Go Wild Cats

Went to Cody's high school orientation night. So weird being at Wilde Lake - as a parent!

I know this blog post will make several readers feel really old!!!
Weren't we just in high school??

try some optimism for a change!

My faith in humanity has been restored.
I feel like I should write an article to the papers about this selfless act of goodwill from stranger to stranger.

So, last night I recruited my dad into coming over with a (entirely too small) ladder to help try to retrieve my iguana who has been stranded at the tippity-top of a tall apple tree in my back yard for at least a week, through days of cold and rainy weather. Standing on the ladder and holding a giant bamboo stalk over my head didn't even come *close* to the lizard.
Giving up on that tactic, we finally tried throwing apples near her and shaking the tree in an effort to scare her into coming lower down into the tree. But to no avail. Finally we realized the futility of our efforts and, with a sigh of defeat, called it a night.

A few minutes later I started walking my dog, when across the street, almost mocking me with its proximity and with being the perfect tool to solve my dilemma, was a BGE truck with a cherry-picker on it. I started thinking, 'if only I could talk the BGE guy into helping me... but no, there is no way he will drive his company truck which he could certainly get fired for doing, down a grassy hill to my back yard, where it could get stuck in the mud, during the time he is supposed to be working on something across the street!

So, feeling downtrodden, defeated, and like god is mocking me, the ultimate pessimist, I continued on my walk, wishing I had the nerve to ask anyway, though I already knew what the answer would be. My phone rings and its my friend who is coming to town to get a pedicure. I outline the situation to her and whine until she is fed up and agrees to anything just to shut me up, anything in this case being to ask the BGE guy my crazy request!

Magically, the guy agrees to at least take a look!! I am blown away by the fact that he would even consider it! We hang around for a good 30 or 40 minutes while he finishes up his task. Meanwhile, night is falling and the darker it becomes, the more pessimistic I feel about the guy actually helping. Finally, he comes over and says, 'OK lets take a look'. We walk around and I show him the tree, the lizard, the path and grassy hill he will have to back his truck down. He is afraid the heavy truck will get stuck. I try to look cute and needy and helpless and hopeful all at the same time. I mention that the lizard is friendly and a vegetarian. I throw in there that the CA trucks drive down here all the time, though they may not be as big as his.

He is swayed and goes to get his truck, drives down the hill, points his truck spotlight directly on the iguana so the only thing illuminated in the dark sky is the green belly of Artemis, stretched across a thin branch. He hops into the nimble cherry picker and maneuvers himself to the right spot. At this point anything can go wrong- the iguana can make a run for it. He can grab the iguana, but drop her in fear when she starts to thrash about. But he is staunch and steady in his task and holds firmly while the 6 foot lizard in his hand proceeds with her panicked flailing. He comes down with some difficulty and hands her off to me and that's it, problem solved, sans tragedy!
I vigorously shake his hand, thanking him profusely, telling him he has renewed my faith in humanity. I still can hardly believe it! What a great guy, what a happy ending!

iguana in a tree!!

So, after searching the house for 2 days for my missing Iguana Artemis who managed to sneak out of the top of her cage, I finally spotted her. OUTSIDE. At the top of a 25 ft tree in my backyard!!!

She's been out there for days with no sign of coming down.

V called CA and the fire dept. with no luck, and I called Animal Control, also with no luck.

Gone, I guess, are the days when the firemen come out to rescue the kitty stuck in a tree!

Well, today I am healthy, tomorrow I may be a cripple if I fall out of the ladder I must try to climb to attempt to dislodge the poor dinosaur from her perch before she freezes or starves to death.... Keep tuned for updates and photos. Wish me luck! I'm somewhat afraid of heights!

P.S. Don't see 'Flags of Our Fathers'

BORING and SLOW

oops!

So Jack, the guy we use for printing at work, came in yesterday and told a story of how he bought a 2K diamond engagement ring for his wife that he went all the way to Curaçao (which he said has the most beautiful beach he has ever seen) to obtain.

Apparantly, she 'left it on the counter at work' and (duh) it was stolen. Who leaves a $12,000 ring on the counter at work? (For him, I think he was more upset about the implication behind not being careful with something that is so meaningful, more then the cost, although that was a factor too!) He said it took him 3 days to get over the initial shock of the phone call!

Anyway luckily the office where she works covered it through their insurance since he didn't insure the ring when he bought it!! So they are headed back down to Curacao for their 1 yr. anniversary to replace the ring. One time he asked her where the ring was and she said she left it in a drawer at work (over the weekend) WTF!

:-O

Some of the leading killers in America today, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, and strokes, are directly linked to meat-based diets. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America today, and it is caused by the build-up of cholesterol and saturated fat from animal products in our arteries. The only two doctors in human history who have successfully reversed heart disease have included an exclusively vegetarian diet as a part of their programs. The average vegan cholesterol level is 133 (compared to 210 for meat-eaters); there are no documented cases of heart attacks in individuals with cholesterol under 150. Other health problems tied to clogged arteries, like poor circulation and atherosclerotic strokes, can be virtually eliminated with a vegan diet.

Vegans are approximately one-ninth as likely to be obese as meat-eaters and have a cancer rate that is only 40 percent that of meat-eaters. People who consume animal products are also at increased risk for many other illnesses, including strokes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple allergies, diabetes, and food poisoning.

bellies, boats, and babies

Well I finally got to spend some time with V, though lately its been seeming like we are acquaintances rather then dating, meeting occasionally for lunch. We spent the entire weekend together, and it marked the third year that we have been together (!!)
The day we celebrated happened to fall on the same day that I was supposed to go to a Moroccan restaurant with Monica to celebrate a $50 windfall she got from selling a book I gave her on amazon.com, which she was awesome enough to want to pay for my dinner with. yay! So Me, V, Monica, my brother (who was staying with me for a week) and his ex-girlfriend all went to Taste of Morocco in Silver Spring. My bro, his ex, and I all shared the veggie feast for 2 (and still had leftovers for the next day) while M & V shared the carnivore special. My only complaint is that 2 of the veg dishes seemed identical other then one coming with couscous, but that's OK because we still had a third dish (Bastilla, yum~!) , plus fruit, dessert, tea, and salad. And there was a belly dancer !

The guy poured the Moroccan mint tea from above his head without spilling a drop! And I got a beautiful bracelet and earrings from V which I love. So, although it wasn't a romantic one-on-one dinner or anything, it still was really nice and a cool experience, and at least we were together.

On Sunday we were invited out on V's friend's boat- we picked up her baby and drove her to the marina where we met up with Joy, her new husband Steve who couldn't remember my name and kept calling me Sherry or something! And her ex boyfriend/baby daddy, and their daughter. Whack, but I'm glad they can all get along like that! How cute is V with a baby. At the beginning he was afraid to pick her up :)


Anyway that night, tired out from all of that fresh air and swimming and such, we ate leftover Moroccan food and watched Akira together which was really good!!! I saw it before in H.S. but didn't remember anything. Kudos to V for keeping an open mind and giving it a chance, even though its a cartoon!

My evil robot cat will slay you with his laser eyes

After work, tennis with V until the storm rolled in. I was in a foul mood but the tennis and the company transformed me into human again. I still suck at tennis but marginally improved over the last few weeks. VeRy marginally.

After V & Kona left, Ariella, Moira, & Jaime stopped by and we hung out until 1:30 catching up and talking about everything from fundamentalist religious fanatics to RPGs to global warming to the current state of the music industry. Also of note were the fact that Jaime now produces some podcasts that I subscribed to, and the most important new discovery of the evening:

LOLCats

How did I ever live my life without knowing about this site?

It will change your life.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Cupcakes are generally banal and insipid. They range from mediocre to pure sugar-coated crap not worth consuming. They may look enticing, you think you want it, but once you eat it you wish you could jump into the DeLorian and go 88mph back to the moment right before you stuffed it into your gullet.

Now, you would think that vegan cupcakes, cupcakes sans major cupcake ingredients such as milk and eggs, would be even worse! Well, you are DEAD WRONG.

Vegan Tiramisu cupcakes are so heavenly, so exquisite, so delectable, they will make you want to slap your momma.

I mean, they are the best cupcakes I have ever laid gustatory papillae on.

WOW.

Graying Hippie Lives In Treehouse In Urban Miami Neighborhood

this is so cool

MIAMI -- A graying hippie is living in a treehouse above a secret garden in the middle of Miami.
For 15 years, 56-year-old Shawnee Chasser has lived atop the 1.5-acre nirvana of green trees and farm animals behind a row of houses ten minutes from downtown.
The tree also provides extra income. Chasser has been bombarded with calls after a Craigslist posting that offers two treehouse rooms, each $380 a month. She said many are so taken with the ad, they have sent her checks sight unseen.
But even hippies need electricity.
Chasser's tile-floored kitchen has a blender, popcorn maker, oven, stove and refrigerator. Her 11-year-old daughter watches TV and does homework on the computer that has wireless Internet. They keep cool with a ceiling fan, but no air conditioner.
Chasser and her family host field trips, teaching public school children about the environment. They're also raising money to build a healing garden for troubled youth.

misogyny or misunderstanding?

So, this is a 'joke email' going around, sent by a married man with the caption 'so sad, but so true!'

Is this flat out misogyny or do previously sweet and wonderful women really turn into horrible monsters once they get to the altar? And even so, would that justify behaviors mentioned above such as 'tips on lying' and 'how to get out of her family events' ?

Perhaps, during the dating phase, things are nice and friendly and all about kissing and movies and going out to dinner and impressing eachother. Never once does the subject of socks on the floor or who will scrub a toilet come up. Once a man gets married, suddenly there are responsibilities (such as washing the dishes) which previously the bachelor was able to let go for weeks at a time, choosing to use the top of an old pizza box he dug out from under his chair for a plate rather then tackle the pile in the sink. Suddenly he finds, when he tries to continue this lifestyle, his sweet fiancee has turned into a nagging wife. Now the man is in a major dilemna- clean up after himself (oh horror!) or say, 'dishes is womens work. now make me dinner!' while snickering to himself and thinking, 'I'll never be whipped!'

Next thing you know, things escalate into a full on fight since the woman feels taken advantage of and overworked, and the man is sleeping on the couch. Of course she doesn't want to have sex after months, maybe years of built-up resentment over handling 80% of the housework even though they both work full time. Perhaps thats the explanation behind the items on the magazine cover, rather than 'women are evil'

Why would a man marry or even date a women if they hate women so much and feel so negatively about them?

Maybe because they want a mother? Instead of becoming grown-ups, it seems these 'boys' are choosing to re-live thier childhoods with their wives filling in the 'mother' role and them regressing into the rebellious youth who expects to be taken care of so they can play all day.

Screw that. stay single, man-boys of the world. You'll make a lot less women miserable and you'll never have to be nagged while sitting in your pigsty eating microwave meals alone in front of the television surrounded by your own filth.

Want me to tell you how I really feel? ;)

-tips to get your mate to help on the homefront

What do you think?

War and Fleas!

So here's the wierd thing I did last weekend.

I got the kids, V, his mom and little brother to go to a water ballet in Patterson Park called War and Fleas:

"See Tolstoy's Classic Novel presented in a glorious water ballet spectacle of Canine Courage and Squirrelly Subterfuge! Behold the Politics of the Dog Park as you've never seen it before!"

Afterwards V's mom said, 'I've never seen anything like that.... and I probably never will again..." HA HA!

new-gle (noogle)

I am thinking of naming my first born child Google. thats how much I love google. Sorry Cody, I hope you weren't too attached to your name...

New google cool free thing:

Tired of paying 25 cents- $1.00 just to get a phone number?
Tried 1-800-Free-411 and found it irritating to listen to advertisements and a struggle to get them to understand your requests? (Business name please? "Columbia Association" Did you say, 'Colorado Penal Institution?' "NOOO!" Lets try again. Business name please? "ARRGH!" Did you say, "Arnie's Pizza and sub shop?" "NOOO!! You D&**#794 F&*$&*!" Could you repeat that please?)

Well stress no more. Now Google offers its own FAR SUPERIOR version of 411. 1-800-GOOG-411. Free, no ads, and directly connects you to your requested number.

enjoy!

(more info about Goog-411)