Due to an internal miscommunication at Dale’s hosting facility, our T1 service was cancelled and removed yesterday. After spending a day trying to find out the exact problem and who was responsible, Dale received proffuse apologies and a promise that our line would be back up in 2 or 3 days. We have no idea why they can take down a line in a matter of hours, but needs days to get it back up, but there isn’t much we can do about it.

In the meantime, Dale’s working from home using a dial-up connection and his laptop, and I am just S.O.L. (He’s preoccupied with something else at the moment, which is why I’ve been able to sneak on to post this.)

Sooo…. I’ll be digitally incommunicado until the end of the week. If you really need to get in contact with me, you’ve got my number or know who to get it from. Otherwise, just send me an email, and I’ll get it eventually.

“Sometimes we have to hurt the ones we love.”

99 days ’til Halloween!

Puppy-motherhood hit a low last night and this morning. I mistakenly let Zoë sleep for a couple of hours before *I* wanted to go to bed. So when I woke her to put her outside one last time for the night, she got wound up, and the last thing she wanted was to be kenneled in the kitchen. She barked and cried and whined for about 20 min, then stopped as she had before. Except this time she stopped ’cause she’d gotten out of the kitchen. She came sauntering into the bedroom, scaring the cats.

I took her back to the kitchen and saw that both baby gates were still in place. I put her back inside the pen, walked mostly around the corner, and saw her start to climb the gate. Clearly, the 2 small gates and the kitchen weren’t going to work anymore.

I took one gate and placed it in front of the downstairs guest bathroom. Got her bed and toys and her, and put them in the bathroom. Then while she got frantic and cried, I placed the second gate above the first, making a barrier she couldn’t climb. (Though she might figure out she’s strong enough to just knock down the gates.) I went back to bed, and she started crying again. I toughed it out for about 30 minutes, but she wasn’t letting up, so I got up and went upstairs to check out peteducation.com’s tips on how to deal with attention barking. Unfortunately, the only real solution is the most frustrating, and that’s just ignoring her.

Zoë tired herself out while I was upstairs, and I know she can sleep like a log, so I quietly crept back downstairs and went to bed. As soon as I’d settled down, she started barking again. I think that two hours passed from the time I first went to bed and the time I was finally able to sleep, which was near 2 am.

Every other morning, Zoë has slept or stayed quiet until I’ve gotten up to let her out of the kitchen. That’s been between 8:30-8:45. This morning, she started the barking/crying again, at 6:30 am. I tried to ignore it. I even shut the bedroom door, but that barely muffled the noise. After about 15 minutes, Dale got up, grabbed his pillow, and said, “I’m going to sleep upstairs!”

Then he yelled, “Shut up!” at Zoë as he went past the guest bath, which only encouraged her.

I got up, grabbed my robe, and went into the guest bedroom upstairs. I told Dale that he’s NOT to yell at the dog when she’s barking. He’s just got to ignore her. He groused at me, then I left to take care of my other big baby.

I stood outside the barriers and Zoë went spastic. When she’d quiet down, I’d say, “hush,” and she’d start barking again. We went through a couple of rounds of this, then I took down the top barrier. Zoë stopped her barking, though she kept whining, and proceeded to put her energy into trying to climb over the gate. I’d push her back down and try to get her to sit. Finally, she calmed down enough to satisfy my tired self, so I let her out of the bathroom and took her outside.

She took care of business quickly, so I brought her upstairs, placing one of the baby gates (sigh) at the top of the stairs to keep her up here. Almost immediately, she hopped onto the couch and curled up, so I laid down next to her. We both fell asleep rather quickly and stayed that way until the phone rang around 8:30.

It’s nearly an hour later, and I’m still awake, but Zoë, the little brat, is still snoozing away on the couch. Ahhh, puppies!

…will probably be called Zoë from here on out.

…slept through the night without problem and didn’t get up until *I* woke her to let her out.

…discovered the litterbox buffet this morning.

…is stealing the cat toys out of the bin in the game room.

…is so cute and sweet, I’d gag if I weren’t so in love!

In puppy love!

(click to see some more photos)

She’s been sleeping in my lap for the last half hour.

True Porn Clerk Stories is just what the titles says it is. Ali Davis is a comedian who also spends some time working as a clerk in a video store, one with a porn section. (You know this ain’t Blockbuster.) She’s written some great stories about her job that include observations on types of customers, internal debates as to how jaded she’s become , how do deal with customers who return sticky tapes, and how much she enjoys torturing her early morning customers by playing Aqua at 7 am.

Though Ali’s writing is mostly humorous, she does bring up some of the darker (and more disgusting) aspects of porn. Her language is frank and explicit. Therefore, her journal may not be considered work-safe for everyone, but it’s definitely worth reading after you get home.

This is about how I’m feeling right now.

This afternoon, I pulled a muscle in my back, near my left shoulder blade, trying to lift a container of water so I could top off Dale’s tank. This involves lifting a plastic ‘gas can’ about 5 ft up to pour water over the top edge. The container can hold 6.5 gallons, so it could weigh up to 52 lbs when full. And this time it was full.

I have lifted the container before when it’s full, but I usually lift it to one of the stools in front of the tank, then prop one foot on the stool, lift the tank onto my bent knee, and then heave it up from there. It’s not easy, but it’s manageable.

But stupid me, this time I was too lazy to pull the stool closer to the tank and instead tried to heave the thing all the way up from the floor. I was able to get the spigot over the lip of the tank, but it slipped just as I started to pour, and I sloshed about a gallon of water over the front of the tank, myself, and the floor before I was able to right the container and set it down hastily. THEN I decided I should use the stool to give myself a boost, and I topped off the tank successfully. But some time while I was juggling the 50lb container of water, I pulled a muscle.

It didn’t hurt bad, just felt like a fingertip-sized knot. But about 15 minutes later while I was driving to the store, I discovered I couldn’t twist to the left to check my blind spot without gasping. It worsened at the store, then the Aleve I’d taken kicked in. Heh.

After I got home, Dale massaged my back for me. Then he, Aaron, and I went out to dinner. During dinner, the ache seemed to fade away almost completely. Since then, it’s bothered me little, except when I twist too far or use that arm to support myself.

Ok, I am aching. I think it’s time for another Aleve.

Dale and I went to bed around 1 am, but neither one of us could seem to fall asleep. About an hour later, when Dale’s brother called and asked for a ride home from 6th, it didn’t even bother us. I offered to go get Adam since Dale had to get up at 5:30, and he happily agreed.

I thought it would be a short, simple trip. I decided to take 5th most of the way to 35, then loop up and back around to meet Adam at the corner of 7th and San Jacinto. It was a good plan in theory, but not in practice. From San Jacinto to Red River, traffic was bumper to bumper and slo-o-o-w. It probably took me 23-30 minutes just to travel those few blocks. Once I was finally able to turn left onto Red River, it took another 10-15 minutes to travel the 3 blocks north to 8th.

I figured I’d be back home by 3 am. Instead, I was finally picking up Adam at that time. Then it was another 25 minutes to get home.

After we got back, Adam and I played a bit of Urban Terror. He went to bed after about 30 minutes, but I still wasn’t sleepy so I played a while longer. Now, it’s nearly 5:30 am, and I’m still awake. Dale should be getting up shortly, so I’m not going to risk waking him up. I’ll just wait until he’s ready to leave the house, then I’ll try to get some sleep.

I lost it briefly this afternoon.

I was walking up to PetCo behind a couple of women and several children. One of the women was smoking, and just as she reached the outer doors, she took her cigarette and flicked it (still burning) off onto the sidewalk outside the store, then stolled right past the trash can set outside the entrance. Something in my brain just snapped, and I decided not to ignore that ugly behaviour.

I caught up to the group just inside the door and said, “I can’t believe you walked right past a trash can and flicked your cigarette onto the sidewalk. That’s disgusting!” and walked past.

As I went by, I heard her mutter something about ‘flicking it at her (my) head,’ and one of the kids asked what I’d said.

Several little clusters of customers were nearby, as I turned around, glared at her again and said in a louder tone of voice, “What I *said* was that I couldn’t believe THAT WOMAN flicked her cigarette onto the ground instead of taking the time to put it into the trash can right next to her. You are DISGUSTING!”

Then I turned and walked off to the other side of the store. I was so angry, and there was so much adrenaline rushing through me that I was left shaking and out of breath.

That little confrontation probably had no effect on that woman, except to embarrass her a little. She probably won’t stop dropping her garbage on the ground, and I probably looked like a psycho to all the people standing around, but I am glad that I spoke up and said something.

I see things like that all the time. People dropping nasty cigarette butts on the ground, people who cut in front of you in line, people who won’t shut up during a movie, and it always irritates me, but I rarely have the nerve to say anything about it. It seems that most people don’t.

Sometimes I wonder, that if we did, if we weren’t all so afraid of getting involved or drawing attention to ourselves, would as many people be so blatantly disgusting or inconsiderate? Would we tend to be more well-mannered in public, just because we could fear embarrassment if we acted otherwise?

Maybe that woman won’t change, but maybe her kids will remember the scene and grow up knowing how to dispose of their garbage appropriately.

When I was a child, Sesame Street was one of my favorite shows. It’s been many many years since I’ve seen the show, but I am happy that it is still on the air, and that maybe my own children will be able to watch and enjoy it.

I am even more happy and pleased with the show to hear that they are going to be introducing an HIV-positive character, albeit to the South African version of the show. The article states that the new character, a female, will travel to some, if not all, of the other nations that air the show.

I am very impressed with the open-mindedness of the producers.

Sunny Day

Sunny day

Sweepin’ the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet.

Can you tell me how to get,

How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play

Everything’s A-OK

Friendly neighbors there

That’s where we’ll meet

Can you tell me how to get,

How to get to Sesame Street

It’s a magic carpet ride

Every door will open wide

To happy people like you–

Happy people like

What a beautiful

Sunny day

Sweepin’ the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,

How to get to Sesame Street…

How to get to Sesame Street

How to get to…

Lego Pam	Lego Dale
Lego Aaron

[link to The Mini-mizer via Wil Wheaton]

Since I’ve been slacking on posting, I’ve also not been paying attention to MT updates, so I was running a version that was a few releases old. But, not any more! I’m now zipping along with MoveableType 2.21!

1. Where are you right now?

In front of my computer, as usual. *sigh*

2. What have you lost recently?

My orange creamsicle flavored lipgloss. I miss it so much!

3. What was the first CD you ever purchased?

I have no idea! I don’t remember.

4. What is your favorite kind of writing pen?

Gel pens. Except they take forever to dry on less porous types of paper.

5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Strawberries and cream!

Happy Fourth of July!

To U.S. citizens — While you’re watching fireworks and eating BBQ, spare a moment to remember what it cost in lives and blood to give us the rights we have today.

To the rest of the world — I hope that you have a beautiful day, and that you have as much to be grateful for in your lives, as I do.

Dale and I have been arguing about the status of immortality. According to Dale and dictionary.com, an immortal being is one that is immune from ‘decay, disease, and death,’ meaning it can not be killed or die in any way.

However, I disagree. I can’t cite specific sources, but I’ve come across instances where talk of immortals means only that a being does not die from natural causes, but can still be killed by intervention from another being.

Case in point: Any of the Highlander movies or the TV series. Those superhumans are known as The Immortals, but they go about chopping each other’s heads off, thus killing one another.

What do you think?

bwg has redesigned his site, and it looks pretty damn good. Nice job, Randall!

Dale and I went and saw Men in Black II tonight (technically, last night). We really enjoyed it. I’m tired and it’s late, and you don’t want spoilers anyway, so I’ll just say, “Go see it!” The cartoon at the beginning is only icing on the cake.