Three whole years, a haircut and a Toby

Yesterday marked the three year anniversary of Ron and my first date. He had Monday off so we were able to celebrate that night with a special home cooked meal together. Poopsie made us some scrumptulous stuffed chicken breasts, green beans and red potaters. We ate our yummy din din, sipped wine and cuddled. In' nat sweeeeeeeeeet? Yea, it was sweet. Hah, it's only been three years and it feels like it's been so much longer...in a good way! And forward we go...

In other news, I decided to chop the shit out of my hair last night. Myself. Mmmm-hmmm, it was buggin' me again. Too long, heavy and shapeless. Kept getting all in my face and sticking to my lips. So I thought I'd "trim" it around my face a little. You know how when you start something and then ya gotta finish it? The 'ol can 'o worms dilemma? Yea. I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror tilting my head and clipping away. "Woops, this part's longer than that one..." *flip* *clip* *clip* "Oh, now that's too long..." *flop* *snip* *snip* "OH SHIT, I better STOP while I still have hair!" It's really not that bad though. No one has noticed yet. Not Ron, not my boss, not my coworker. I would never have done such a thing if my hair were straight. "No, my hairdresser isn't blind, why do you ask?" Remember that scene from "Sixteen Candles" (google) where the popular, pretty drunk chick gets her hair caught in the bedroom door and her friend cuts her free with those big ass scissors? I was just short of doing that to myself last night. I'm not too skilled at cutting my own hair. 'Specially when I'm going for the back. Glad I stopped while I was ahead. Don't know WHAT the hell I was thinking but at least it was fun!

So here are some pics I took with Rons new camera over the weekend. I spritzed Toby with the spray bottle and he looked so cute I just had to take a picture. Liddle tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinies...





And guess who's watching the whole thing intently?



Why little Henry of course!!! Hah!

Okay, time to get on with the day. But before I go...can someone please press the 'winter' button for California? I'm really sick and tired of this fucking hot weather. I'm wearing FLIP FLOPS IN NOVEMBER! This is rediculous! Thanks for the global warming, people!

Prosperity

I love this bracelet, Cathie. I was taking some pictures for work and decided to snap a shot of it. It's so cool! This picture was taken with our new camera that we got here at the office a few months ago. The thing takes amazing pictures just on the auto setting!



I had to get all artsy fartsy on this one... I've never been able to take a shot like that. I love doing the blurry in the foreground/backround focus on another object artsy shit. Yea.

So I was cruelly jolted back to reality yesterday during my jog. This is what happened... I'm coming down a hill onto the corner of a busy street with a gas station. An attendant is changing the gas prices on the sign with a big, tall pole tool thingy. I jog by and stop at the corner to wait for the light to change so's I can cross the street, right? Well, I'm leaning against the lamp post, sorta drifting into a daydream as I listen to music and watch the music video of the world unfold around me...

*THWACKK!!!*

The pole mister attendant was using must have slipped out of his hands 'cause next thing I knew it was slamming me in the left shoulder, right on the bone! I whipped around and let loose a stream of obscenities in the guys face, "You stupid fucking IDIOT!!! Watch what the fuck you're doing, you shithead!!!" The look on his face went from a shocked apology to just plain shocked as he turned away. He took off toward the station, probably to tell his boss what had happened. I stood there rubbing my shoulder in disbelief. By then the light had changed and I decided to continue on my way. I know the poor guy didn't mean for the pole to hit me, it was obviously an accident. My first response was pissed because not only did it hurt, it startled the holy shit outta me! But then I figured that yelling insults at the guy was enough punishment for him. As I jogged, the pain went away. As of this morning, I have a little purplish spot on site of the slam. Should make a little bruise, no big deal. Just so long as he missed my head, I'm in good shape. I bet someone is gonna wear some gloves with a nice rubber grip next time...or at least I HOPE so.

Pwah... Strange things were afoot at the Mobile station.

Awright, time for work. Boss is out of town and it's a little slow today. Ah, but there's always SOMETHING that needs to be done. Going to be productive again... Later!

Tooooooooozdee

Happy Tuesday. It was another wonderful weekend. Friday was my grandpa's funeral and it was nice to see my mom's side of the family again. The wake was held at a yummy Italian restaurant and of course I ate way too much. Enough to have to unbotton the top of my pants halfway through the meal. Or one of the meals, I should say. I had at least two full meal helpings...I'm SUCH a pig. Going to be jogging at LEAST three days this week. Already did a few miles yesterday and I don't feel like too much of a glutton anymore. Yea, I exercise 'cause I love to eat. Period.

Saturday, Melanie and Lisa came over to give me the DVD they made of the wedding shower, bachelorette party and wedding. They did such a wonderful job...so many silly parts that I'd forgotten about. Ron sat with the three of us and we watched the whole thing, laughing our asses off. The best was watching myself take my bra off from under my shirt during the bachelorette weekend in San Diego. Right there out on the street in the gas light district. Then I put it on my head. It was the perfect party town for them kinda hijinks though! It's so great to have all that on video, especially on a DVD that'll last forever!

Sunday was football day for the boys (Ron, Mark and Bam), which is becoming quite the regular thing. Especially since we now have a BEAUTIFUL couch!!!! A gift from the mother-in-law that arrived last week. She couldn't have gotten us a better one, either. It's got reclining chairs on both ends! Not to mention it's made of that wonderful suede leather...soooooooo sooooooffffftttt... It's got room for THREE whole people!!! And a fourth if ya push it. All these comforts of home that we finally have!

I also had some friends over Sunday. The two girls Cathy, Emily and Vivian...the latter two I hadn't hung out with in a long time. Emily and I reconnected a few months ago and Vivian I hadn't seen since high school! Girlfriends are the best... It was a very nice afternoon, we all went out to lunch and then hung out at my place for a bit. The amazing thing is the fact that EIGHT WHOLE PEOPLE fit in our livingroom! All at once! And they weren't tripping all over each other! I know, here we go again...I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to having a normal sized apartment, bear with me...

We just had fall back, set our clocks back over the weekend. The only thing I like about the fall time change is that we gain an hour over that particular weekend. Then it sucks 'cause it's dark by the time I get out of work. Now I have to jog in the dark. Not to mention what it does to traffic. For some strange reason, traffic gets way fucked up the first week of the time change. It's like no one knows how to drive in the dark! Oh well, I've been practicing having more patience these days, especially on the road. I'm trying not to let people/things get to me. Easier some days than others, but I must say I've been doing great lately. Even that perma-knot of tension that's been on the right side of my back has eased up some. Ahhhh...

That's 'bout it for this riveting entry. I've gotta go. Do. Something. Bye bye.

Halloween Spirit

It's been an interesting week, to say the least. My 98 year old grandfather finally passed away on Sunday morning. It was one of those blessing kind of losses in that he really wanted to go. He had a lovely, full life and was a good man to his friends and family. I'm happy that he will now be able to join my grandmother Gertrude, who passed away 30 years ago when I was only six months old. They were my maternal grandparents. Here is a nice picture of the two of them with my parents and I...


Grandpa Guy, you will be remembered fondly.

Well, my grandfathers passing had been expected, Ron's grandmother's passing, however, was not. We got a call on Saturday morning that Ron's 88 year old maternal grandmother suddenly passed in her sleep on Friday night. Her name was Gertrude as well. She went in a way that most would like to go, peacefully in her sleep. But she was so full of life and not ready to go! I never got a chance to meet her, unfortunately, as she wasn't able to make it to our wedding because she lived in Alaska...where Ron spent the first 7 years of his life. Ron was very close to his grandmother and would talk to her on the phone at least once a month. Poor poopsies. And his poor mommy poopies... *sigh*

So we both lost a maternal grandparent this past weekend. What a strange mix of emotions we've had running through us these past few days. This All Souls Day is going to be meaningful, to say the least. How nice to get slapped by mortality so close to Halloween. Today what little spirit I have, I made my own little jack o' lantern. It's not exactly a pumpkin, but I thought it would do...



And I didn't dress up...but my purse did!



Heeheehee! Okay, that's it for now. Keep those black kitties safe tonight!!!

May I help you?

I just finished this and added it to our website. Do you have any custom pieces to be made? Heh...fun stuff. Boss is back and getting on me so it's back to work. La la la later!

Yes, I've been working!

I've been drawing and the scanner is fixed so I can finally display my progress! Plus, I haven't had both Photo Shop and a scanner since I was going to school ten years ago. Check out what I did to my pelican!



Holy crap! Yes, I'm definately going to have to have a colorist for this project. I got a little carried away...

Then we have the cover drawing I'd done months ago. Here it is in all its inked glory...



AAAAand the last fully finished drawing...



I just figured out, while inking this drawing last week, how to make something sitting in a body of water. See all the little ripples and the minute beginnings of a reflection? I had no idea how to do it before this. At least not this clean. So there you have it. I moved and my muse is back. HURRAY!!!

Stay tuned...

I'm going to be posting some drawings sometime soon. Gonna get the scanner up and running again 'cause I finally found the set up disk! So stay tuned!

October already??

So this is Henry. Finally got a picture from my friend Lisa. She had her lovely camera phone with her when she came to see the place and I had her take a couple of shots since my camera has been outta service lately. It's really as simple as getting batteries...gawd I can be lazy sometimes... Anyway, he's so cute. He's got a wonderful personality. Loves to jump up on your chest and nuzzle your face, all the while purring like crazy. Hezza kewt liddle fuzzy poopies! YEEAAAaaaahhh!!!

*ahem*

Once again I have to say that I can't believe how time flies as you get older. The 21st of this month, we will have been married six whole months already. At this time last year I was fretting about getting started on the wedding planning. So GLAD it's all over! Oh, and tomorrow marks a month 'til our three year anniversary! Wow... I can finally say that we're on to the fun part of marriage...the NEW beginning! New place, new stuff, new attitude.

Well, I think I just might get some batteries for my own camera this weekend so I can get some better shots of the pets and living space. Really...this is rediculous. Playing around with Ron's camera last night reminded me how much I miss my own.

The 10th was Ron's 38th birthday. He told me that he is happier than he's ever been. AWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... We celebrated a little that day, went out to a nice sushi lunch. The night before was the fun part. I always love to do silly things for him to find when he gets home from work. He'd told me he was gonna take a shower and then relax with some ice cream when he got home. So, I just had to say happy birthday in my own way. First, I tried to write it out on the bathroom sink with his hair gel. Uhm...that got to be a little much so I settled on stenciling "Happy Birthday" on the bath mat with powder. Then I wrote "Hap Bert Day" on the top of his B e n n' Je rr y 's eye cream. Haha! Fun fun...and he totally appreciated it. I'd love to be able to continue to be creative through the years. It's gonna be a challenge!

Well happy Friday. I'm gonna get this day on the road. Not much going on yet, but I'm pretty sure the orders are going to start pouring in. Our lil' 'ol website is doing great! Woowoo!

The Morrissey Experience

HOLY SHIT! Another singer, BESIDES Mike Patton??? Yes, this one I actually got to see, pretty damn up close, this past Saturday night. Ron took me to my very first Morrissey show and it was the perfect concert experience. Since Ron has retired from the pit, my cousin Mark and I worked our way up to almost the front. We were probably about four rows back. I could see the whites of his eyes! And he was in such good spirits, talking to the crowd, even handing some woman the mike to ask some lame question...I don't remember what it was, of course. And I don't have any pictures of my own because, well, I suck at taking pictures of special events like these. Dammit. But the memories will suffice. It was a great crowd, too. I so enjoyed dancing, screaming, waving and getting pushed and squished in every direction. No really, I LOVED it! I've never gotten so close to a legend before. Next is Mike Patton. If I can get as close to Patton as I did Morrissey, my life will be complete. And I will be SURE to have a DAMN CAMERA.

So that was Saturday night. The rest of the weekend was wonderful as well. I hate that it's Monday again already. Another week of missing Ron. *sigh*

As for the art project I bitched about last week? I'm still gonna do it. Bottom line is that I have to finish what I start. And the drawings are coming out so well. I made it clear to the guy that I was pissed and disappointed though. I told him that I would still like someone to help us, preferably a professional who has dealt with this shit before. He's found someone and we're going to meet up again in a few weeks. In the meantime, I will do my drawings. What can it hurt?

Okay, it's the end of another boring entry in the life of a 30 year old nothing. Ya know, I'm still not sure why I do this. I guess it's become somewhat of a habit now. Sharing my boring life with strangers. I'll enjoy reading this later though. It's fun in that way. Later!

Good GOD ALMIGHTY

*sigh* So I'm all excited about working on this latest illustration project because the guy got an "art consultant" to help us, right? So like, I don't have to deal with mister head-in-the-clouds by myself, right? Well guess what?! Little miss squinty-eyed art consultant BITCH up and moved back to San Diego. AFTER SHE SAID SHE WOULD HELP US. YOU FUCKING BITCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. FUCK YOU! ARRUGHGHGHGhghghghghghghghghgajfagjopajgpoaigjoiwefi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I H-H-H-H-ATE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cried

Yes...I cried at the end of that stupid movie. It may have been due to the wine though. But 'Knocked Up' turned out to be a cute, entertaining movie.

I know, another picture of Mike Patton. Last night I had a dream that he was giving some sort of creativity talk at my old elementary school auditorium. Ron was with me and we were part of a small crowd that was asking questions and stuff. Ron kept urging me to ask something but I wouldn't budge 'cause I was all shy and embarrassed...probably due to the fact that I was wearing horribly tight shorts and had a muffin gut in the dream. I wish I could really meet the guy, dammit. Without all the rest of the whorefaced fans around. One day.

Unnatural obsession...I TELL YOU.


In other exciting news, we did indeed get rain in this desert over the weekend. Not piddly, but POUNDING...at times, anyway. Made for a cozy Saturday and a GORGEOUS Sunday. I spent the entire weekend at home, 'cept a walk here and there. We got even more done and the place is still coming together very nicely. Still.

Yes.





Indeed.





Life is grand.





*sigh*

OH yea...and speaking of whoreface... Remember this entry? Well I finally took the bitch off of my friends list, along with a bunch of other people I don't know. I really got tired of her bulletins about her tits and vagina and how beautiful and great she is. She never talked to me anymore either, so...GOOD BYE. Yea, good 'ol Myspace, makes you feel even MORE unpopular than you really are!

Okay, time to finish work so I can go home and enjoy Direct tv. We finally have tv again! JOY!

Ahhhh...it's Friday again

I'm so glad. It's almost time to go home... Now...do I want to jog like a good girl, or just skip it and go home? I've been good and have gone twice this week so far. I need my third day. I think I'll just do a mild one today, as I don't have much energy. Okay, I talked myself into it. Besides, it'll pass the time 'til the man gets home. GAWD I miss him. Dammit.

Plans for this weekend? Why, more cleaning and organizing, of course. Things are finally coming together. We've got the nice, new t.v. set up and can watch movies on it. Tuesday is the Direct TV peeps are coming out and we're gonna have more t.v. than we can possibly watch. Tonight I'm gonna go home and watch a movie on a subject that's very touchy for me... "Knocked Up" Let's see if I laugh or get pissed off, shall we? I remember hearing about the movie when it came out and thinking, "GAH! I don't wanna see that shit!" Well...of course I'm curious. It's by the same guy who did 40 year old virgin and Superbad and I was pretty damn entertained by those sooo...it might be a decent watch.

It's supposed to rain tonight. Will it? For more than, say, an hour? I know there were so many states affected by weird weather this year with floods and whatnot. In California it's just been DRYER than hell! We've gotten little piddly shit all year. We haven't had a real storm at all this year. I love the rain and weather in general, especially in the winter. As a native Californian I get so TIRED of constant sun. I know I'm spoiled though. One winter in Minnesota and I'd probably be begging to come back to our "boring" sunny days. Hah!

Well, another entry of nothing really interesting. I need to go get ready to run. Later!

Heart Warming

Well, nothing I feel like talking about today so I'll post a heart warming read from my advice column habit. Here's a lovely one from yesterday...

DEAR ABBY: I am writing to respond to "Grateful Mom" (July 13), the widow who, in her time of need, was invited by her son Neil and his partner to live with them despite having rejected Neil in the past because he is gay. I have a gay son, too, and I would not trade him for anyone. He is the most loving and caring son any parent could ever have. I consider myself very lucky.
When it was time for me to relocate, it was his partner who first approached me about moving across the state to be near them. My son helped me find a cute little house to buy. My two dogs and I are very happy.
I will not have grandchildren, but I do have granddogs and another wonderful son. I am blessed. -- ANOTHER GRATEFUL MOM IN FLORIDA

DEAR ANOTHER MOM: I am pleased that things are going so well for you. The responses to "Grateful Mom's" letter were heartwarming. They serve as a reminder that acceptance, love and recognition of the importance of family can triumph over intolerance and fear. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: I was touched that "Grateful Mom" was able to reconcile with her son and forge a wonderful relationship with him. My oldest brother was gay, and my parents welcomed his life partner into our family. We all have open minds and hearts about individuality.
I was saddened to read that "Grateful's" other children denied their mother a place in their homes. I took care of my mom in her final years, and although it was difficult for me to watch her health deteriorate, I was honored to be able to spend her last moments with her. I cherish those memories. -- CATHY IN RENO, NEV.

DEAR ABBY: I am the father of three boys, one of whom is gay. "Grateful Mom" had forgotten the most basic of things -- that your child is a part of you, and we must love, support and participate in our children's lives. This is what's missing in our society today, and it is causing all kinds of issues for the next generation. I love all my sons, and I am proud of them. I hope "Grateful" continues to enjoy her son and continues to share the lessons she is learning. -- PROUD DAD IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR ABBY: My mom came out to me and my brother about five years ago. She had been with men her whole life and, while we were shocked, we understood we could react in one of two ways. We could either accept her and her girlfriend, "Daphne," or disown her and have to explain to our children why they couldn't see their "nana." We decided to accept my mother for who she is and welcome Daphne into the family.
It was one of the best choices my brother and I ever made. Daphne loves my kids and can't wait to see them (she lives in Australia) later this year. My kids call her "Nana Daph." She is the best thing that ever happened to my mom, and I'm thankful she's in our lives.
I'm happy that "Grateful Mom" learned to accept and appreciate her son and his partner exactly the way they are. -- JENNIFER IN INDIANAPOLIS

DEAR ABBY: Thank you for recommending P-FLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to your readers. It is an organization that provides understanding and support to both gays and their families. I have a lesbian daughter who has brought me much joy and pride. I went to P-FLAG when she first came out, and it was the wisest thing I ever did for the two of us. -- BENITA IN SAN DIEGO

DEAR ABBY: "Grateful" said her two daughters and one of her sons "married well." Sounds to me like Neil is the one who married well. Her letter made me cry. If only the world could be half as tolerant as Neil and his partner, Ron. Because of their good hearts and generous spirits, even that intolerant mother was able to change. How hopeful! -- BERKELEY, CALIF., READER

***********************************************************************************

Awww, how 'tweet.

Settling in and all that shit

Hi. It's been another week here in lala land. And another great weekend, wherein we got tons of unpacking done and still managed to have some fun in between. Some highlights:

~We got a nice t.v. stand for our lovely new t.v. and will be able to get everything set up/installed (hopefully) by the end of this week. Ron did a fabulous job picking it out.

~Saturday was Ron's 20 year high school reunion. Now I know why I married him...I certainly do love the people from that generation...er...the generation that went to high school in the 80's, that is. This is probably due to my brothers being in that age bracket.

~We came home Saturday night and little Henry kitty was missing. Little bugger snuck out and after much worrying, crying (by me) and searching, the next morning I found him next door. Our lovely new neighbor had found him, fed him and kept him safe Saturday night. See...our stair cases look an awful lot alike. Hehe...thank goodness the pooper was kept safe 'cause we live in a hilly area with them thar coyotes.

~The boxes are diminishing. I managed to put almost all 500 of my CDs in alphabetical order in my CD stands. I need one more stand...

~I've decided to continue with my children's book illustration project. Met with the dude on Sunday and he got an agent to help us. Talking to her put my mind at ease...we're a lot further along than I thought. She is going to help us a lot when it comes to the organization of this thing. Plus, it's not fair of me to want to quit on someone who believes in me so much. He may be a big dreamer, but I believe this woman is going to help bring him down to earth and help me with my anxieties... Even though I'm not terribly enthused by the story (I just keep thinking it's been done before), it is something that I should finish. It's always good to finish what you start.

~FOOTBALL. How I love to tootle around the house with football on in the backround. It's not so much the game, but the nostaligia that surrounds the whole season. Football...a reason to drink beer, eat a variety of snack foods and be merry with friends/family/hubby. And don't forget those cute, tight little butts...HEAVENS no!

With that, I'm off to finish the day. It's time to get what I'm working on done so's I can git me some lunch! Toodle~LOOooooo!!!

Is it true?

Is there REALLY a 42" LCD HDTV with Direct TV sitting in our livingroom right now? Really? Do we really have a KING SIZED bed to sleep in? Wait, you're kidding...you mean we have an actual kitchen table to sit at while we eat??! Someone please pinch me. PLEASE! The comforts of home are slowly coming into focus. And shelves...WE HAVE SHELVES! Places to PUT things! We spent most of the weekend driving back and forth to Rons storage units to get some of his very useful furniture. We set up most of it and now we just have to put things away. Yea, I thought putting things away was the easy part. Not really. Not when you're tired... I haven't even put away my laundry from Thursday night. But things are coming together. I'm at a loss for energy lately and I think it's because I've slacked on exercise. Gonna go for a nice jog tonight, the first one in the last couple of weeks. Maybe it'll give me some energy to put more stuff away. Little by little. Pretty soon it'll be back to normal life. Yes, it's true. We have finally moved on...on to the next phase of life.

Darwinism

It's slowed down to a crawl these days, but seems to still be in effect:

"DEAR ABBY:

It happened again! Someone put pesticide in a water bottle. A 6-year-old child got ahold of it and drank about 2 ounces. He is now on a ventilator in a pediatric intensive care unit. Having made it that far, he'll probably be OK. Why do people keep doing this?

I can't tell you how many sad stories I've seen that start with using a sports bottle, a soft drink can or a milk bottle for temporary pesticide storage. I would like very much never to see another, but my chances are not good. It is my job to track health impacts from pesticide exposure in the state where I live -- where state law requires doctors to report such events to local health officers.

Please remind your readers to keep pesticides -- and other toxic products -- in their original, carefully labeled containers. Under no circumstances should people use food or drink containers for poisons, even momentarily. Please remind readers, too, not to use more pesticide than the instructions direct. The recommended amounts are effective, and using more just asks for trouble. Thank you, Abby. -- CONCERNED HEALTH WORKER IN THE USA"

Heaven forbid people read this and take heed. This guy has a point. I think the world is in serious need of a culling. If you are stupid enough to put POISONS IN PLAIN SIGHT OF YOUR CHILDREN, you don't deserve to have any surviving young.

That's all we did

All long weekend. Was move. It's so great to be back in that wonderful area! And our new KING SIZED BED was also delivered today! Oh the glory!!!! OH THE JOYYY!!! But oh the price we paid. Moving this past weekend had to be the most difficult thing I've done in a very long time. It was no less than 105 degrees on ALL THREE DAYS. Saturday we pulled off 12 hours of packing, moving and cleaning. Sunday and Monday we had to take longer breaks or the heat would've literally killed us. We got to take breaks in our AIR CONDITIONED apartment! No, not a shitty window unit that only cools about 1/4 of the place...a REAL one-and-a-half-ton air-conditioning unit sent straight down from the gods of cool. Finally, we get to live a bit more comfortably.

There's other news as well. You might not remember me saying that I was done with pets. Did I ever say that here? I don't feel like searching the archives, but I may have mentioned in an entry that in the effort to avoid becoming the crazy animal lady with the stank house, I would never get more than one cat. Ever.

Lemme tell ya...NEVER say never. Ever. Guess who went to the pet store two weeks ago to get crickets and came home with a new kitten? Just guess... Famous last words? I just couldn't resist. I know, so original huh. But he was all white, friendly, curious...just like Stan was as a kitten. I felt that he would get along with Stan very well and of course Stan needs a playmate. Yea. That's it. He's fat and he needs to run around. Uh-huh. I just had to, OKAY. His name is Henry and he is the cutest fucking thing in the world...besides Stan...and Pickles...and Punkin'...and Toby...and and and ...

Pictures to follow...someday soon, I hope.

MOOOoooooooving!

We're moooving, we're MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOviiiinngggg!!!! YAAAAY! I can't wait 'til we're in the new place! It's WONDERFUL!

Okay, that's it for now.

Cockatoo rights

After reading this, yet another heart wrenching story of neglect and self mutilation, I came across this passage written by the creator of mytoos.com. I have to say that I agree, wholeheartedly...



"I feel that this particular species should not be bred and sold. I feel that only institutions and zoos with the proper facilities should be allowed to own them. Private individuals with the means to supply huge aviaries should be licensed to keep them. As their habitat will surely one day disappear, that's still no reason for every Tom, Dick and Mary to own one. I would rather see them become extinct as to see them suffer for 75 years in a cage. And yes they WILL suffer, just as you would if placed in a prison, even a good one, for a lifetime. They will lose their owners to death.... or be abused or neglected... or shoved around to many homes... or just become a mere commodity that will wind up in a rescue somewhere. And even if they find a loving home, nothing less than free flight will free them mentally and emotionally. Again, these are INTELLIGENT, EMOTIONAL creatures unlike any other in the bird world. They are almost humans with wings, and I know a little about how that feels, and what it means to lose a big part of your life. Many of you cant understand this.


Look, I'm not someone who thinks animals have souls or natural "rights"(I don't agree with this one sentence). God himself gave us dominion over these animals, to care for and treat with compassion. We all must do what we think is right by them... but in our selfishness to "protect" them, we are really doing many of them more harm in the long run. They become prisoner companions at best."

Aaah

Happy Thursday. I'm doing much better today. It's hot this week, but I'm still up for a long jog after work. I've been in the mood to exercise a lot lately. I like how my shins don't feel like they're going to split anymore. Keeping it up for three days a week has really helped. I don't like to skip it anymore. Not to mention what it does for my mood... It's so true that exercise helps with depression.

Not doing anything on the moving front yet. I want to move so badly but am really not looking forward to the actual physical labor of moving...as can be expected. Been trying to get ahold of the damn landlord so that we can start getting some things done... We want to start taking stuff over there this coming weekend...only thing is, the landlord is out of town. He left me with the number of the other landlord, but she is not returning my calls. Of course this is making Ron all the more impatient because he's trying to get shit together. We've got refridgerators to move and get rid of, a kitchen table to pick up and couches to get rid of. Some pretty heavy duty shit that I'm really not looking forward to. Especially in this heat. It also seems like everything is in limbo again because of the move. Before it was, "Once the wedding is over..." and now it's, "Once we mooove..." AGH. I want to be DONE AND SETTLED already! I've been in a state of disruption forever! But it's going to be that way for a lot longer. We still have so much to do.

On that note, I'm done with work and outta here. BYE BYE!

Lump

I'm so bored I don't know what to write. Shouldn't be bored, lots to do. Can't wait to move, work is fine, life is fine. Nothing to update about, really. Had a great weekend with Ron and now it's time for another week alone. I'm hoping to hang out with the lady from work. She invited me over last week. Said we should hang out sometime. That'd be cool.

*sigh*

Uhhhh... I am just out of it. I wanna go home so badly. Can't. Gotta work. Gotta jog. Gotta go pooh.

Later.

Insane fan

Guess what??? I finally met Mike Patton!



HAHAHA! Yea right... The look on his face just screams, "Get this crazy bitch offa me!" Hehehehehe, first it was the scanner and now it's photoshop. It's insane what one can do with a powerful computer these days.

Simpsonize Me

HAH! It's me as a Simpson. Just go here and upload a picture of yourself. It's kind of a pain in the ass because it doesn't work about 5 times out of 10. Keep trying and it should eventually work. I did this at my brother's last night. It's just TOO silly. Look at that face!!! HAHAHA!!! I love the eyebrows, I must say. Teehee!

Toosdee

It be Toosdee. Blee blah blo. I am so... I don't know. Not able to concentrate? What else is new? I hafta do statements. I'm putting it off.

We had a great weekend. First of all, what IS it with bands that like to fuck with their fans? Just because you're a success doesn't mean you can just stand up on stage and basically pick your ass with a guitar string. Friday night I went to a Melvins concert with my brother. I was expecting some great punk. I think they played five chords the whole show. Fuckers didn't even stay on for an hour and NO ENCORE. What the fuck is THAT shit?! Assholes. It wasn't one of their better shows and unfortunately it was the first show of theirs that I'd seen. But I made it fun. I pushed myself all the way up to the front. Got flail my arms on the stage. I loved being squished and knocked around by a bunch of idiots. I was laughing hysterically as I bounced from one sweaty dork to the next. Ahhh...the lovely Troub. What a great place for a show. I love the intimacy. The band is like RIGHT THERE. Too bad they sucked this time.

Saturday was a hot, lazy day. I discovered little bruises on my thighs from the night before. Cool...battle scars. We managed to run a few errands in the morning and then spent the rest of the day lazing around. Sunday was the annual family beer bust. We had so much fun, especially Ron. He loves my big family because he comes from such a small one. It was a day of eating, drinking, beer pong and poker. I also smoked a lovely cigar. My brother Eric is part of a cigar club and I tried one of his stogies a few years back...mmmmm... Now I like to join the men and have a ceee-garrr at the family gatherings. Heh, Ron came by while I was gripping it in my teeth, trying to light it... He's all, "Yep, that's my wyyyfff!" All the while he's turning green.

This weekend can't be so lax. No...we really have to start getting serious about packing. I have to start putting things aside to bring to Good Will and such. I'm finally going to depart from the old pans, dishes and kitchen utensils that I took from my grandparents house when I first moved out on my own. I also have old blankets, comforters and towels to ditch. It's going to be so great starting out fresh! I tell you, knowing we're going to be moving has improved my overall mood so much!

I guess it's time to get on with my boring day. Fuck. I don't WANNA do statements! And then it's laundry day. AGAIN! Yea, I've put it off for another week. This morning I had no clothes to choose from. I'm almost going to have an underwear emergency. Unless I go shopping like I did last time I put off laundry. Ugh...

More phun with photoshop

I had to take a break and do this real quick... My brother had taken this picture of me rubbing my back on his door jamb. He was like, "Oh my God, it totally looks like you're taking a piss!" Welp, why not make it so?

An exercise in futility?

"Instead of writing in your blog, why don't you work on getting some digital art up?" I don't answer that it's SO MUCH easier to babble in a blog. No, instead I answer, "Yea, I should." Because I KNOW I should. But I don't. I imagine that I will be more into the art thing once we move. That's it. I'll do it when we moooooooooooove. That's the proper way to put things off, isn't it? Mmmm-hmmm, I know ALL about putting things off. It's my specialty. With that, welcome to another episode of, "I should be working, but my thoughts got in the way."

A shout out to the lovely Cathie for her continued support and to the newly confirmed lurker, Emily for coming out of the shadows. Hey girls! Thanks for saying hello. I will not whine any further. For now.

It's another entry of in between tasks. I started this about an hour ago. I should talk about something, huh. OH! The weekend! It was nice. Verr' verr' niiiiice. It was also gorgeful. That's my new word for stuffing yourself all weekend. Saturday was Ron's graduation ceremony that involved a scrumptious dinner of a big slab 'o beef, veggies and mashed potatoes with strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Luciousness. Then came Sunday with its glorious marinated, barbequed shrimp. Ron and I made FOUR POUNDS of shrimp and we, along with my brother and our friend Bam, eatithed it alluth. Peeling and de-pooping four pounds of shrimp is a big, smelly ordeal. Yea, the prep was a huge undertaking, but so worth it. And the marinade Ron put together! A coupla bottles of Italian dressing, some hot sauce, lemon juice...who knew it could be so amazing. When that man cooks, he COoOoOooks!

What else is new? One of my big fish died over the weekend. *sigh* A moment of silence for Eddie, the clown loach. Loaches are my favorite, dammit! Now poor Mike is left without a buddy to join him in aimlessly paddling up and down the walls of the tank. I will have to buy a replacement when we move. I am not taking on anything else in the weeks to come...I need to start concentrating on packing. Oh yea, moving...you hafta pack your shit before you can move it. At least I'm an expert at moving fish tanks now. I've got the 5 gallon bottles and the cooler all ready!

M'kay, this is becoming a bit TOO distracting now. I think I'll go put my full attention to the afternoons tasks. I must get these things done.

Another weekend

Hello. I'm settled with the fact that I have no regular readers of my boring life. That's not a problem, usually. Until I'm feeling lonely, that is. Then it becomes shitty. I'm so glad it's the weekend and I'll be able to spend some time with Ron. I always miss him so much by the time Friday rolls around. I've been feeling a little more isolated than usual lately. It's always the same...I don't want to go OUT and meet people, I just want them to come to me. Where are you? Come entertain me, I'm bored. I need something to distract me while I work.

So...I'm looking forward to Ron's graduation tomorrow night. I'm also looking forward to giving him his gift. He's been wanting an MP3 player for quite some time now and I got him one. Now he can block out all the idiots he works with. I guess there's going to be a nice ceremony and dinner. Woopie.

Sunday is a BBQ with my brother and another of Ron's friends. We're gonna make some butterfly shrimp, too! Ron's got a new recipe he wants to try out. It's probably going to be yet another day of overindulgence, so I've gotta get some jogging in today. I think I'm gonna go for a swim as well.

Well, happy Friday. I'm off to get something accomplished.

Flying

Shit! It's been a week already?! I guess it's time for an update. I just got in and I'm organizing my day. May as well stick an entry into my morning. This is probably going to take me about three hours to write, as I'm working in between. Like right now, I'm gonna put a pause on this and go up to get my coffee. Then I have to go over some things with the boss before she leaves for some meetings.

Okay, back to the desk... *sip* SO. It's been a fast, but good week. The biggest news is that Ron and I have found an apartment! WOOOOOOOooooHOOOOooooooo!!!! It's actually in my old building where I had my first apartment. I'm renting the back house from the same landlord and he called me up one day last week to tell me a place was available. I'd asked him a few months ago if there was anything in his area and to try to keep an eye out for me. I love the area, it's about 15 miles north of where we live now, in shitsville. A little bit further of a drive to work, but it's so worth it. We checked it out last week, it's a large one bedroom. Only $300 more than what we're paying now, for a lot more room and closet space. Enough room for two full grown adults. Think of that... It's got a walk-in closet in the bedroom, central air/heat and a DISHWASHER! Joy... Ah, but moving is going to be such a BITCH. We've got tons of things to organize and throw out. Two words...STORAGE UNITS. Ron's got two of them. But it's gonna be like Christmas in July! I'm sure he's going to rediscover things he forgot about years ago. This is going to be a nice, new beginning for us and I'm looking so forward to it...as you can imagine after all of my constant bitching about wanting to leave the craphouse I live in now. Even though it's going to be stressful, it's going to be a fun kind of stress.

In other haps, my cousin Mark (the one who introduced Ron and I) married his longtime girlfriend this past Sunday. Finally. They've been together 13 fucking years. Yep, two months ago he called Ron up and said they'd decided to up and do it. Hmmm...so I guess he just needed a kick in the ass from his best friend. It was a nice, budget wedding. Simple and lovely. We had a great time and saw quite a few of the same people who'd graced our wedding. And the food was so very good. You know what I love about salad bars? You can start out with a teeny pile of lettuce and still end up with a gargantuan salad. I love baby corn.

Yea.

Well let's see...I guess that's it for now. At least I'm in a good mood this week. Let's keep it up, shall we? I actually have to concetrate now. Work is calling. I'd like to get some things done today. I mean, DONE done. Have I mentioned how much I love working with my boss lately? She's RAD. I'm so happy she came back.

Later!

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, huh...

So the four-hundred-and-FIRST entry is much more interesting (well, to me anyway) than its predecessor. I stumbled across this article on msn this morning and found it quite interesting... This makes so much sense to me. Maybe I CAN deal with my anxiety disorder and its resulting depression on my own...someday. Thanks there, lil 'ol Hara Estroff Marano...

Q: What is the best way to deal with depression and anxiety?

A: Quickly and definitively. Whatever kicks them off, depression and anxiety both are maintained by styles of thinking that magnify the initial insult and alter the workings of the brain in such a way that the longer an episode exists, the less it takes to set off future episodes.

Anxiety and depression are probably two faces of the same coin. Surveys have long shown that 60 percent to 70 percent of people with major depression also have an anxiety disorder, and half of those suffering anxiety also exhibit clinical depression symptoms.

The stress response system is overactive in both disorders. Excess activity of the stress response system sends emotional centers of the brain into overdrive so that negative events make a disproportionate impact and hijack rational response systems. You literally can’t think straight. You ruminate over and over about the difficulties and disappointments you encounter until that’s all you can focus on. (YES! THAT'S HOW IT FEELS!!!)

Researchers believe that some people react with anxiety to stressful life events, seeing danger lurking ahead everywhere—in applying for a job, asking for a favor, asking for a date. And some go beyond anxiety to become depressed, a kind of shutdown in response to anticipated danger. People who have either condition typically overestimate the risk in a situation and underestimate their own resources for coping. (OH MAN am I guilty of this!)

Rather than developing the skills to handle situations that make them uncomfortable, sufferers merely avoid what they fear. (Uh-huh *cough* art career *cough*) Often enough, a lack of social skills is at the root. Some types of anxiety—panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social phobia—are particularly associated with depression.

The fact that anxiety usually precedes the development of depression presents a huge opportunity for the prevention of depression. Young people especially are not likely to outgrow anxiety on their own; they need to be taught specific mental skills.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) gets at response patterns central to both conditions. And the drugs most commonly used against depression have also been proven effective against an array of anxiety disorders.

Although medication and CBT are equally effective in reducing anxiety/depression, CBT is better at preventing return of the disorder. Patients like it better, too, because it allows them to feel responsible for their own success. (That would be nice.) What’s more, the active coping that CBT encourages creates new brain circuits that circumvent the dysfunctional response pathways.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches people to monitor the environment for the troubling emotional land mines that seem to set them off. That actually changes metabolic activity in the cortex, the thinking brain, to modulate mood states. It works from the top down. Drugs, by contrast, work from the bottom up, modulating neurotransmitters in the brainstem, which drive basic emotional behaviors.

Treatment with CBT averages 12 to 15 weeks, and patients can expect to see significant improvement by six weeks. Drug therapy is typically recommended for months, if not years.
Exercise is an important adjunct to any therapy. (Uh-huh...YES) Exercise directly alters levels of neurohormones involved in circuits of emotion. It calms the hyperactivity of the nervous system and improves function of the brain's emotion-sensing network. It also improves the ability of the body to tolerate stress. What’s more, it reduces negative thinking and changes people’s perception of themselves, providing a sense of personal mastery and positive self-regard.

Hmmmm...

HOW many??

Wow, apparently this is my 400th post. Amazing. I didn't know I had it in me. I had no idea I could spew so much bullshit into cyberspace. Ah, but here I am. Wasting time... Well, it's more like waking up. I'm having the most difficult time waking up this morning. Got into work, got a few things organized, made coffee...now I'm trying to start my first project of the day and decided to write a blog entry instead. Even though I have nothing to talk about. I read other blogs that talk about politics, pertinent issues of the time, news, amazing life events or just plain great humor. What do I have? Hmmm... "Today I'm gonna go jogging." "Today I'm gonna do laundry." "That bitch hurt my feelings." "Look at my stupid doodles." Fascinating, I know.

Actually, I DO have some news. I'm so proud of Ron. In a few weeks he's going to be graduating. He has completed his four year electricians apprenticeship program! He's been working very hard and it's finally going to start paying off for him. The actual ceremony is on July 21st. I want to do something special for him, but I'm not quite sure what that is yet. I wanna surprise him... Muh lil' kewdie. I hope this means that someday soon, maybe in the next year or so, he'll be able to start working days. I'm SO TIRED of this schedule of his. Now that the schooling is over, he's going to be working late every night during the week. He used to have class on Wednesdays and get home a little early... Now it's FIVE nights of lonliness. Just more time for me to find things to do. There's plenty to do.

Hmmm...what else? Gawd, I feel so blah. I shouldn't write entries when I'm feeling so terribly blah. I think that means I should get back to work. The coffee's kickin' in. I gotta pee. Maybe I'll be back later to write about my navel.

Red, white and poo

Happy day after July 4th. It sucks the holiday had to land right smack in the middle of the week. I would have enjoyed another long weekend. The day was nice, although hot. Welcome to another blistering summer. Maybe we'll get lucky and move into a place with central air conditioning. We had the little window unit pumping away yesterday so my brother, mister-runs-hot-and-starts-to-sweat-when-the-temp-gets-above-65, would be comfortable when he came over to give us our wedding gift...a new BBQ! He came over and put it together so that we could have our holiday BBQ on it. It was a nice time and my brother and Ron got some time to do a little male bonding. Awww... No, we didn't go see fireworks. Too many people, not enough patience.

Nothing much else going on this week. Finally managed to do laundry on MONDAY. Yes, I put it off for the rest of last week and through the weekend before I just did the shit. Oh the piles and piles I had to put away yesterday. I'm feeling better emotionally, but physically not so well. I think I might be coming down with a summer cold. Not a good idea to sit too long in front of the freezing air conditioner. I fell asleep with it blasting last night and woke up in the middle of the night freezing. This morning I was feeling okay, but as the day goes on I'm getting snifflier and snifflier. I've also got a blasted headache. OUCH. The work I'm doing today isn't helping, either. I've had to re-size about a jillion pictures for our website. UGH. sOoOoOoOo tEeEeEeEeEedius. I'm about ready to go home now...an hour early. That would be nice. I shall go home and rest. I've been so lazy in terms of exercise this week. I'd been doing so well but with this heat I haven't had energy at all! And dnow I tink I'mb geddin-guh SICK. WHAHH!!!

Well that's all for another exciting entry. Back to re-sizing a few more pics until my eyeballs DO fall out of my head.

Later.

Well, the days go by

And I still feel kinda shitty. Today is feeling better than yesterday, at least. Not quite so down. I swear, I had absolutely NO energy yesterday. My jog was pathetic. I could barely keep up the pace. Then I went home and just crashed. Maybe it had something to do with getting my blood drawn yesterday morning. I figured it was about time to check on the status of things. I should check on my cholesterol and such, just to be on the safe side. I also went to the doctor to check on my meds. The mood swings have not been settling down and I've been very hard on myself and others...*cough* Ron *cough* So I'm gonna go ahead and up them for the next few months. I figure, what the hell, why be miserable if I don't have to be?

Speaking of miserable, today is laundry day again. Oh joyous of joys. I can't possibly put it off another day. *sigh* The boring monotany that is day to day life. I hate chores. Ah, but I should count myself lucky that I'm even alive another day to do chores. I should be happy that I HAVE chores. Right? I guess I'd rather have monotany than total turmoil. Wasn't that ME complaining a few months ago about how everything was so INSANE? Now that it's calmed down I find myself restless again.

Everything is going to be fine. AAAAAAAaaaand repeat...

Wow, I haven't posted on a Sunday in ages. Here are some of my favorite drawings. Most have been posted at one time or another. One is new, found an old sketch book. Anyway, it's been somewhat of a stormy weekend in terms of mood. It's been kinda sad.

In conclusion...

Yep, still in the birdy mood. I found some lllloverly parrot pics yesterday... Lookit tha perdy scarlet macaws! I love it when they're all fluffy on the perch like that. Just relaxin' away, they is. AWWWwww!!!

Thought about my lil' 'ol situation with the friend last night. Like I said, we have been living different lives for a long time now. She has got a lot on her plate and I have to accept that. If she can't hang out when she visits, that's her choice. I have to give her room and not get all pissy and whiney because it's such a waste of energy. I swear, I could light a medium city for three months with the amount of energy I waste on all these emotions!

Now for the self pep talk...

This anger toward my friend is caused by one simple thing... Insecurity. I keep thinking she's mad at me, or I did something terribly wrong. There is nothing wrong. Let it go. And the stupid letter I wrote to whoreface the other day... I hate that I still have such insecurity that causes such terrible jealousy. What the fuck do I care if she doesn't talk to me any more? It's gone on long enough. It's HER loss, not mine. Again, she's a totally different person than I am. I am not a dork or stupid... Who fucking CARES! Heh, yea Zen... Don't let 'em rent space in my head!