Yeah, I just called you a ‘ho, deal with it.
Dang, yo! So i went away and had this fantastic trip. The absolute epitome of a vacation. I had absolutely no reason to go but to get out of town and relax, no tasks to be delat with while gone, nobody bugging me with their issues (jesus, I could write a book on the number of vacations and trips I’ve had recently that started with someone’s pissed off email or needy text message or SOMETHING that requires that some percentage of my focus on my trip be aimed at them the whole time I’m gone). The people who contacted me while on vacation were well wishers, people happy that I was having a good time and people who missed me while I was gone.
I went on vacation and I saw many things and ran to many places and ate many things AND also relaxed. It was too too perfect and there is no way for me to thank Alex for making all this possible for me. There was nothing on this trip that I wanted to see or do that I missed out on. Alex made sure that my list of Key West hopes and dreams were completely fulfilled.
It is an amazing and beautiful thing to have somebody in your life who is willing and able to put so much effort into making sure you are happy. If you have one of these people, don’t forget to appreciate them.
Alex was also incredibly patient listening to me ramble on about my puppy and David, the two topics that sit at the front of my mind almost constantly.
Alex and I are doing a photo exchange soon and then we will get our photos up for you to envy!
Let’s see, what else is going on in my life….
Reading Perdido Street Station and it truly is as wonderful as the reviews. The imagery is rich and detailed, the story moves along taking you with it. He does an excellent job of putting you in this distinct and different city without making you feel like the whole story has stopped so that he can tell you what things look like. My only beef with the book (at 1/2 way through) is that there just seem to be too many coincidental involvements. When I describe the book I found myself saying “and that just happens to be the person involved in this” too often. Excellent book and thanks to Mark for recommending it to me.
QOTD
“you got brain issues.”
“brain issues?!?”
“yeah, you got brain issues”
My skin has started peeling off. I look like a victim of radiation poisoning, which I guess is accurate. I look terrible. I could scare kids. More than usual, even.
Saw ‘Sin City’ this weekend. I had mixed feelings about it as I was watching it, but I liked it more and more as I thought about it later. A few of the thing that rubbed me the wrong way (unrealistic dialogue, excessive violence) were intentional and important to the whole movie so I guess it would be like disliking the asthetics of a hot dog bun when it has to be shaped that way to serves its own purpose. Or something.
To the people who assk how I can have feet so small and still stand, the answer is “I can’t”. As I do often, yesterday I fell down aand twisted my ankle a bit at the dog park. It happens. It’s a little tender today but no worse for the wear.
Have I mentioned how much I love taking the dog to the dog park? Because I really really do.
Alright my foamy peeps and peepettes, I’m off to all things fascinatingly mine. Your job is to bug me until I get Key West stuff posted.
Category Archives: Doogles
This hurts you more than it hurts me
This is really more for me to keep track of things before my trip. Sorry.
Bleach and dye hair crayon red
Hair done and one. It’s magenta, not red, but that’s awesome. I photodocumented the whole process and when I get my bra photoshopped out of the pics I’ll post them.
Buy capris and stylized keds
Pants purchased.
As for the shoes…WELL, let me tell you, if you’re standing in the store all bummed because the cutest pair of Hello Kitty sneakers only go up to kid’s size 2 don’t despair, try them on anyway! They looked a tad big so I tried them and they fit my feet (kid’s size 3). Thank god or genetics or whatever granted me such freakishly small feet.
Rip cd’s and update iPod
Halfway done, should get a good flying playlist together.
Make a list of books to get from the library
books on hold. yay.
Go to the library and get the books
Tonight, after work.
Do laundry
DONE! YAY!
Write up Ghengis instructions for my dad
Yeah, done.
Go to Target to buy dog food (mmm Beneful), laundry soap, dish detergent, dog poop bags, toothbrush.
Holy crap, I was walking through the dog section of Target (Salmon Beneful was on sale, what a lucky dog) and I stumbled upon an end cap with the most concentrated collection of useless crap ever. I love my dog and i buy him lots of things but I WILL draw the line at an Isaac Mizrahi polo shirt. My dog has many things he probably does not need but there are things like cell phones, flow chart software, feed corn or an Isaac Mizrahi polo shirt that really cross the line. Also, there was a highly stylized puppy bed in pink and black that was sort of cute but not $40 cute. Especially when the dog will chew and destroy it in 4.2 minutes.
Buy groceries so that I can make real food for David (I owe him. You’d think I’d cook more for all I love to cook, but I don’t. Real food, baby, I promise)
Yeah, so the plan is making him a very nice goodbye dinner tonight. Luckily he has two classes tonight so we eat late and that gives me time. Now I need to think of a menu!
Pack, repack, pack again.
So many outfits to consider!
Pay bills.
WOOOOOO.
Okay, now I have to pick restaurants and sites and all that! YAY. God, I’m so so so excited.
The Background
The problem with being so busy is that you end up with a lot to write about and no time to write it.
So let’s see what i can get vomited out here, now.
Friday night I met my old boss for drinks, was a great time to catch up and gossip, "did you know that so-and-so…" and "I can’t believe she did THAT!". I had a goodly amount of vodka and tonic and decided I should not go capri shopping. Foolish me, now it’s Monday and I still need these demon-pants.
David came home from his camping/kayaking trip. He smelled of campfire and had pictures of a porcupine and some bald eagles (not together, that would be oh too cool for words).
(a man just walked by with a ponytail that went past his ass, wearing all black except for the 1980’s style red vest, the kind I owned in high school).
Saturday was laundry and cleaning and trail mix eating and blah blah blah. We went to Battle Creek Regional park for a small walk with the dog. Met a little girl who was terrified of dogs. I felt bad for her because he was just sobbing for being so afraid of Ghengis and G, being so A.D.D. didn’t even see her.
Finally saw ‘The Grudge’ this weekend. It was super creepy in the beginning but I think David was right, they slathered the creepy on so thick that eventually you become inured to it.
Anyway…
Went hiking at a state forest this weekend AND I have pictures for you. We picked the ‘moderate’ trail and from that I’d hate to see what the difficult trail would have been. This was a toughie. The fun part was getting to make up rules, "walking with determination burns more calories". I love making up rules about stuff like that because then I can reward myself with a cheeseburger! I recognize that eating a cheeseburger sort of negates the healthy aspect of the walk but when it comes down to it I got to go on a very nice, healthy walk AND I got to eat a cheeseburger. I might die early but I’ll die knowing I got to eat that cheeseburger.
The dog also got a cheeseburger, I figured he deserved one, also there would be no way to ride in the car and eat my own dinner unless the dog was somehow distracted. When Ghengis is happy, I’m happy.
First, pictures from last week when we went to Frontenac. Very pretty shot of the lake, you can’t really get the scale of it on a little picture like this. Suffice to say, it was pretty. So pretty, in fact, that the dog got all drunk on the scenery and David had to deal with my out of shapedness and the dog’s drunkeness. Or something.
So that was last weekend.
This weekend…
- Me, as proof that I went.
- Ever nimble and monkey-like, David climbed a tree.
- We were so remote and removed from people that we could keep Ghengis off his leash the whole time allowing him to haul ass along the trail. Ghengis is surprisingly well behaved never running too far ahead or more than a few feet off the path.
- And let’s see, here’s Ghengis being handsome and Ghengis being nature dog!
- I truly love hick towns. If you can’t read the bottom it says "Please put manure in spreader".
- This is what a very tired puppy looks like.
I still need to go shopping, I’m going to do that tonight. I need to knock some of these things off my list so i can get on that plane on Thursday morning relaxed.
Also, making the cutest purse ever. So pleased with it.
Mugged in broad daylight by a man in a speedo!
Okay, first order of business…
Yesterday one of my coworkers brought me a page from GQ with places you should and should not vacation in when you’re alone. Key West got a big write up as a great place to travel alone, she brought it to me because I’m going. In exchange I will eat conch fritters for her. Of the places you should not go alone, Rio de Janeiro was listed for the reason listed in the title of this post. The title of the previous post was the series of events that would happen if you went to Amsterdam alone. Of course when I read that I immediately asked where I could sign up for a trip like that!
The dog’s nickname this week is biscuit foot. He has feet like biscuits.
My hair is the shortest it has ever been in my entire life barring the moment of my birth. It’s short. SHORT SHORT. It’s also almost all my natural color, too, but that won’t last. Hair gets dyed on Sunday after the open house. I’m going with red and pink for my trip, hopefully it will turn out.
The cafeteria here at the school makes awful food. Just terrible stuff that they overcharge for. However, they do make excellent banana chocolate chip muffins and it is taking all of my willpower to not eat them.
I did not get terrible greasy takeout food last night. Sigh. I decided to behave myself. I took the dog for a long walk and then ate a frozen turkey dinner and some Sun Chips. If that isn’t the most pathetic meal ever, i don’t know what it. Actually, I do know what the most pathetic meal ever is. It’s pretty sad. You only eat it alone and you have to share with the dog.
Okay, I just got a muffin. I’m eating it. I don’t actually want it. I probably won’t finish it.
Breakfast is 9am Sunday at Sobas! So far there are 6 of us. Let me know if you can make it!
Alex posed the question “If you were stuck in “Fahrenheit 451” which book would you be? Which book would you choose to memorize so that you might pass it on to future generations. Alex picked the Gulag Archipelago, David said (in so many words) that he would rather create something new. I picked “A Confederacy of Dunces” because the window it provides to our society is so skewed and so amusing. I do so love that book.
So what about you? What book would you read?
my god this is a day I should not be inside for! So beautiful here.
hupo and the bat
To love a pet
Recently, John Scalzi’s cat, Rex, passed away and just a few weeks ago, my boss’ cat, Mickey Man, passed on as well.
I’ve had innumberable pets over the years, all of which I’ve loved dearly and every pet’s death brought me to heartbroken tears, even the death of the fish when I had the aquarium.
Ghengis is the first pet that was completely and entirely my own. The fish were for the most part, but also fish don’t cuddle. When I first brought Ghengis home he was just a little 11 week old puppy, so very small. I’d never had a puppy so young. I’d made up a little bed for him but realized immediately that I could not lock him in another room to sleep alone.
I brought his little puppy bed into the room with me, set it up on my bed next to me and fell asleep with my hand on his back.
This seemed to work well, so the second night I installed his puppy bed again in my bed next to me and drifted off with my hand in his bed. Eventually, he stirred and squirmed and there was a little thump as he rolled himself out of the puppy bed and onto my mattress. He whimpered once and curled up next to me with a sigh and he’s been there with me ever since.
The thing about that moment is that I was struck with thoughts of his death. It seems so morbid and wrong, I know, but he was laying there falling asleep next to me and I knew he was going to be my companion, he was going to be my dog-buddy, and I knew that (if things go well) in 12 or 14 years I was going to be standing in a vets office telling him what a good boy he is and thanking him for being the best dog ever. I’d had my dog for less than 48 hours, he wasn’t even 3 months old yet and already I was sobbing because SOME DAY he was going to die.
And this, people, is why I don’t have children.
So, yeah, I just replaced $684 worth of eyeglasses (but only paid half, thank you gods of the ‘buy one get one free’ coupon), the interior of my car is completely covered in mud, he’s eaten remotes, knitting needles, shoes, shirts, books, my very treasured security blanket and probably a number of things I don’t even know about, but…
But, he’s a loyal companion, loyal almost to a fault. He’s taught me to calm down and be patient (especially when housetraining him), he wants very little more than scritches behind the ears and the occasional snausage but you can see the joy when he gets a new stinky dinosaur or settles in with a giant rawhide (he’s not a big dog, but he has the jaw of a big dog so all his chew toys must be very big). He’s jealous of David and occasionally acts out and yet he loves D for taking him running around the park when I’m too tired and for feeding him when I’ve forgotten.
He IS the good and loyal comapanion that I always hoped a dog would be and though he is only a year old, i do definitely know that when it comes time for him to go, a part of me will go with him.
Morbid? Yeah, but also very happy for getting to have this delightful little monster creature with the big eyes and the dopey face.