Lazy July 30, 2005 ~ 11:09 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Viv and Phil - Wappinger’s Falls, NY July 3, 2005
I think I left my house once yesterday, for a half-hour. Ran to the local pet store, bought some stuff for the cats (including this Dubya toy, because I like to see my cats biting his face and scratching the hell out of him), came back. Other than that, we cleaned, we watched TV, we slept. I had forgotten how great it is to just hang out and play couch potato with my cats.
Today, Jordana and I are thinking of going to the beach, where according to every internet site I have checked in the past five minutes, the water is open. No e. coli today, thankyouverymuch. An afternoon at the beach will be just what I need. And tomorrow is Prospect Park’s African Festival, so we’ll be out all afternoon enjoying music by some great African artists (think world music, not hip hop). Last year we got completely blitzed on screwdrivers (we snuck the vodka into the place in a few Poland Spring bottles), and I lost $40 when it fell out of my pocket. I’m hoping not to repeat either of those experiences this year - I can’t afford to lose $40, and Monday is a school day. But it should still be a nice afternoon of relaxing in the Park…just what I need.
And because I can’t hear this without laughing: Bill Frist has now changed his mind about funding for stem cell research. I’m not laughing about the stem cell research, because I think that’s important and should receive funding. I’m laughing because Frist has just taken a giant step away from Dubya, and the only reason that I can think of for this action is that the end is in sight. Fristy-Boy doesn’t wanna go down with the ship when the Rove hits the fan (forgive the mixed metaphors), and so he’s distancing himself from the Asshat Camp. This one, simple action on Frist’s part tells me more than anything else that this Rove thing isn’t going to go away, it’s going to get bigger. And leave a hell of a mess as it does. And if a side product of it is that we get stem cell research so that people living with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, etc., can be cured, so much the better. At least some good will come out of some evil. Fristy-Boy, you may just have made my weekend.
Guess what I’ve got tickets to? **Updated** July 28, 2005 ~ 3:16 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Thanks, Mom! We’re going to see Queen + Paul Rodgers in October!!!
Special QueenOnline presale is already sold out, 15 minutes after it started…I can only imagine how fast the seats are gonna go tomorrow and Saturday.
Somewhere, Freddie is smiling right now at how loyal his fans still are.
**UPDATE**
Vince got his tickets, too, so there will be a blog meet-up at some point that weekend. Can’t wait!
Shorts July 27, 2005 ~ 10:37 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
It’s fucking hot, here’s a beach picture - Julie and Lori, Coney Island, June 2005
It’s too hot and I’m too busy to string a long post together. Here are some random tidbits:
- You know how when weather.com tells you what the temperature is, and then give you the heat index and that’s what it feels like? Why don’t they ever just tell the truth and say “Feels like the seventh circle of hell” or “Feels like life in a volcano” or “Feels like your feet are going to melt off when you step on asphalt”? It’s gnasty out, kids, why are we the only ones who can admit it?
- Jesse learned how to drink out of the faucet in the bathroom sink. When he was feeling sick, I would let him drink out of it a lot. Now the little fucker is demanding and yowls for me to turn on the water whenever I walk into the bathroom. What was cute at first is now just annoying - this is not a water fountain, cat! If you want water, learn how to turn it on your own self! But of course, he doesn’t like that answer. So now I just let him yowl a lot and only let him drink when I’m washing my hands or brushing my teeth. One of these days I’m gonna spit toothpaste on him by accident. Maybe that’ll break his little habit.
- Remember when I came back from vacation and there was a ton of work on my desk because none of my officemates touched it? I wish I had that luxury. But no. Since two people are out, I have to do their shit, too, which means that I can’t get to my own work. Not like I really want to do my work, but the students who still need to be audited would like me to. Feh.
- What the hell is with the Asshat Administration only having to release what they feel like? Take this John Roberts Supreme Court nomination. They’ve released very limited amounts of his records (omitting his tax records rather suspiciously, I think), and they think we should be happy with that. No, Asshat, just because you believe what other people tell you doesn’t mean that the rest of us should. I like to make my decisions about a person based on the whole picture, and I’d like to think the Senate does, too. Oh, but wait, Asshat, you’re the one who jumped on the whole “Iraq has W.M.D.s” bandwagon with no substantial evidence, why would I think you had changed? Silly me. Hand over the records, Dumbshit.
- I get a really big kick out of saying “I shot my cat up this morning.” It almost compensates for having to give him insulin. Calling him “Injectakitty” also makes me laugh, so I have to thank Regan for that.
- Rick has taken to saying “Hee hee” ala Michael Jackson. It’s kind of amusing, but also kind of freaky. I much prefer his imitation of Gwen Stefani when he says “Uh-huh, dat’s my shit.” Maybe that’s because I can think of Gwen Stefani without thinking of child molestation or a noseless plastic doll, but I can’t say the same for MJ. Hmmm.
- I watched roughly twenty minutes of Being Bobby Brown the other night. Why in the hell are he and Whitney letting that stuff be seen on national television?? I understand the “any publicity is good publicity” concept, but to show the world that he really is abusive and that Whitney is either a drug addict or seriously mentally disturbed or both just doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
Rollercoaster…of love July 25, 2005 ~ 4:36 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Pink elephant on parade - 2005 Coney Island Mermaid Parade
I spent the weekend crying and reading up on Feline Diabetes, because guess what the Piss Crusader was diagnosed with finally? That’s right, diabetes mellitus. I’ll tell you what, when I started taking the Piss Crusader to the vet, that is not what I was expecting. NV diagnosed it right away with the blood tests, and today I got my lesson in how to inject a cat. Not nearly as bad as giving the cat a pill, despite my fears. And even giving the cat a pill is not bad since NV gave us a pill gun (I wish I could find a picture of the pill gun online, it looks a lot like the plunger thing used to insert a Monistat ovule…cracks me up every time I use it).
It’s looking like it will be okay, and NV is hoping that with the diet change (the cats switched over to Purina DM today), the insulin will help regulate Jesse. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
And now I’m outta here to check on Jesse. I’ll keep you all updated as we go along.
17 years of my life wasted July 22, 2005 ~ 2:58 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedIn 5th grade, my teacher Mr. Sokol gave us a riddle to do, with the promise that whoever solved the riddle wouldn’t have any homework for the rest of the year. No one got the answer, and as far as I know, many of us continued working on the riddle into adulthood. I taught it to the Youngest last week to keep her entertained. And after years of searching on the net, I finally hit the right combination of searchwords to find the fucking riddle: “three houses and three utilities”. Here’s what I came up with:
Now what kind of a twisted sadist gives an impossible in 2D riddle to a bunch of ten-year-olds?? Thanks, Mr. Sokol. I always knew I wasn’t good at math…
Testing… July 21, 2005 ~ 7:17 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Beard plot ~ Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
Well, we’re back from the vet. I have a good feeling about this guy, he seems very capable and asked a lot of questions about Jesse, his behaviour, his previous treatment, etc. And he took a blood test. Jesse had high blood sugar, which the vet said can sometimes come from stress in cats, and Jesse was stressed. He tried to take a urine sample, but Jesse was being uncooperative, so now I have to collect the urine. I’m sure I will post more about that after I’ve experienced the joys of cat urine collection. New Vet (or NV, as he shall henceforth be called) said Jesse might be diabetic, that we would have to see from the test results. Is it awful that I’m hoping that Jesse’s illness is caused by something cheap and easy to fix? Because today’s visit cost me $225. His grand total as far as vet bills go is $555. I can’t afford this people. And I don’t want my mom to have to keep sending me money to pay these bills.
I’m kinda miserable right now…anyone want to try to cheer me up?
The horror July 21, 2005 ~ 10:36 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
The Thunder God - Wappinger’s Falls, NY July 3, 2005
I went to a nearby pet supply store yesterday to get some Nature’s Miracle so I could clean up the Piss Crusader’s latest attack (and it came in handy this morning, as someone had pawed the tin foil I had over previous attack sites and had peed again…day two in the bathroom for him). Boy, am I happy I struck up a conversation with the owner! I told her about the problems that Jesse was having, and she gave me a lot of useful tips for dealing with a Piss Crusader. She then asked who my vet was, and I told her.
“Oh!” she said. It wasn’t a good “oh.”
“Why, what have you heard?” I asked.
Well, she didn’t like to badmouth anyone, but I had asked, and besides she wanted to help me out with Jess. Turns out her friend was a vet tech for my vet for six months, and in that entire six months, the vet did not once use an autoclave. Hmmm, maybe that’s how my indoor cat got worms! Also, the vet tech friend had been in more than one surgery where the vet didn’t give enough anesthetic and the animal woke up mid-surgery. That horrified me. I know this sometimes happens to people, but at least the person knows why they’re being operated on and can justify it. An animal has no clue what’s going on, just wakes up knowing that something hurts like it has never hurt before, something is wrong, and they are surrounded by strangers - no sign of their owner or anyone who loves them at the moment they most need that…I’m totally tearing up as I imagine it.
The last straw was when she told me he couldn’t practice in Queens anymore because a cat had bled to death after he declawed it. Again, I know things happen, but still. All this combined with my feeling that this guy was totally inept when it comes to treating my cat…well, as Barbara (the pet store owner) said, “If you were sick, and had gone to the doctor four times and weren’t any closer to feeling better, wouldn’t you get a second opinion?”
She’s right, I would. She recommended another vet who is nearby, and we have an appointment there today at 6. Might be a longer walk, but if we get Jesse cured, it will be totally worth it. Keep your fingers crossed!
Advice July 20, 2005 ~ 9:38 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Nefertitty - 2005 Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Nope, I don’t have advice for Asshat today…well, I do, but we all know he’s not listening. Otherwise he wouldn’t have nominated John Roberts for the Supreme Court. Yeah, Asshat, that’s what we all want! A guy who supports strip mining on mountains! A guy who says that the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to some prisoners! A guy who worked against the Voting Rights Act! A guy who said that schools should be allowed to impose religious speech on attendees! A lobbyist who has only had two year’s worth of experience as a judge! Damn, that is one fine candidate - if the whole country were made up of members of your radical right base. But we aren’t. The country is largely moderate, becoming more so as the war drags on with no sign of an end, and you ignore anything that doesn’t have to do with the Middle East. We need a moderate judge.
Yeah, see, he didn’t listen to me.
But the advice I’m talking about is from those of you with cats. Piss Crusader has struck again, peeing on the carpet in the new place. This carpet doesn’t belong to me, and I don’t want to pay large fees in the end because he ruined the carpet. I also don’t want to give him away. He is cute, and lovable, and he hunted down a nest of baby spiders that hatched in my house like a pro. I love him. So my questions are these:
1) What would make a cat pee on things, have diarrhea, eat and drink a lot, but not gain weight? He’s been treated for worms (getting the second half of the meds on Friday), but I’m not sure that’s it.
2) If it’s not a medical problem, and he’s peeing out of spite, how do I get him to stop? Give me your favorite cat pee cleaner brands, your best remedies for “inappropriate elimination,” whatever you’ve got. He’s been confined to the bathroom today, but I feel horrible because it’s a small room with no airconditioning and southern exposure. I kept the door cracked a couple of inches (blocked so he can’t get out) and he’s got a fan going with plenty of food and water, but I felt like a total tyrant when I left. Really, how could I not when faced with this cuteness?
See how they run July 19, 2005 ~ 12:05 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Rick Savage - Fishkill, NY, July 3, 2005.
Is anyone else finding it ironic that Asshat, who spent most of the 2004 Campaign calling John Kerry a “flip-flopper,” is flip-flopping himself as he finds more members of his staff guilty of leaking information? First he says he’ll fire anyone involved in the leak. Then he says, well, only if they’re convicted of the crime. Damn, I wish I could live my life like that. I could commit all sorts of crimes with no penalties as long as I wasn’t convicted. You know what, Asshat? Real life has consequences. The rest of us have had to learn that the hard way, why should Karl Rove and Lewis Libby be any different? Fire them. Personally, I’m hoping for this to become epic in proportions, kind of like Watergate except this time the Vice President will have to resign as well because hey, his office was involved too. That would be so wonderful…
Back on the ground from that daydream, I am busy as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest today. I caught up with everything from the vacation yesterday, but today my Big Boss announced that she has resigned and will be out of here on August 5. Of course, this has thrown the entire office into a tizzy. More shit needs to be done, and so I’ve got a full desk once again. In addition to my usual degree auditing and form updating/ordering, I’m working on a salary increase request for someone else and myself. That’s right, myself. Big Boss was supposed to put mine through in the fall, but since she isn’t going to be here, we’re bumping it up a little bit. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes through, kids - if I don’t get a raise, I could be fucked next year as far as rent goes.
Alright, back to it. Have to prove I’m worthy of the raise, after all!
Slave to the grind July 18, 2005 ~ 12:17 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Big red octopus - 2005 Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Points to anyone who can name the band who made the album mentioned in the title. I know at least one of you has to know.
Rick’s heading out of state for the week, so he and I went out to dinner and a movie last night. Wonderful dinner, the movie, not so much. We saw War of the Worlds starring that nutjob, Tom Cruise. While most of the movie was great, tense, scary, the end left me scratching my head. What the hell happened? Felt like a totally lame cop-out, almost as lame as if they had suddenly woken up from a dream of the aliens invading. I thought they were going to do that for about 2 minutes somewhere near the end. In addition to the lame-ass ending, it was full of plot holes. Felt like a better version if Signs, that Mel Gibson movie from a few years ago where the aliens were defeated by throwing water on them. So sad.
Also sad is the fact that I am back at work today. For about 3 minutes this morning, I was glad to be here, but then I started reading emails from students who obviously never read my “Out of Office” message that was automatically sent to them when they emailed me. It clearly said that to pick up their diplomas, they would have to email another girl, and yet none of them did. Instead, they emailed me again to bitch that their diplomas weren’t ready. I am tempted to throw the lot of them out and say “Look, you can’t read instructions? You don’t deserve to get a diploma,” but I know I can’t. So I am writing out a scathing reply that will be sent to all of them. Take that, dumbass students! Other than that, it’s back to the grind with everything that was here when I left. I don’t know why I always hope someone will do some of the work for me, it never happens.
Finally, I wish I knew what the hell this stomach/intestinal virus thing that I have was (it’s NOT e. coli!), and when it’s going to leave me. I’ve had it on and off for the better part of a week, and it’s back again, perhaps aggravated by the fact that it is a swamp of humidity outside. Feh. Feh on you, non-e. coli virus! And feh on 68% humidity. Last night it was 90% humidity, and it wasn’t raining. I understand that most of this planet is water, but I don’t think the water needs to invade the land like this…
