathy, but just trying to make it through the day. Who knows, maybe someone can benefit for this blog song...I know I did.

Here's the lyrics. It really is a great song. Funny how lyrics can pick you up when you're down...

Lady Antebellum
"One Day You Will"

You feel like you're falling backwards
Like you're slippin' through the cracks
Like no one would even notice
If you left this town and never came back
You walk outside and all you see is rain
You look inside and all you feel is pain
And you can't see it now

[Chorus]
But down the road the sun is shining
In every cloud there's a silver lining
Just keep holding on (just keep holding on)
And every heartache makes you stronger
But it won't be much longer
You'll find love, you'll find peace
And the you you're meant to be
I know right now that's not the way you feel
But one day you will

You wake up every morning and ask yourself
What am I doing here anyway
With the weight of all those disappointments
Whispering in your ear
You're just barely hanging by a thread
You wanna scream but you're down to your last breath
And you don't know it yet

[Chorus]

Find the strength to rise above
You will
Find just what you're made of, you're made of

[Chorus]

One day you will

Oh one day you will

Adventures in Homeownership, Part 1

It's official: I'm a homeowner! Okay...it's been 4 weeks (to the day) since I've moved in, so that would explain my lack of bloggage. Actually, not really, since I still have no life and could have written hundreds of blogs in my spare time. What can I say, I'm a work in progress.

Nothing very exciting has happened, until yesterday. Lets just say I was officially welcomed into to the condominium complex by being yelled and cursed at by my neighbor. Yeah...here's the story;

I have known about a problem with my washer hookups for a few weeks now, and have just gotten around to hiring a handyman to come fix it for me, since the only skills I possess involve all things banking. My complex is apartments turned condominiums, so all the water lines are connected to multiple units. I took the morning off of work, informed my neighbors that the water would be shut off from 8:30-11:00 to facilitate repairs, and waited for the handyman. After working on the problem for a few minutes, he realized he needed more parts. By 10:45 he was on his way to The Home Depot for the second time to pick up another part. At 11:10, I was sitting in my living room and the next thing I know I hear "GUUUUUUUUUUUUSHHHHHHHHHHHHH" realizing that someone had turned the water back on (mind you, the handyman had left the pipes open...) I RUN out side, and yell "TURN THE WATER OFF!!", and see the handyman yelling at my neighbor, who is absolutely beside himself that it's 11:10 and the water isn't back on yet. The handyman runs back into my house and begins his repairs, leaving me outside to battle it out with my extremely irate neighbor. Having dealt with my fair share of irate customers at work, I tried all the usual tactics to calm him down, but nothing was working...so I started yelling, too. By this time he was cursing at me, so I walked away as he yelled "I'm going to get my mail, and this water HAD BETTER be back on by the time I get back!" (Mind you, the mailboxes are about a 30 second walk away). I frantically call my friend, Michael, and plead for him to come rescue me, which he does.

About a minute later I hear Mr. Uptight Neighbor pound on my front door, and when I open it he yells: "TELL YOUR PLUMBER THAT HE'S A ****ING *****!" Well, Mr. Plumber hears this, and yells back, using a few choice words himself, and I'm thinking "What the **** did I get myself into?!" Handyman finished the job, we turn the water back on, Michael gets there and calms me down, we mop up my flooded kitchen, and all is well.

Some adventure, eh? And I have so much more to look forward to. Michael and I agreed that on my last day of living here, I'm going to shut the water off when I leave. Yeah, that'll show 'em. :)

Anyway...right now I'm painting my bedroom, the living room, the hallway, and my kitchen. Here are some before pictures, and I'll post more as the progress continues. More to come!

P.S. THE OFFICE! Gas station proposal! Let me know your thoughts!!! It was an amazing episode, no doubt.

It's My Year!

It is the eve of my 23rd birthday, and I have a lot on my mind. I decided a little while ago that 23 was going to be my year. Change is in the air, and I can’t wait begin my new journeys. Rather than list all the things I want to accomplish, I’ll just write. That’s what blogs are all about, right?

Weight loss! I’m slacking! I need help! Two weeks ago I enrolled in a weight loss psychology class, and have learned a lot about myself and my habits in this short time. I’m very optimistic and am looking forward to getting back on track. Any help, suggestions, and comments would be much appreciated!

I want to get married. Yep. I’m going to be that blunt about it. I want marital bliss…and unbliss. This means I have to date…a heck of a lot more than I’m doing right now. Last year I had a goal to go on 12 dates (which would have over quadrupled the number I had been on my entire life), and I think I went on 6? It’s a start, but not quite what I’m looking for. 24 dates. That’s my goal. That’s two dates a month…a date every other weekend. That’s feasible, right? Check.

Malena will now be known as a social butterfly. I want to become more social, and need to find ways to do so. I’ve become slightly more social in the last few months, and am really enjoying getting to know new people and make more friends. Lets hope this can continue!

I love my job, but it’s dead end. I’ve tried three times within the last 6 months to advance, to no avail. I want to use the skills and dedication I have to be the best employee I can be, and am trying everything in my power to do so. If it means finding a new job, then so be it. I’ve been at my job for 4 years now, and I don’t want to leave, but I also want to progress, personally. Big career changes are coming this year.

Despite all the changes I am in the process of making, there is one thing I am very proud of having accomplished recently. I’m a homeowner! Okay…I’m closing on the 15th, but it’s basically mine. I found a STEAL, and am so excited to move in! I’ll be posting pictures as I remodel. Look out, handywoman on the loose!

Tomorrow is going to be a great day! 23 is going to be a great year!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my cousin Melanie tomorrow, too! :)

Blog song:
Lost-Michael Buble’…’cause I’m definitely not lost!

Please Be Patient!

New blog coming soon. It's been a hectic month! I have big house news and big weight news...I'm just not sure how I'm going to write it all. Please be patient as I write, and check back soon!

In the mean time, check out this HILARIOUS Office video! It's not true, and everything has been completely taken out of context, but it made me laugh harder than I ever have before. Well, maybe not EVER.

Whoever made this is WAY too creative.

.4 away from a double quinceanera!

Hopefully the title makes sense...ya know, 15=a quinceanera, and I've lost 29.6 pounds, so it's a double quinceanera! Okay, bad joke.

Yes, friends, not only is Malena a bad blogger-updater, but she has now lost 29.6 pounds!!! Holy crap! Am I forgiven for not updating my blog, Cade?

Here's the most recent picture of me, taken about 3 weeks ago (with my killer new haircut and my new favorite [smaller] shirt!):

Close up of the new DO:

And, a picture of my nephew, because he's ADORABLE:

Anywho, in other news, I'm trying to buy a condo! Trying, as in I can't really find one. I've been paying rent for 5 years now, and I'm ready for my own place. I'm all set to buy, but the condos I like already have offers made on them, and are therefore slightly unavailable. One of the complexes that I'm considering is right across the street from my aunt AnnaMarie (cross streets are Dobson/Broadway). It's so close to my work (about 3.5 miles-hello biking!), and right by family. The housing market in the Phoenix area pretty much crashed a few months ago, so now is the perfect time to buy. I'll keep you all updated!

Song of the blog:

Rascal Flatts-"Shine On"

Shine on, my friends. Shine on.

24 Bikes

I think I will call this blog ‘24 bikes‘. Did you see the movie ‘27 Dresses’? Well, this blog has nothing to do with that movie (great movie, by the way), but the title ‘24 bikes’ sounds cool. Basically, I have two topics for this update, so I need to combine them into one blog. Are you following me? Here goes.

Part Uno:
24 is the magic number! I have lost 24 pounds as of 2 weeks ago. I didn’t get a chance to weigh in this week, because I was in Utah. Maybe in 3 weeks you’ll get to find out how much I lost this week, but for now, 24 is my new best friend.

I’ve never seen the show ‘24’, but the logo is fitting for this part of the blog. Moving on!

Part Zwei;
I bought a bike! He is my old-new best friend. I LOVE him! I don’t know why I decided to buy a bike, or call ‘it’ a ‘he’ for that matter, but I’m sure glad I did. I am lucky to have some friends who are willing to bike with me, and I have enjoyed going on long bike rides with them every week. I say ‘enjoyed’ because I live in Arizona, and biking in our current weather is like a death wish. For the first few weeks I had the bike, I rode to work a few times (hello…12.02 miles!), and went on long bike rides almost every night. I wish I could continue to bike daily, but it’s not really possible. I’m anxiously looking forward to the cooler weather (in 6 months), so I can REALLY get into biking. I took my bike to Utah with me last week, and enjoyed riding it in the canyon and around the neighborhood.

When I told my dietician the amount of exercise I was doing with my bike, she just about died. I guess people my ‘size’ aren’t able to do that much exercise, and the fact that I was doing it, willingly, really surprised her. She commended my new hobby, and I am quite pleased with that.

Wow, did I really just make that whole paragraph into one sentence? Sharla, don’t kill me!

Any who, thanks for checking up on me, and thanks for your comments.

Until next time, I leave you with a very appropriate song for this blog.

‘24’ by Switchfoot. Funny video, too.

My favorite line: “I’m not coping out.” Darn right.