Moving

Eventually, this blog will close down and I will only be writing at:

All My Children Meow and Woof.

Although I write about my Irish Wolfhound's "bout" with bone cancer there, I will expand my topics.

I need to figure out how to move my posts and archives from this blog to the other. We will see what happens!

Thanks.

General Note to Self

When I am in charge of something or someone other than the pens on my desk, remember, do not be a complete fuckwad to people who work with me just because I am a stress case. Even if I am a gem 99% of the time.

Technically Inept Scientist

Good Lord. I just sent my husband, a scientist mind you, to check the laundry in the dryer. When he went downstairs, the dryer was still running. He came back upstairs.

Prof. H: "The dryer is still running. You did not give me the proper information. Do I look at the dial or do I make a judgment call to determine the clothes are dry?"

Me: "Check the dial to see if it is almost done."

Prof. H: "What does almost done mean? I need a figure. Ten minutes? Five minutes?"

Me: "Uhhhh. Five or ten, I guess. Feel the clothes to see if they are dry."

Prof. H: "Right. Thanks."

He comes back up.

Me: "Did you put the wash in the dryer?

Prof. H: "I forgot. How do I get it from the washer to the dryer? Do I put the clothes in the basket?"

Me: "Usually that's how it works."


He has an instrument in his laboratory that he built and does fancy experiments on it. Please don't ask me what because it is WAY to complicated. Let's just say it combines physics and chemistry. He replaced all the windows in our house. He can replace the brakes on our car, repair the roof, and clean a bathroom like nobody's business. I sweeps, mops, and organizes. He keeps the lawn cut and tidy.

And yet, he cannot figure out the dryer AND he does not know how program the DVD. Science geeks will never cease to amaze me.

Project 365

Mmmm.. Snow. Tastes like chicken.

Also Known As

Because I have been in a depressed, foul, nasty mood for the last few weeks, I decided to give myself a new "name". I admit I watch Grey's Anatomy (it's cheesy, soap opera-like, SO WHAT!?) and my inspiration for this name comes from there:

Attorney McBitchy

That should explain it all.

Senator McCain Texting

During the CBS broadcast of the State of the Union, the camera would focus on a Senator or Representative during the speech. At some point, I swear to Mr. Stinny that it looked like Senator McCain was sending a text message. What on earth would he write? Here are some of my thoughts. I had to look up text abbreviations b/c well, I am not a 15 year old who spends her day texting to her BFF's:

While listening to Bush's suggestions on tax breaks for health insurance:

Prez iz a tul if he thinx it can wrk. FUBAR.

When Speaker of the House is introduced:

Sheez 2 kul 4 skul. LMAO

After 45 minutes into the address:

Dudez taking 4EAE. Meet @ 7-11 4 some Colt 40z.

On the war in Iraq:

IIABDFI. :-----) ROFL!!

Definitions for those like me who having no idea about the abbreviations

FUBAR = Fucked up beyond all recognition

4EAE = For ever and ever

IIABDFI = If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

:-----) = Long nosed liar.

Project 365

Profiling Shrimpycat.

Project 365

Whiskers, Paws, and Fur

Finnegan the 3 Legged Irish Wolfhound

Please forgive my voice and jerky filming.

Run Finnegan Run!

I will post Finnegan's great movie premiere up above. I am NOT tech savvy so I apologize for the jerky filming, my voice, etc. etc...

It's called: Three-Legged Irish Wolfhound Running in the Snow for Make Benefit of Most Glorious Medical Bills- oh wait, Sacha Baron Cohen already took that title...

It's Official - I'm Supporting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

I've joined Team Hillary. When I finished graduate school, I told myself that when the 2008 Presidential elections rolled around, I would join a campaign. At that point, I was pretty sure I would support Hillary Rodham Clinton. After Barrack Obama announced his candidacy, I began to have second thoughts about who I would support. Like many other democrats, his speech at the Democrat National Convention inspired me. His ideas were inspiring and his enthusiasm was contagious. Certainly, if Senator Rodham Clinton does not win the democratic primaries, I will support the democratic candidate. For now, Hillary is my candidate of choice because I believe she has the intelligence, experience, and vision to pull this country out of is downward spiral and back to a place where I can be proud to say I am from the United States of America.

[insert cheesy patriotic music and cheering here]

Project 365

Keeping Up with Boilermaker's

I think my neighbors are attempting to keep up with the Boilermaker's:

On Thursday morning, Prof. H. and I were heading out to work when our neighbor opened her window and shouted: "Hey Guys! Can I ask you a question?"

Prof. H. and I looked at each other and responded: "Sure?"

"The girls' ride forgot to pick them up today. Would you mind driving them to school?"

"Uh, sure."

Some background information: the girls are two elementary aged kids who are just fine. My neighbor is their grandmother. Her daughter and the mother of the girls is "The Breeder" as we affectionately call her. For some reason, the girls live with grandmother most of the time. I have a few guesses why but I won't elaborate. WT Grandma (WT = White Trash) has some issues of her very very own.

A few questions:

1. Why couldn't WT Grandma drive them? (car repossessed? taking care of delinquent step-son's out-of-wedlock baby too?)
2. Wouldn't the appropriate question to us would be: "Can I ask you a favor?"

Reason # 473 why I want to move.

I thought it felt hot in here...

Martin Luther King III

Last night, Prof. H. and I went to hear MLK III speak at PSU Erie, The Behrend College. I decided to underline "the" because while I waiting for MLK III to begin his speech, I kept staring at the college's name in huge letters behind the stage and wonder what the point of the "the" was. For some reason, it bugs me. If PSU Erie, The Behrend College decides they want my very valuable opinion, I will tell them to lose the "the". By the way, I enjoy writing "the 'the'". It brings joy to my unexciting life.

And no, that was not the only wisdom I took away from his talk. Generally, I thought he made a lot of great points about the Iraq War, racism, violence, and several other social critiques of our society. I was moderately disappointed with the parts where he quoted his father because he did not have quite the same passion as when he spoke off the cuff.

One small aspect of his speech that left me thinking was about public education. He did not delve too deep into this subject other than to say public schools need much more money, children need young adults to be role models and mentors, and being "ignant" ain't cool. That brings me to some unorganized and random thoughts about how some folks refuse to send their children to public schools.

Eventually, Prof. H. and I will begin to populate the earth with our very own socially twisted offspring. We have had numerous heated discussions about public school versus private and the merits of sending children to public schools. Both of us attended public schools. I went to a small, suburban, homogenous school where 81% of my graduating class when to college. Prof. H. went to a large diverse high school outside of an urban area with a smaller percentage attending college. We both attended college and obtained graduate degrees. Certainly, our lowly public school educations did not do us wrong.

I find that here, many folks are disenchanted with the city's public schools and would rather fork out the big bucks to send their children to parochial schools. Certainly there are some schools within the city limits that are lacking in resources and have overpopulated classrooms. I have reviewed some of the reports on the schools' quality and it does not appear that they are all categorically failing. In fact, some of the schools seem to be meeting or exceeding state standards. Others have put in unique programs such as an environmental curriculum to broaden the students horizons, so to speak.

Now I might be overreaching and I do not mean to categorize all parents who send their children to parochial schools. I do think that some people might be afraid to send their children to public schools with students who are economically disadvantaged. That is unfortunate. Just because someone does not have the same material advantages does not mean the person is any less motivated or intellegent or interesting. Look at Prof. H. and me. I grew up in a relatively homogenous affluent community with married parents and a stay-at-home mother, and I went to college and graduate school. Prof. H. grew up with divorced parents in an economically disadvantaged household and he went to college and graduate school. Perhaps I am simplifying things. Obviously, we are not the ideal model and perhaps we are unique in our circumstances. I do think if more parents who are better off financially sent their children to public schools, the schools would get the attention they need and there would be less of a stigma from attending a public school.

Of course, let's wait and see what happens when we have children and send them to school. I hope not but I might just eat my words.

Cool Website, Good Cause

While perusing the internet, i.e. not working, I came across this cool website called Crafters for Critters. On the site they have different craft goods such as jewelry, clothing, and other fun stuff that are handmade. A certain percentage of the proceeds goes to animal organizations. If you are looking for a cool little gift for someone or yourself, I suggest checking this site out! The picture is from their Info page.

[Cross posted from Finnegan's Osteosarcoma Ordeal]

Warning: The Following Post WILL Contain Strong Language

Dear Dumbass Who Almost Ran Over My Husband,

Watch the fuck where you are driving. Backing up at top speed from your driveway, across West 32nd Street and into a cross street is an extremely dumb ass move. Especially when you fail to look behind you by either turning your head to look behind you or by using one of three mirrors put in your car so that you can, oh guess what? Look the fuck behind you. I realize we are pedestrians and we do have a duty to watch where we are going but we are not god damn mind readers. We always pause and look both ways. However, we do not anticipate this exceptionally brilliant vehicular maneuver of flying like a bat out of hell from your driveway to only stop on the side street for your own very special reason.

And yes, I did respond maturely by giving you the finger under my mitten.

With Love,

A Pissed Off Runner

Chill Out Dude, It's the Coop

I realize 15 percent off day is a very exciting event at the local Coop. To briefly explain, those who are members receive 15% off all purchases on the 15th day of the month. I admit, I love seeing my grand total drop $20.00, and on big spending days, gulp, even $40.00.

Because of this huge discount, everyone and her cousin is at the store buying all their organic goodies. And because the store is smallish for a grocery store, it tends to be crowded, and shopping carts and folks get in the way. It's par for the course. No big whoop. Usually, everyone is friendly and understands the small hassle of shopping in this crowded vegetarian oasis.

But not today. As I was weighing my bulk foods at the scale, a very pushy woman plopped her goods on the scale while I was in the process of putting one weighed bag into my cart and bringing the other on the scale. Clearly, I was standing in front of the scale. When I gave her an inquisitive look, she said in what I thought was a snotty voice, "I did not realize you were still using the scale. I thought you were just standing in front of it."

Well if I was, couldn't you wait the five seconds it would take for me to get out of the way? Are you in that much of a hurry? I have attached a really sophisticated diagram using Microsoft Paint to demonstrate our positions. Of course I editorialized. Honestly, it made me feel like I was in elementary school again.

Next time this happens I am going to shout: "NO CUTSIES YOU BIG MEANIE ROCKETHEAD!"

That will show 'em.

Updated What Else I Want to Do When I Eventually Grow Up

As I sit here in my office, painfully bored and struck by how mundane my job is, I realized there are so many other things I want to do professionally. I think it might be due to my ADD tendancies but sitting on at a desk for hours at a time is really not for me. So, here is an addition to my potential career moves, some realistic, some idealistic:

1. Boutique owner where I sell funky clothes, jewelry and shoes, and have a small dog or cat (not necessary small) roaming the store;
2. Doggy daycare owner where I never ever ever need to wear a suit or dress up and jeans are mandatory (sort of conflicts with #1);
3. Artist because I find most relaxation and satisfaction when pursuing creative endeavors (and hell, I might as well put my studio art B.A. to use);
4. Editor at a publishing company or journal or magazine where I work at home (although this blog might not exemplify my keen eye for editing, I enjoy reviewing other writers' work and using my red pen); and
5. Have an alpaca farm and an organic vegetable farm.

*Sigh*

Sad but True

The other female spouses in Prof. H's department and I are referred to as:

The [insert Prof. H's field of study here] Wives.

We are called that because first, we do "outings" together (read eat and consume alcohol) and (b), I think I live in Leave It to Beaver Land. I am not sure how I feel about this. I have been called worse. If we must have a name for us, I think we need cool jackets like the Pink Ladies or we should have our very own gang signal to flash.

Any Moment Now...

The newest member of my technology family is arriving today!! It joins Prof. H's adorable iPod Nano. My iPod Mini looks like a monster next to it. I cannot wait to get my hands on my shiny new camera so perhaps I can start participating in Project 365. My six year old digital camera and my cell phone camera just do not cut it anymore.

Regifting Jesus

Happy Birthday!

Today is Prof. H's birthday! Because he does not like parties or attention, we are meeting friends at a swank martini lounge for imbibing tonight. Unfortunately, the smoking ban is not in effect so I will still return home smelling foul. I believe I picked a martini bar with the least amount of smoke.

When going out for an evening, I find it so difficult to select something to wear. I hate dressing up too much but I also don't want to look like a huge slob. My latest fashion venture is red lipstick. Because I am fair skinned with dark hair, it looks half-way decent. Another pain in the arse is the size of my arse. My eating and exercise habits were fabulous before the holidays and then... POOF! 8 pounds. Back to running, back to eating better, yada yada yada.

Now, back to the birthday boy. Tomorrow, I am taking Prof. H. to a spa for a couples massage and vichy scrub. What a good wife am I.

Would You Stay Here? Or, the Best Guest Reviews EVER!!!!!!

Prof. H and I are going for a quick trip in order for him to meet with a person with whom he is collaborating. He has traveled to this place before and stayed at a motel that he felt was suitable. After all, it had HBO! I had my suspicions about the amenities of this establishment and suggested a different location. While Prof. H searched for a more suitable hotel, he came across guest reviews of this lovely [sarcasm] motel. Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up:

Guest review #1: Old, dirty facility - carpets needed vacuuming - bathroom wasn't clean, shower didn't work - won't stay again, don't recommend

Yes, it is unpleasant to have dirty carpets. Certainly, it is pretty foul to use a dirty motel bathroom. But showers not working and you won't return to this classy establishment? Picky picky picky.

Guest review # 2: Disgusting room with debris and black carpet stains, gray bed sheets and an overpowering disinfectant odor - gross bath with dirty corners, dead bugs in light fixtures, threadbare towels and a painted toilet seat - definitely not recommended

All this review needs is: "chalk outline of human body next to black carpet stains made me uncomfortable". At least this person found dead bugs in the lights and not a dead person in the closet. Whiner. What kind of debris is found in a motel room?

Guest review # 3: Room furniture not as advertised - no easy chair and no table
with chairs in any of our 4 rooms

And if the carpet is like the one above, I would not be sitting on the floor.

Guest review # 4: Nothing fancy, but nice - close to heart of town, university, and grocery - affordable - room had fridge and microwave - bathroom fixtures were worn

This person must have had the Presidential Suite.

Guest review # 5: Uncomfortable place - no dead bolt lock or key card system, so our room felt unsafe - bath toiletries were in cheap packets, towels were tiny, and the toilet wobbled - desk person was barefooted and difficult to talk to - we left immediately

I still cannot stop laughing about the barefooted desk person. Classic.

Learnin's from the Holidays

I thought I was original but hell, I am not. Emma wrote about three things she learned about at her family gathering. Initially, I contemplated making a list of things I loved about the holiday and three things I hated about the holiday but that seemed too negative. One of my fake resolutions is to try to not be so negative (I deliberately wrote "not be so negative" because I don't really want to become Ms. Positive). And to watch my new favorite show Weeds as much as possible. I love Mary Louise Parker.

Because I love lists, here are some Learnin's:

1. I love my family a lot and wish we all lived closer to each other;
2. I dislike petty family arguments;
3. Eating is a competitive sport;
4. "She" will always be a bitch;
5. Keeping one's house at 61 degrees in the winter is NOT comfortable;
6. Parking in Boston is a nightmare;
7. Seeing a friend I have not seen in ten year is fantastic;
8. Meeting our friends' seven day old baby felt amazing;
9. My parents are as adorable as everyone says;
10. It is better to let the little things go rather than give an opinion or be bossy;
11. Death is sudden and unexpected;
12. Seeing my aunt five days before she unexpectedly died made her passing a little easier;
13. I wish I could travel with all my animal children during the holidays because they really are my family;
14. A hybrid car would be awesome for traveling 1,000 plus miles round trip;
15. It is impossible (for me) not to contract some virus while traveling;
16. I actually like my in-laws;
17. This town needs an Indian restaurant; AND
18. Last, but certainly not least, this town and Prof. H and my house now feels like home.

Happy New Year.