Me ABCs.

A - Age: 34 (I had to argue with the doctor recently to come to this conclusion)
B - Bed size: full
C - Chore you hate: laundry
D - Dogs or cats: ... well, duh
E - Essential start your day item: 94.7 fm
F - Favorite color: orange
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'4"
I - Instruments you play: a couple of chords on the geeeetar
J - Job title: spreadsheet monkey
K - Kids: no thank you, but I love everyone else's
L - Loud or quiet: quiet
M - Mom's name: virginia
N - Nicknames: shaf, nnej
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: once, in college for an unidentified abdominal pain
P - Pet Peeve: turning drivers who inch up on you when you're crossing the street on the walk sign - is that 3 seconds REALLY going to get you there any faster, jackass?
Q - Quote from a movie: "life's like a movie, write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending..."
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: brother
T - Time you wake up: 6:00 am
U- Umbrella*: yes... still haven't acclimated to the no umbrella rule
V - Vegetable you dislike: lima beans... that might actually be the only one
W - Weight: according to my cheap Target scale, 124, and while I don't believe it, I'm not arguing with it
X - X-rays you've had: teeth numerous times, abdomen (see overnight hospital stay above)
Y - Yummy food you make: any food I make is yummy, to me anyway - I just don't "make" food very often
Z - Zoo favorite: giraffes

________________
* Original U was underwear. What kind of answer does one put for that, other than "yes"? So I changed it.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

This, via icanhascheezburger.com...

Very reminiscent of this.

Oh, and also. I saw Coraline today. Can someone explain what all the fuss was about? I assume it was the animation, but from a novice's eye it looked no better or worse than any Pixar movie I've seen lately. But perhaps I was distracted by the 3-year old behind me who kept begging his mom to go home because the movie was clearly distressing him.

Where is that "you oughta have a license to be a parent" Facebook group... and get off my lawn!

But seriously, for a moment.

It's a bad sign when the 7am Sunday morning call from Mom is "just" that her brother passed away last night. Not to be callous - he was a great man, my favorite uncle perhaps, but his wife passed away last summer and they were that type of couple that it was really just a matter of time before he joined her.

It's just that I was sure this time, that it would be about my dad. I'm dreading that call immensely.

I'm also dreading any decisions I will need to make related to that. Deciding to put Her Majesty down last week was a pretty intense experience. Having the power to decide whether something lived or died, not being certain I was making the right call despite all the falling down and not eating and pathetic whiny mews, wishing she could speak actual words and let me know it was OK, that it was time. Watching her go was surreal. It happened so fast, and I felt helpless and relieved and sad and regretful all at once.

Having to do that with a person? I think I would throw up. But would that be worse than finding a parent who had passed, as my uncle's daughter did this morning?

When the time comes I'm sure I will deal with it however necessary, and worrying about it now isn't going to make it any easier. For now, I'll just worry about how to pay for the ticket back east. Eighteen months is too long to go without seeing your family.

Wednesday three.

Three signs I'm pretty sure Her Majesty's end is near, in no particular order:

• one of her ears droops (kind of like this, except that it's not as dramatic {yet?} and both creatures involved have black hair)... I have never seen or heard of that in a cat, and I'm pretty sure it's not an ear infection (and if it is, REALLY?? Angry Cat Gods, leave her be, will you?)
  
• she does a lot of groaning and high-pitched mewing instead of her normal annoyed meow, and she barely looked at me when I got home tonight
  
• she doesn't do that nauseatingly, heart-crushing, adorable half-hug thing anymore

I called her specialist for at-home vet euthanasia recommendations. I'm told I will know when it's "time."

So now, we wait...

We skipped Mt Rushmore too. Dorks.

Maryland -> California, August 1997.

Where the heck is Wall Drug? It's in South Dakota, along I-90 near the Badlands.

It's a bizarre little bumper-sticker place in the middle of nowhere, kind of like the Mystery Spot only without the gravitational anomalies. It's a kitschy highway rest stop, kind of like South of the Border only without the sombrero key chains. "FREE ADMISSION to this 76,000 square foot American Experience includes the Backyard with its Branding Iron Arcade, animated T-Rex, panning & mining experience for fossils and gemstones, Train Station Water Show & fun picture-taking props in a picnic area. Gourmet coffee shop! Pizza Parlor!" Now how much would you pay? But of course we had to stop, and we ended up spending way too much time there. Dorks.

Our next stop was the campground in the Badlands. We lucked out and got the last site in this bizarre little circle, then two of us hiked up to the top of the hill to take a picture. At some point we noticed a buffalo wandering (roaming?) about 50 feet outside the left side of this shot:

Our friend was in the tent napping. We feared for his life, but also for ours and therefore stayed put (dorks), and thankfully the buffalo roamed along. We didn't sleep much that night.

And then along I-90 in the Black Hills - some of the most amazing non-mountainous, non-canyony, non-national parkish scenery I have ever seen.


We toured the wind cave and headed up to Devil's Tower, where, upon realizing that to go up the monument we would have to pay $4/car, we just took a photo from afar. There were 3 of us in the car. It would've cost us $1.33 each to go up the monument. Dorks.

In honor of 2.5 upcoming days of mandatory fun, I bring you...

... a cool tree. Approximately NE Multnomah and NE 5th (?). Dunno, got off the train early to walk for a bit and look for something interesting on the way home. Not sure of the merit? Click on the photo and take a closer look.

I guess you could say I demanded it.

Before today I never took advantage of Netflix's "play" option, for a few reasons. Mostly because until about a month ago my computer desk chair was ridiculously uncomfortable (on purpose - didn't want to spend much time here). Also, I thought perhaps it cost more (it doesn't). Also because, much like my recent reversion to the actual CD instead of the digital album, I prefer to review the "cover," physically place it in the DVD player and go from there.

But today I had some ironing and no Netflix movies in hand. So I called up Conversations with Other Women and got introduced to this "play" concept.

It was rather reminiscent of the Before Sunrise/After Sunset films with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. If it had been cast with Catherine Zeta Jones, I would've used the 20-minute-me-no-likie rule and turned it off. But Helena brought a completely different depth to it. And of course I highly regard Aaron Eckhart's work, and in his whiny, 20-year-old-boy character I found something very familiar. (David, circa 2001?)

It was short. Got 90 minutes or so to spare while ironing, or need a filler between sending stuff back, I recommend it.

Another sort of (belated) Friday five.

Five things I will regain when Her Maj kicks the bucket*, in no particular order:

• 20 minutes a day, 10 minutes at 7am and 10 minutes at 7pm, that I spend making and administering her medical concoctions.
• the desire to live in a carpeted apartment.
• the 30 minutes I spend vacuuming every week, because she always has shed like a... a... well, like a cat.
• the ability to go on trips for just the cost of the trip.
• a lot more sleep** every night.
  

The biggest thing I will lose, other than an adorable furball full of unconditional love? That would be the perpetual "out" from awkward undesirable work-related happy hours. ("Um, sorry, can't make it, have to be home in an hour to give the cat her meds.")

________________
* You might think this is callous. It's not! You and I both KNOW she is going to drag this out for-EV-er... Damn cat.

** I will say, having a 4-lb cat go to sleep on your belly every night while you read, is much more pleasant than having a 12-lb cat settle there... but still.

Friday five.

Five things that made me happy this week, a week where I had pretty much run out of happy, in no particular order:

• Her Maj is eating regularly, at least for now.
• This American Life broadcast live in theaters across the nation, featuring a tearjerking (who knew?) story by Dan Savage, very funny stories by Starlee Kine and Mike Birbiglia, a sneak preview of the DVD commentary to Dr. Horrible as told by Joss Whedon (playing piano and performing for more than 9 people for the first time ever!), and of course, Ira Glass. If Sarah Vowell and/or Dave Eggers had been involved I would've died and gone to my own personal heaven. If you missed it, it's being rebroadcast May 7. Totally worth the $20 in my humble opinion. Aside from last Monday's acting class I haven't laughed that much in... suffice to say, a while.
  
• I may have found my new volunteer gig. It involves trees.
• I stuck to my picture-a-day goal. Not everything was captured well, or worth posting or publishing elsewhere, but I found something interesting or beautiful every day. This required creative outlet has been amazingly therapeutic. I won back my iPod after Lent but I still opt to leave it in my bag on the walk to and from the bus (or on the walk home if I have an hour to spare). I notice so much more that way.
  
• A guy I went to high school with put out an album that made its way to major record stores nationwide. On a whim I bought it and I like it a lot. I doubt he would appreciate comparisons but if you like things like White Stripes meets 60's pop meets catchy but not overly-so, check it out.
  

Compare and contrast.

I think I like the color one better, but the b/w shot is a more accurate representation of daily life in Portland.

A Friday five of sorts.

Today is Her Majesty's 11th birthday. Well, her "date 8 weeks later than the date I adopted her 11 years ago, when she was ~8 weeks old according to the staff at Berkeley Humane Society," anyway.

(My first tattoo had its birthday Wednesday and is now old enough for a driver's license permit, by the way. Happy birthday, Max! And damn, I'm old.)

Much like Her Majesty's lovely Christmas presents, I'm pretty sure she didn't want to hear the following five phrases uttered in a sterile cold vet exam room as her "happy birthday!" wishes:

• "... the fact that she's not responding to such a consistently high dose of prednisilone*, and the chemo-lite drug that usually works wonders had no effect either, is not a good sign."
  
• "... at this point other more invasive options would just do harm."
• "... where are you with all of this...?" {long pause} "I'm frustrated, she's still herself but she's clearly uncomfortable if not miserable, and I'm not going to be selfish about this... I think it's time to let it go."
• "... I think you're making the right call."
  
• "... when the time comes there are vets who do home euthanasia."

And so, she is now on "kitty hospice" which means no new drugs and possibly eliminating the existing twice daily prednisolone which seems to be doing more harm than good at this point. (I'm inquiring tomorrow after the last ditch test results are in.) And then waiting an undetermined period of time until she becomes someone other than Her Majesty (e.g. lethargic, catatonic, aggressive, etc) and calling the vet for an appointment with a high dose of anesthetics.

So anyway... happy birthday, Damn Cat.


________________
* High doses of prednisilone = lowered inflammation and generally, quick response and recovery BUT also = potential kidney and liver failure and also = accelerated muscle degeneration, ironically (given all those sports folks who use steroids as performance enhancers) which = Her Majesty not responding and in addition, falling off of chairs and beds a lot lately. So along with everything else I'm constantly worried that she'll crack a rib on the new cushy desk chair I bought while I'm at work one day.

Oh hai!

Whatcha reading?


Aw, man... not that Twilight crap again... Great. Guess I won't be getting much sleep for the next three days.

People at work will eat anything.

For the "new recipe" goal, on Sunday I decided to try these gluten-free, egg-free brownies. (I bought Ener-G Egg Replacer, but it looks like I could've used lots of other things I had handy too.)

They turned out okay - I think I should've mixed them longer because they were slightly gritty, and they probably could've used another minute in the oven, but between all the dark chocolate and butter you couldn't really tell.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon someone sent a note out about homemade cookies by X's office (I always love these - you can actually hear the stampede 2 seconds after the email is sent). I'd only let a few gluten-intolerant folks know about the brownies so that they were sure to get one. After the earlier email I sent out a note vouching that these were, at the very least, "interesting." Five minutes later they were gone.

And now, killing two goals with one stone, here they are:

Kings Canyon backpacking trip, 2002.

About three weeks before my 10-year high school reunion, I went on a week-long backpacking trip with some friends - Silver Divide loop out of Lake Edison. I had only car camped before this trip so I was a bit anxious about the logistics, the altitude and the pace we would be attempting (average 8-12 miles/day with 35 pound packs). But, okay, whatever. The friends I went with had done these types of hikes a zillion times so I was fairly optimistic, and I'd been pretty active at the gym for several months so it seemed like a reasonable endeavor.

I remember being at their house the night before we left. We were packing up our gear, and when I tried on my stocked pack for the first time I felt the blood drain from my body. There is just no way I am going to be able to do this, I thought. But I kept my reservations to myself figuring I'd either find a way, or I'd hang out at Lake Edison for a week while they had their adventure. That didn't sound so bad either.

The first day out, my concerns were still valid. We started mid-day and only went about 4 miles but it was pretty much straight up and I was hurting. The second day was pretty intense as well, but on day three we left our heavy packs at the campsite to check out a few lakes nearby. A 5-pound pack for a few hours, after a 35-pound pack for three days? I felt like skipping. In fact, I think I did.

Minnie Lake

Day four and five we saw so many amazing lakes, it reached a point where we'd look up, say, "oh, look at that amazing lake," and keep walking.

Glen Lake, near Purple lake, which really is purple when the sun sets (photos do no justice)

On the sixth day we reached the top of a particularly difficult summit and I remember exclaiming, "I feel GREAT!" My friend said it was because my muscles and lungs had finally adjusted. I thought it had more to do with the constant lack of oxygen. But I felt ready and willing to go another week.

It was pretty much downhill (literally) from there, and on the last night we camped at Mott Lake.

Mott Lake

This could very well be my favorite lake ever. Not just because it was at the end of a grueling week... I can't say why, exactly, but the serenity I felt at this lake was like nothing I'd felt before. Not sure I've felt it since, either.

One of the friends has since parted ways but I still enjoy memories of this trip, and I often look back at my photos and at the map he gave me. It was definitely the most physically challenging activity I'd ever attempted - and I survived. (And step class at the gym the next week? Piece of cake!) It was also the most subtle natural beauty I'd ever experienced.

The other friend hiked the Pacific Crest Trail a few years ago, where 20-mile days were the norm for six months straight. I simply cannot imagine living through that and it fills me with pride to know that she did. So while I probably won't embark upon such a trek, I'd like to do another week(ish)-long trip at some point, perhaps in my dear Rockies. What say you, Ghost?

Inspiration point.

I went on a long hike with a friend from work today (she promised that it counted as a "Portland thing" even though it was an hour outside of Portland). We got to talking about places we'd been and where we still wanted to go. I had a sudden, very pleasant revelation that I've seen more of the country and the world than most people, and that I need to remember that on a more daily basis.

I've been a bit at a loss of what to write about lately. So when I got home I scanned in a bunch of photos from my journeys, and I'll be sharing travel stories when I don't have anything else interesting to report.

But first, my new screen saver:

(Columbia River Gorge from Dog Mountain)

Braxton Hicks spring.

Monday was a lovely day for free cake at Pioneer Square (in honor of its 25th birthday) - 80 degrees, sunny, awesome.

Today was 50 degrees, overcast, equally awesome. Here's a little pink snow at the Lloyd Center MAX...

... and a little pink flower action at SW 3rd and Jefferson.

I have always preferred the reflection of the building to the building itself.

________________
Subject adopted from this.

"Arriving at one point is the starting point to another."

The first quarter of this year has disappeared faster than you can say "holy shit where has the time gone," and suddenly April is here. As previously mentioned, I did a pretty shoddy job on 1Q goals:

• run 10 miles - collectively throughout 1Q? yes. ultimately? nope.
  
• read at least one book a month - yes! January, plus more than one in February (exhibit a, exhibit b) and March (exhibit a, exhibit b, exhibit c)... seriously, people, I think I read one book in 2008 (excluding Buffy comics) so this is really progress, plus I've also theoretically joined two book groups
  
• road trip - possibly the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival? - nope... somehow the whale watching excursion slipped my mind during the hard drive cleanup debacle last weekend but it's back now, I'll have to investigate future possibilities
• and from the list, my first acting class was last Monday... it was weird... but there was potential... we'll see how that goes
  

It's been a tough three months, between Damn Cat and Damn Job and various other Damn factors, so all in all I'm happy with my achievements. And now, spring is here (at least for the next two days) and it's inspiring.

(One of these things is not like the others,
one of these things just doesn't belong,
can you tell which thing is not like the others
by the time I finish my song?)

But anyway, it is time to declare second quarter goals. The first unwritten goal is to keep reading a lot, but the actual written ones are:

• Go back to doing one "Portland" thing a week (interested to see how this goes - finding out about stuff is easy, it's the "doing" part that is always the challenge)
  
• Try a new recipe once a week (let the record show that I already know this one is gonna be hard - too set in my one-pan eating ways... but I now get Martha's magazine in addition to Sunset so between the two there's gotta be something worth making)
• Take at least one picture a day, of anything (I've signed up for a Photoshop class which will encourage this - although I've also mentally resigned myself to taking a walk or two during the day at work (rain or shine) where I always take my camera, and I always see something photo-worthy... today I saw an anti-minivan bumper sticker on a minivan and if I hadn't been driving, that would've been today's featured shot)

Ready, set, go!

________________
Title of this post complements of John Dewey.

Early Friday five.

Five quotes from I Am a Cat, which I didn't love but I found the cat's narrative very entertaining, and which even non-cat people will appreciate, in no particular order:

• "I move forward between the woodpile and the coal heap, turn left and find a glazed window to my right. On the ledge below, a considerable number of small round tubs is piled into a pyramid. My heart goes out to them, for it must be painfully contrary to a round thing's concept of reality to be constricted within a triangular world."
• "I desire to pray for success in war by worshiping my honored Great Tail Gracious Deity, so I lower my head a little, only to find I am not facing in the right direction. When I make the three appropriate obeisances I should, of course, as far as it is possible, be facing toward my tail. But as I turn my body to fulfill that requirement, my tail moves away from me. In an effort to catch up with myself, I twist my neck. But still my tail eludes me. Being a thing so sacred, containing as it does the entire universe in its three-inch length, my tail is inevitably beyond my power to control. I spun round in pursuit of it seven and a half times but, feeling quite exhausted, I finally gave up. I feel a trifle giddy. For a moment I lose all sense of where I am and, deciding that my whereabouts are totally unimportant, I start to walk about at random..."
• "In my opinion, there is nothing more unbecoming in the human type than its indecent habit of sleeping with the mouth left open. Never in a lifetime would a cat be caught in such degenerate conduct... The result is not only unsightly, but could indeed, when rat shit drops from the rafters, involve real risk to health."
• "Anyway, human beings being the nitwits that they are, a purring approach to any of them, either male or female, is usually interpreted as proof that I love them, and they consequently let me do as I like, and on occasions, poor dumb creatures, they even stroke my head."
• "Actually, a mirror is a sinister thing. I'm told it takes real courage, alone at night, in a large room lit by a single candle, to stare into a mirror. Indeed the first time that my master's eldest daughter shoved a mirror in front of my face, I was so simultaneously startled and alarmed that I ran around the house three times without stopping."
  

Early Wednesday three.

Three movies I did not like, in no particular order:

• Changeling. Oscar nominated? Really? Angie repeated three lines ("he's not my son!", "did you kill my son?" and "I'm not your mother!") for two hours and this won her a nomination? Meh.
  
• The Contract. Oh, John. Why do you taunt me so? I keep hoping upon hope for some redemption, but anything after Identity has been a letdown. I couldn't even finish this. (It's okay, I'll still marry you though.)
  
• Sleepwalking. Nick Stahl's character was vaguely interesting. I didn't finish this one either.
  

Hmm. I seem to be getting selective with free time in my old age. I remember a time when I would stick something out until the end, optimistically thinking it would get better. Now I give a film 20 minutes, and if it doesn't grab me, I'm done.

Monkey mania.

(Never washing that hand again...
just kidding, washing it immediately, but still...)

(Whenever a Very Bouncy Animal arrives
in the forest and you are told he has
just come, the thing you should ask is:
"When is he going?" ~ Winnie the Pooh)

How's YOUR vision?

See if you can spot the aforementioned elusive silky anteater.

Yeah? It's RIGHT THERE, right? No fair, you had the benefit of my friend's new camera with stellar zoom.

I am Jack's bitter regret.

What I should've asked him, dammit, was whether he actually knew Myla Goldberg, the sister of a girl I was good friends with in high school who wrote a fantastic book that was turned into a terrible movie. That would've been a great question.

(This has been plaguing me ever since I first heard the song named after her five years ago. Of course all I had to to find the answer was JGFI, which I just now did, and lo and behold.)

DAMMIT!!

Interesting facts about the number four.

It has a lot of religious, spiritual, natural and otherwise meanings. It's considered unlucky by many Chinese folks. It's a stabilizer in the Tarot-reading world. Its aura is red and orange and it sounds like F#.

It's also how many pounds Her Majesty now weighs. So that's pretty awesome.

The vet specialist (VS) apparently hasn't seen a cat not respond to what we've tried, so I guess in her own special, annoying way Her Maj is helping VS learn something new. Next up, if the next week goes reasonably OK, is probably IV injections of a kickass chemo drug or immuno-suppressant, both of which have their pluses and minuses.

DAMN CAT.

On the up side, her tiny size makes toting her to the car in her carrier much easier. When she was 12 pounds I had to use both hands.

If only she were a little bastard, I could just hate her and be over this. But she's so darned cute, kind of like this guy:

(white-nosed coati, relative of the raccoon)

Got more photos from the vacation today. Look for updates soon.

Jen(n) is a dork.

Around 5pm today I learned that the Decemberists were doing a CD signing at Music Millennium in honor of their dark, troubling masterpiece which came out today. It was to start at 6pm. I had stayed home sick but I could've been bleeding out of every hole in my head and I wouldn't have missed that, so I scurried over, unshowered and barely presentable (I think I did brush my teeth at least), and got in line.

During the 1 hr 15 minute wait, I tried to come up with something clever, interesting or funny to say or ask so that I wasn't just a dork with a poster. Lots of things came to mind but as soon as it was my turn, as soon as I was standing two feet from Colin Meloy, my brain froze. "Hi," I said shyly, pushing my poster toward him.

THINK THINK THINK! You're clever, you're funny, COME ON!

"Um," I said, but then he was done, so I said "thanks" and moved along. Jenny and Chris were bantering about baseball and asked me who I would root for if I was watching a Yankees/Red Socks game. "Red Socks! My Boston friends would kill me otherwise." They nodded in agreement and thanked me for coming. And I was on my way.

I had my camera with me, but I didn't want to be a loser doing the one-armed self-portrait on top of already being a dork, and really, let's be honest here, I love them all but I just wanted a picture with Colin and that would've been odd.

But they were all very nice as one would expect and I'm going to laminate this poster immediately and shut the door on this entirely dorky experience. Can you imagine if I were to ever run into Joss Whedon? I'd be an utter mess.

(Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS TOWN?!)

Distant cousins?

(circa 1999, when she was still fat)

(circa 2009)

Two no's and a yes, immediately.

In Bruges: just couldn't do it. Just couldn't bring myself to watch Colin Farrell for that length of time. Plus that was holding up the next installment of Dexter Season 2 which was the finale which was making me very cranky. I'm sure I enjoyed Dexter much more.

How's Your News?: Arthur Bradford was a guest at a recent Live Wire show, and after assuring the audience that this wasn't about exploitation he played a few clips from the original documentary. As a result, I queued it the next day. Sweet, charming, restoring your faith in humanity one minute at a time. I guess there's now an MTV show which I won't watch because it's on MTV. But there's also a web site with lots of clips including this one where they interview folks like Will.i.am and The Shins on the red carpet at the Grammys. (Watch until the end of this clip - priceless.) And there's a documentary "on the 2004 campaign trail" which I would love to see...

Vicky Christina Barcelona: tried really hard to get through this. Gave up after about 40 minutes, even though that was just the start of Penelope's performance. Scarlett specifically, and the story overall, just bugged me. I hope to enjoy a Woody Allen film again someday, but until then I will just watch Annie Hall over and over.

Tonight's viewing involves Twilight. Does that officially take me from nerd to dork? Inquiring minds want to know. (But but but it was filmed in my state! That counts for something, right?)

Questions.

Would it be wrong to offer a half-eaten bag of Munchies to a homeless man holding a sign asking for donations? Before you judge, know that I bought the bag at Target because I had more errands to run and after eating a way-too-healthy vegan Reuben sandwich earlier today, nothing else remotely appealed to me at that moment. I've eaten all I will ever eat from that bag, and I hate to waste food. Well, "food."

Another question. What is the proper response to a pink-haired male cashier at OfficeMax asking to shake your hand because you're one of their smartest customers for buying the $10 3-year warranty on a $70 computer chair? I said sure and shook his hand... but it just seemed odd on so many levels.

(New chair is awesome, by the way. I finally opted to replace the Ikea plastic piece of crap I bought last May with a real chair because I signed up for a Photoshop online class, and as a result I'll probably be spending more time here in the coming weeks. And also because I watch so much TV on the interweb these days, and dragging the big comfy chair over got annoying after the second time I did that.

Maybe one day I'll actually spring for a laptop and wireless and watch stuff online from the comfort of my couch or bed like all YOU people! Give me a few more years.)

All caught up and nowhere to go.

I am officially up to date on Lost, Dollhouse and Dexter (well, to the degree Netflix will let me be caught up with Dexter).

I'm not sold on Dollhouse yet. I appreciate Joss using the talents of Fred, Helo and Faith but frankly, between those guys and the smart-Andrew-look-alike and the British-accented head honcho, I'm having trouble remembering what show I'm watching. And some of the stories are familiar, or otherwise unoriginal. I also think I have a fundamental issue with the premise, as in "surely this is already happening somewhere in real life," but I'm willing to overlook that. I'll give it time, since the quirky banter keeps me interested, but until then Faith really needs to work on her blind girl act and Joss needs to step it up a bit.

I think I'm going to hold out on BSG. The marathons are just too much fun. Which means I have at least 5 hours to kill tonight... the horror!

Correction.

Forget that 10 mile run. My new goal is to go to the gym on a semi-regular basis, keep up with strength training, and maintain my current weight plus or minus 5 pounds. This is out of respect and admiration for my knees, which I will need (in healthy form) when I move to Costa Rica to work on an eco-farm.

And also? Running 10 miles in one session? Borrrrrr-ring. At least until Lent is done and I get my iPod back. (Dumb dumb dumb.)

Otherwise, doing well on the 1Q goals. I'm two books ahead of schedule and I think a whalewatching trek is in order next weekend or the one after.

Incidentally, #22 on the list starts on the 30th. Annnnnd... scene!

Last belated Friday five.

Finally, five good stories from Costa Rica, in no particular order...

• Two days into uncivilized jungle territory deep in Costa Rica, we were incredibly startled by three non-uncivilized jungle things: 1) a gray cat wandering around the outdoor cafe where we ate dinner, 2) some sort of house or car alarm near the lodge, and 3) people! sitting in a car! in the parking lot! the horror!

• My friend's watch stopped the morning of our last day. And isn't it ironic.

• During the mangrove boat tour, the boat driver stopped so that we could observe a silky anteater - a rare treat, as this is a nocturnal animal. It looks like this. (This image is important to the story.) My friend saw it right away through her binoculars; I had the guide's binoculars but try as I might, I could not locate the sucker. After at least 10 minutes of various people pointing, as well as the boat driver using a mirror to shine a light on the creature, I finally asked, "Is it near that brown leaf?" The guide kind of laughed and said, "It IS that brown leaf." Turns out, I'd been looking at it the whole time. I noted to the guide that I clearly needed to go to Africa because the animals are much larger and easier to spot there. He agreed.
  

• On the drive from the zipline to Manuel Antonio National Park, we stopped at a lovely beachfront hotel for lunch. The guide recommended I try the soursop fruit drink, so I asked what the Spanish word for "soursop" was. "Guanabana" was his reply. I had to ask him to repeat it twice and then spell it because it was such an odd word. The driver, who was dining with us and hadn't said more than three words to us (in Spanish, no less) the entire time, said, "You know, like the Muppets song - Mahna mahna! Doot doo, do do do. Mahna mahna!" And thus, the bond between me and the driver was sealed for all eternity and Jim Henson knows no boundaries. (PS - soursop is amazing. Neither sour nor soppy.)
  

• The last day, our taxi didn't show up to take us to the local airport which would transport us to San Jose International. The hotel manager was kind enough to drive us, and we stood in a very long line fretting because the taxi was supposed to have all of our flight information. So we got to the front of the line, having missed what we thought was our flight, and the guy couldn't find our reservation. At this point we were totally panicking - I think I said something to the extent of "I was just kidding about not wanting to leave" - when a pilot came over to the desk and mentioned our names. Turns out we had a private plane back to San Jose. We turned our noses up at the lowly commoners taking the public jets (well, we didn't really, but it was funny to think about doing so) and boarded our private plane back to the big airport.

My favorite story is the one where I was hanging out solo in the pool at the last hotel, just watching the ocean waves and admiring the view, and a little lizard walked over and we just sat there, watching the waves and admiring the view, in perfect solitude and contentment.

(the little guy on the left was my ocean-gazing friend; the guy on the right appeared the last day)

Second favorite story involves monkeys. (I'm sure you're shocked.) On the boat tour I was offered the opportunity to give the monkeys some fresh water, which entailed holding a plastic container of water and letting them come to me (video coming soon). Most of them kept their distance, sipping carefully from the plastic container and then running away to pretend the boat awning was a trampoline (video coming soon). But one of the monkeys wanted a little more balance so he put his little hand on my hand... and my heart just about melted. I really hope video of that is coming soon.

And finally finally finally, a PS for the CHM: The best Costa Rican coffee is grown at 3000 feet in volcanic soil. It's organic and wonderful and magical. Due to luggage constraints I couldn't bring any home with me, but I found a great cafe that delivers, and I will be sending you some at some point... No monkey poop involved.

More belated Friday fives.

Five things you might not know about Costa Rica, in no particular order...

• This is possibly the most eco-friendly country in the world. They are conveniently located near lots of water, so that helps. At least 40% of their power is hydro-electric, another 10% comes from wind turbines, an unconfirmed amount (depending on who you ask) comes from two of their four active volcanoes and they will be expanding that to all four in the near future, and they are working on generating power from sewage water (using the gas generated to run laundry machines and other non-food-related types of equipment). Their hotels and lodges are rated on "leaves" - how eco-friendly they are - not "stars." We mostly stayed at 4-5 "leaf" places and I was quite impressed with the CFLs, recycling, organic/local foods during meals and various other eco efforts. In fact, this is such an eco-friendly country that we passed a bullfighting ring on the way to the first lodge, and the guide explained that because they care so much about animals, the bulls are never killed - instead of the usual matador routine, people are paid to try to pull the tail of the bull. That's as violent as it gets.
  
  

Lost Iguana Lodge path lamps, powered by CFLs!

• They have four species of monkeys: the howler, the spider, the squirrel and the white-faced capuchin. I saw three of these and have photographic evidence of seeing two of these. The squirrel monkey is apparently quite elusive, as is the red-eyed tree frog (much to my dismay). I will just have to go back to see those guys.

Howler

White faced capuchin, in the normal resting stance on the tour boat

• At least 33% of their land is protected through the National Park Ministry or private efforts.
  
  

Arenal - hanging bridges tour

Manuel Antonio National Park

• In 1988 they lost three species of toads and declared "global warming" a reality. Almost 20 years later, most people are finally agreeing.

Marine toad - not extinct, obviously... these guys were everywhere in Tortuguero

• And here comes the socialist in me... They have universal health care. If I'd injured myself on vacation I would've been taken care of, free of charge. And? The country has no army. It was abolished in 1948 after the then-President saw too many people killed in their own civil war during WW2. (The then-President also left the country in the hands of the people via a democratic society.) If anyone should decide to invade them, as some have attempted since the 1940s, they benefit from the protection of the U.S. because we have a very vested interest in their country. Well, Intel has a very vested interest, at least. They employ 6,000 people in exchange for free water to make silicon chips. Anyway, military money was filtered into education instead and it shows - I think our guide said the country was 95% literate. Astounding. Only very remote rural kids don't benefit from a basic education, and most kids go on to University which is pretty reasonably priced. Costa Ricans are very proud of their non-military status. Some locals postulate that it attributes greatly to their quality of life... and I would agree.
  

And five useful words/phrases I learned in Costa Rica, in no particular order except the first, most important one...

• pura vida - the equivalent of "hakuna matata." It means "no worries, it's all good." This is how people greet each other, say goodbye to each other, comment on meals and activities, etc. I think this also contributes greatly to their quality of life.
  

• lizano - the best salsa ever
  

• gallo pinto - pictured below with slightly butchered platanos before I thought to take a photo, the best meal ever... with casado coming in at a close second
  
  
• pajita - straw
  

• rana - frog (how did I not know this word, of all words?!)
  

Red poison dart frog

More belated Friday five(s).

Five things that seemed like a good idea at the time, in no particular order...

• Catching up on the last few episodes of Lost (where they go back to the island) right before I personally head onto an international flight across a large body of water.
  

• The Live Broadway channel on Continental. (Had high hopes. Turned out to be lots o'crap - Taylor Swift doing a remake of a Wicked song? holy crap they really did make Legally Blonde the Musical - and it's terrible? etc. But then to my shock, they played an Avenue Q song! And some of the oldie musicals were fun to hear.)

• Bringing the one book that I haven't been able to get past chapter 4 with, despite several attempts, figuring that being stuck for days at a time would force me to read it. The first night I had a repeat occurrence of the nightmare so I packed it away for good and resigned myself to boredom (if howler monkeys, cool birds, geckos, iguanas and poison dart frogs can be considered "boredom"). The next day, a rainy day, I ran across the second book in the Twilight series in the lodge's lobby. Without having read the first, I dove right in and it was all downhill from there. Got halfway through before leaving, found the first book at the next lodge and as soon as I finished that, the second magically appeared and I finished that one too. And I'm selling that stupid non-readable book back to Powell's immediately. (Possibly trading it in for the third and fourth in the Twilight series. But that's just between you and me.)
  

• Giving up my iPod for Lent even though those 960 hours included two eight-hour flights. DUMB DUMB DUMB.
  

• Skipping the tetanus shot renewal until my next physical. I went seven days with no worries, but on the last small plane ride back to San Jose I sliced my palm on a random piece of rusty metal when the seat belt wouldn't fasten before take-off. It's been 18 hours, I'm still alive and my hand hasn't turned yellow, the wound seems to have healed, but still... I watch House. I know these things happen. (As with potential malaria, for which I took no pills and sprayed no DEET before heading into the swamp for my hike and getting eaten alive, please just get me out of work for a few weeks but don't kill me, okay?)

Belated Friday five.

Five reasons I desperately needed a vacation, in no particular order...

• It's been 40 degrees and rainy since about January. (Oddly, that didn't bother me too much, until I spent the last three days in 90 degree weather lounging by the ocean only to return to 30 degrees and snowing this morning.)

• If I'm not going to support the U.S.'s economy, I might as well support some country's economy.

• Taking care of a very sick (but beloved) cat is probably much like taking care of a sick (but beloved) parent, although at least the parent might be able to tell you exactly what's wrong or where they hurt, and if they don't take their meds you can just put it in their IV without their knowledge instead of having to wrap them tightly in a towel, sit on top of them, hold their head back, pry their mouth open and force-feed them. The night before I left, I was so freaked out about getting all four pages (!) of Her Majesty's instructions written up and emailed to the catsitter that in addition to sending it to her, I also sent it erroneously to 1) the coordinator at the travel company, 2) my parents, 3) my friend in Pasadena who is not at all involved in any of this and 4) my local friend who was to be my petsitter's spare key contact. (You know how gmail generates a drop down list when you start typing in a few of the letters in an address? Yeah, well, I must've somehow chosen all those folks in addition to the catsitter. And none of those folks needed detailed information on my cat's disgusting GI disease.)

• My last interesting vacation (Australia) was almost exactly six years ago. SIX YEARS!! The last time I gave blood in Oaktown before the big move, I realized I no longer had to claim that vacation in the "external US travels" question... and it made me so very sad.

• Monkeys. MONKEYS! 'Nuff said.

A transcript of the actual conversation I just had with my cat.

"Baby. Really. I don't like being able to feel your backbone. Would you just eat already? I mean, I know it's cool to pull that Hollywood shit and not eat for days - but that's only if you are named Lindsay or Paris or Vanessa or (at some points in time) Britney. Just effing eat already. Be fat Britney. We like fat Britney."

It's hard to speak a parenthetical phrase, for the record.

Her Maj did great for about a week on twice-daily 'roids. When I cut back to once a day as per vet instructions, she started to decline again.

Tomorrow is the follow-up appointment before I leave her in a stranger's hands for 8 days. I weighed her tonight on my crappy Target scale and it came to 6 lbs. Because it's a crappy scale, I know this isn't accurate but I don't think she gained enough weight over the last 10 days and I fear the wrath of the vet, despite having done everything I could to get her back on track. This is only compounded by the fact that when they saw her initially 14 days ago, they were so alarmed by her status that they insisted upon keeping her overnight and doing a biopsy the next day even though they "don't normally do biopsies on Thursdays." I had done everything as instructed up to that point but when that statement was uttered, I still felt like a complete failure.

Kids? NO THANK YOU.

This afternoon I had the most selfish thought: "Thank goodness someone else will be worrying about her for a week." And I didn't feel bad about thinking that. But the fact that I didn't feel bad about thinking that, made me feel bad.

DAMN CAT.

A question.

Will an Elizabethan period flick NEVER win the Costume Oscar? This is ridiculous.

Another question. What the hell is up with Hugh Jackman's hair?

Eeeeeeerie.

I was supposed to do this to an iPod shuffle, but ran across the 'random quote' option on this site and decided to see what would happen if I shuffled quotes instead of songs. The results were spooky - especially that funeral one! and the motto one too - and only three don't really make sense. Can you guess which three?

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. Lord Acton, Letter to Mary Gladstone, 1881

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 - 1799)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Dignity comes not from control, but from understanding who you are and taking your rightful place in the world. Real Live Preacher weblog, 05-01-05

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself. Christine Bovee

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
A doctor saves lives - it's up to people to create lives that are worth saving. Philip Gold, Doctors: Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes 2005 Calendar

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for. Earl Warren (1891 - 1974)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
I think that little by little I'll be able to solve my problems and survive. Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954), Letter to Nickolas Muray, 12-18-1939

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 - 1951)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference. Jane Goodall (1934 - )

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. Thomas Sowell (1930 - ), Is Reality Optional?, 1993

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
A person's abilities are tested best when defending rather than attacking. Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Without tenderness, a man is uninteresting. Marlene Dietrich (1901 - 1992)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair. Arnold Toynbee (1889 - 1975)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
They can conquer who believe they can. Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
It isn't kind to cultivate a friendship just so one will have an audience. Lawana Blackwell, The Courtship of the Vicar's Daughter, 1998

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I am just going outside and may be some time. Captain Lawrence Oates (1880 - 1912), last words

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Before he sets out, the traveler must possess fixed interests and facilities to be served by travel. George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
It is well to give when asked but it is better to give unasked, through understanding. Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931), 'On Giving,' The Prophet, 1923

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
The family is changing not disappearing. We have to broaden our understanding of it, look for the new metaphors. Mary Catherine Bateson

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
One must not lose desires. They are mighty stimulants to creativeness, to love, and to long life. Alexander A. Bogomoletz

A semi-good read.

Pretty sure I got this heartwarming, feel-good book for Christmas from friends because I keep threatening to move to Sweden. It was interesting enough, but it was mainly a lot of stories meant to shock and enrage, which worked, but which aren't incredibly productive. (At the very end he actually says "it's probably too late." OK, thanks!)

It also bugged me that he only interviewed, quoted and referenced educated Westerners... Granted, he was mostly criticizing them but I would've been much more impressed if he had actually interviewed a group of the 85-90% of moderate W European Muslims who he kept stating are a big part of the problem. It could've helped to inform some actionable ideas.

I'm glad I read it though. Really? Half of Germans under 24 don't know what the Holocaust was? And that's just one of the many appalling statements in the book.

I suppose I should caveat this review with the statements, "I am a sociologist at heart" and "I am a socialist at heart." And I guess I am naive - I do think that peaceful negotiations should be the first step in resolving any conflict, whether it's at an individual or a global level. Speak softly... but still carry that big stick in your back pocket.

________________
This is the fourth edit I've made to this post. I think that says something about the book - I have more to say about it, and my reaction to it, than I first suspected. (Or, it's just a slow night.)

Friday five.

Been a little behind on this, mostly out of laziness but also because it's actually really *hard* to come up with five things that don't suck every day... which I guess is kinda the whole point of doing it every day...? Right.

Will get back on that Monday because it was helping my mood when I was doing it daily. But for now, five things that didn't suck this week, in no particular order:

• free passes to two local Portland speaking event type thingies
• the opportunity to give constructive feedback to mgmt even though I don't think it will go anywhere
• to my shock and awe, despite a self-employment gig where I paid no taxes at the time, I am getting money back* for 2008 taxes... hooray for being able to claim moving, not getting last year's "stimulus" check, and H&R Block
• finding an amazing lady to watch Her Majesty while I'm gone
• finally hanging up my posters and paintings after almost 10 months of not wanting to put holes in the wall because "I'm not staying here much longer"... of course I am staying here and it's amazing how much more homey the place feels now

Happy Friday!

________________
* Well, except from CA, who will be sending me a nice I-Don't-Really-Plan-On-Coming-Through-With-This-IOU sealed with a scratch and sniff skunk sticker. Glad I got out of there when I did.

"I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary."

The Reader: During the first 20 minutes or so, I kept thinking, errrr, isn't this a Holocaust movie? And then it was. The end was lame but Kate Winslet deserves every award and David Kross was robbed. And you should see this movie.

Revolutionary Road: I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason I am so moved by Sam Mendes films is because I expect to end up "that way" at some point in my life. It makes me wonder how his marriage to Kate is working out. Maybe he gets all his issues out on film and he and Kate are a great couple. Anyway, as with American Beauty, I walked out not understanding all the hype but incredibly depressed. With AB, the depression lasted a week. With RR, it went away the next day but I reflected upon the film and the characters for at least a week. Leo and Kate were incredible and the supporting actor nominee was both hilarious and terrifying. Things We Lost In the Fire suddenly makes sense and I need to rent Jarhead and Road to Perdition immediately.

Frozen River: I watched about 20 minutes and turned it off. I'm sure it's a great movie. I'm sure. You just really have to be in the mood for a story about a poor woman who resorts to trafficking drugs across an ice patch that might collapse at any moment to support her family when there's no other hope. (Maybe it will be an inspiration to publicity whore Crazy Baby Lady and then The Man will catch her and take away her 186 kids and she will get what she deserves - absolutely nothing? Hey, a girl can dream.)

The Visitor: Was this nominated for a Golden Globe? Why was it in my queue? Maybe because Patricia Clarkson was somehow mysteriously involved? Regardless, I'm glad it was, because it was actually a fascinating movie. Great to see Dead Guy from Six Feet Under in a more meaningful, heavier-than-being-dead role. I enjoyed this one a lot although again, the ending was lame.

Tropic Thunder: About 30 minutes into this, I was mad that I was watching it. And then something clicked and it was the best comedy I've seen in a long, long time. The premise was absurd, the characters were absurd and the fact that this was nominated for anything Oscar-related was absurd. Great movie.

Doubt: Did I not post a review of this? OK... Meryl, you're awesome. We all know this. Give someone else a chance at the purty statue (ahem, Anne Hathaway, ahem). Otherwise, I wasn't blown away by the story. Maybe because we read about this sort of thing every other day? And really - someone who has approximately 5 minutes of face time in the movie gets a supporting actress nod? How is that possible?

In Bruges: Is In My Netflix Pile. Not sure I will get to it or through it by Sunday though. Colin Ferrell bugs me. I'll try to be a trooper in honor of the big day.

Vicky Christina Barcelona: Is not in my Netflix pile because apparently everyone and their mother has it queued to watch before the big day. (Oh and I put off watching it because I can't stand Scarlett, though Javier intrigues me.) I'm curious about this one, lots of people I know liked it but Woody hasn't impressed me in many, many years. So we shall see.

Dear Facebook...

... Thank you for enabling me to waste a perfectly good day off.

It started innocently enough. Up at 6:30am, laundry at 7am, I'll just hop on and play my rounds of challenge sudoku. Wouldn't want to keep a friend waiting after all, and don't puzzles and word games prevent memory loss later in life? (Oh yeah. I can rationalize my way out of a wet paper bag like you can't believe.)

Laundry got dragged out for three hours due to everyone else thinking they had the right to use the washer and dryer today too. Eh, OK. Another sudoku challenge initiated, and I'll catch up on scrabble too. Then I had to wait for the catsitter interviewees, so OK, another few rounds of sudoku and my turn at scrabble. After the interviews I did go to REI for kayak shoes and then I hit the gym for losing-beer-weight-from-weekend-guest-visit purposes. And then home. Since then, Facebook.

I find it incredibly ironic that there are dozens of "Facebook is a waste of time!" groups on Facebook.

My kitty is a junkie, what does your kitty do?

After her stay at the Ritz last week, Her Majesty came home with more things shaved. I can't help but laugh every time I see her little arms where the catheter was:

Shoot up or shut up!

In general, she's doing OK. According to the vet, she does have that awful sounding IBD as well as food allergies (damn cat) so we've had twice daily fun with multiple pills/syringes o'meds since Tuesday. This is pretty much her new look around 6:30am and 6:30pm every day:

But shortly afterwards, she returns to her obnoxiously adorable self again. Just in time for my Costa Rica trip, we'll be down to one pill a day and a new diet, and she will weigh more than 7lbs, and I will be much more comfortable leaving her in the hands of a stranger while I enjoy the monkeys and ziplines and red eyed tree frogs.

And fresh fish and kayaking and lava flows and hanging bridges and hot springs.

And rainforests and fried plantains and hammocks by the water and 320 species of birds.

And manatees and tropical sunsets and...

We like da moon.

Taken last night from my street. This hardly does it justice, and I missed the good clouds-in-front-like-eerie-werewolf-movie shot. But this is what I love and have missed about winter. The moon always looks more amazing on a cold, cloudy night.

It's not easy being me.

You are Kermit the Frog. You are reliable, responsible and caring. And you have a habit of waving your arms about maniacally.

FAVORITE EXPRESSIONS: "Hi ho!" "Yaaay!" and "Sheesh!"
FAVORITE MOVIE: "How Green Was My Mother"
LAST BOOK READ: "Surfin' the Webfoot: A Frog's Guide to the Internet"
HOBBIES: Sitting in the swamp playing banjo.
QUOTE: "Hmm, my banjo is wet."

What muppet are you?

One word.

Where is your cell phone? - charging
Your significant other? - who?
Your hair? - ponytailed
Your mother? - giving
Your father? - protective
Your favorite thing? - dark
Your dream last night? - forgotten
Your dream/goal? - l-i-v-i-n'
The room you're in? - small
Your fear? - lots
Where do you want to be in 6 years? - everywhere
Where were you last night? - home
What you're not? - contradictory
Muffins? - bagels
One of your wish list items? - longevity
Where did you grow up? - suburbs
The last thing you did? - type
What are you wearing? - pjs
Your TV? - dusty
Your pet(s)? - lap
Your computer? - slow
Your life? - satisfying
Your mood? - depends
Missing someone? - sometimes
Your car? - full
Something you're not wearing? - earrings
Favorite store? - music
Your summer? - cool
Your favorite color? - tangerine
When is the last time you laughed? - lunch
Last time you cried? - Tuesday

Friday five.

Five things I am looking forward to this weekend, in no particular order:

• Revolutionary Road
  
• a good long run tomorrow*
• BSG and Dexter catchup
• getting my packing/shopping list together for Costa Rica
• trying out a new Ethiopian restaurant with a friend

* these days, "long" means 5 miles, but...

The most important thing that didn't suck yesterday was my mood. Everything else (including the weather, the workout, finally running a bunch of put-off errands, my sandwich at lunch) was gravy, so I'll skip the list. Er... or, maybe I just made the list.

Whatevs. It's Friday, people!

All's quiet on the home front.

Her Maj has been enjoying a lovely day and evening at the MGM Grand of pet hotels - the emergency vet. Her stay so far has included pokes and prods from various strangers, numerous lab tests and having the fear of God instilled in her (damn yappy dogs!).

Tomorrow, lab results pending, she is scheduled for a relaxing noon endoscopy/biopsy. I was hesitant about a surgical biopsy but this is not invasive, it's one of those coiled camera scope thingies like you see on Animal Planet ER shows and House, and I sooooooooo want to watch - how cool would that be? (Oh, and also, she now weighs 7 lbs. I'd cut her open myself if it would help. Desperate times and all that.)

Anyway, the boss was nice enough to let me work from home today to accommodate this mid-morning appointment half an hour away, and it's a darned good thing because I've been a bit of a wreck all day. But in between that I also got a ton of work done (no prairie dog cube calls, no next door neighbor with the booming base voice, no disco rave down the hall, no anorexic cat sitting on my lap paralyzing and inconveniencing me) and I spent another hour and a half at the gym tonight.

In addition to those things, here are five more things that didn't suck today:

• Finding out that there is an "English - Pirate (beta)" Facebook language. Best. News. EVER! (A bit hard to read, but hilarious nonetheless.)
• YBIAA.
  
• Beets.
  
• Getting some dirt on people I knew in high school and college.
  
• "Shed Your Love" by the Helio Sequence.

I almost forgot.

• Dr. House.
• Lunch on the boss's dime.
• My yellow duck earrings. (Also, my b/w cow earrings and my pink pig earrings. Everyone keeps saying I need more color in my wardrobe... baby steps, people, baby steps.)
• The Decemberists.
• Finally getting my Hep A and typhoid vaccinations taken care of.

Those things didn't suck today.

Hmmm... I do love a challenge.

Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name: Jen(n)
2. A four letter word: jonx
3. A boy's name: Jacob
4. A girl's name: Jael
5. An occupation: jewel thief
6. A color: jaundice
7. Something you wear: jammies
8. A food: jerk tofu burger at Barney's
9. Something found in the bathroom: janitor
10. A place: Juneau
11. A reason for being late: just didn't want to go
12. Something you shout: JMFC on a pogo stick!
13. A movie title: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
14. Something you drink: juice
15. A musical group: Jayhawks
16. An animal: june bug
17. A street name: Judah
18. A type of car: jeep
19. Something scary: JMFC on a pogo stick!
20. Ice cream flavor: jamocha® almond fudge

On the other hand...

... my father has a knack for pointing out things I already know, not in a patronizing way, but in a way that helps. I was talking to him this afternoon and he asked about Her Majesty. I got kind of upset when describing the latest dramas (not eating since Friday even with shots yesterday that have always helped, the everyday pill debacle, the upcoming week in Costa Rica and leaving her with a stranger, etc.).

He reminded me that she was just like a kid. He reminded me that she's already stressed out about this, and me being stressed out is just stressing her out even more. He reminded me to take care of myself during all this.

I have known all of this in the back of my head but haven't been able to work it out.

So I took a breath, went to the gym for an hour and a half for the first time in weeks, came home, shoved some food down her throat with no apologies and no coddling, and went about my business. Ten minutes later she was at the food dish eating of her own accord. Just a little bit, but it was a huge step.

So the uber cliche wrap-up to this post... Sometimes father really does know best.

Just not when it comes to computers. Sorry in advance, technical support in India.

2,808 miles.

See that bluish purple line? That bluish purple line is my saving grace. That bluish purple line means that I do not have to help my father set up his new computer and figure out how to use everything.

Thanks, brother! I owe ya one. (Although if the last computer death is any indication of things to come, I suspect dear brother will start screening/ignoring his calls in about 3 hours and the kind folks in India will be called to duty. Again and again and again.)