Friday Cat Blogging No. 2

this is a picture of Hee Seop that i took in the summer of 2003 before he decided to come indoors and stay.  he had just finished eating the can of food i fed him every afternoon around 4:30.

Dude, It’s an EBE

that is, an extraterrestrial biological entity…man.

once upon a time, i only watched channel 5. that’s NBC to any folks outside Chicago. these were the programs i watched (that are still running):

• Law & Order
• Law & Order: SVU
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• ER

then last year, i started watching Without a Trace and didn’t watch one episode of ER, not even during reruns. this year, nearly all my shows are on channel 7. that’s ABC to any folks outside Chicago:

• Boston Legal (instead of SVU)
• invasion (instead of L&O)

actually, none of my shows this year are on channel 5. they’re on channel 7 and channel 2 (CSI, Without a Trace). that’s CBS to any folks outside of Chicago. last year, my new favorite show was Boston Legal. this year, it’s invasion.

Homestead, Florida, is the setting for invasion, which might be under the guise of a hurricane. like, maybe it wasn’t really a hurricane, but the actual invasion itself; it just looked a lot like a hurricane.

the main characters are all related but not. kind of like my family. (my parents are divorced, but since my dad’s younger brother is married to one of my mom’s younger sisters, we’re all still part of the same extended family, and everyone but me, my sister, my brother, and my mom live in Las Vegas–kind of like in CSI). there’s who Brian and i refer to as the 2 Kids, Jesse and Rose (who’s absolutely adorable), who live with their mom Marial (the Doctor, or the Mom) and her new husband Tom (the Sheriff) who i just realized looks like Barry Manilow, and his daughter Kira (the Stepsister). the 2 Kids spend half the time at their dad (the Park Ranger, or the Dad) Russell’s house, with his new, pregnant wife Larkin (the New Wife), and her out-of-work, beer-loving brother Dave (Dave).

Dave, of course, is the only one who’s convinced that aliens invaded the planet during the hurricane because a lot of weird, creepy stuff happened. everyone else knows something weird’s going on, but he’s the only one who believes that the Air Force is up to something and is trying to cover it up. hey, wait a minute. my brother was in the Air Force. maybe i’ll ask him.

Russell’s trying to help Dave get to the bottom of it, but he isn’t ready to believe that it’s aliens, yet. personally, i think Russell needs to take his shirt off more often, like he did this past Wednesday, in episode 2. besides, Russell seems to have to prove he’s just as manly as Tom by being able to “protect his family,” as he put it to Dave, which at this point, the Sheriff seems to be able to do better. i mean, come on. who do you think would win in Park Ranger vs. Sheriff? of course a sheriff beats out a park ranger. they don’t even get to carry weapons. well, maybe a Maglite.

seriously, though, what i find especially weird about this show is that it’s written and produced by Shaun Cassidy. this is the same Shaun “Da Doo Ron Ron Ron” Cassidy who i absolutely loved in 3rd grade. too bad my Shaun Cassidy t-shirt’s long gone. not that it would fit me, but it’s still weird. i totally forgot he even existed.

anyway, check out Dave’s blog, Dave’s Diatribe, to learn more about what’s going down in Florida.

Alchera Project #37: How to Spot a Barb

List/Option No. Four - Project 37 - Other Submissions

This month is going to deal with astrology. Whether you believe in it or not will be irrelevant as this is more about personalities than lions, scorpions and bulls. eHow.com has a collection of "How to Spot a <Insert Astrological Sign Here>" articles. Each article points out the most common characteristics of each sign. Your first objective is to gather the characteristics of your sign in a list and explain, in little or full detail, whether or not it applies to you and why it does or doesn’t; also mention if you’re proud of the characteristic or perhaps ashamed or embarassed. The second objective is to read through the other signs and find out if you think there is one that is more suiting to your personality. Do the same list as you did with your actual sign. The third and fourth lists are completely optional–the third list involves going through every single sign and making the same lists you did with the first two (which characteristics apply to you and which do not); the fourth involves making a personalized "How to Spot a <Insert Astrological Sign Here>" article using characteristics from the other signs. You should not make up your own characteristics–they should all come from the articles.

Read the rest of this entry »

Big Pain

Clean My Closet: Done

well, sort of. it basically happened on its own when the closet rod fell. most of the stuff doesn’t fit me anymore, so Brian (yes, Brian, not me, so really, he cleaned my closet) boxed it all up. he re-attached (yes, Brian, not the landlord) the closet rod, and there’s hardly anything hanging from it now.

i suppose it was worth it, but i’m not sure which part: the closet rod falling, Brian boxing up my clothes, or gaining the weight that made it so i’d have to get rid of those clothes in the first place.

See more progress on: clean my closet

Domain Name Woes

Cat Blog: Abbie The Cat Has A Posse, Cat Fur: Hopper’s, Cat Comic Strip: Get Fuzzy

on j u m p today, i found Abbie the cat’s blog: Abbie The Cat Has A Posse. it’s written from the point of view of Abbie, a black-and-white male cat. the latest post is about the recent death of Martha, Abbie’s sister. i couldn’t finish it the first time through because i was crying too hard. i wondered if maybe i was feeling hypersensitive today, so i asked Brian to read it, and he confirmed that it is, indeed, a sad post. in retrospect, what makes it profoundly sad is Abbie’s confusion surrounding the circumstances of Martha’s death. the second time i read it, i managed to finish, but again, not without some tears.

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the vet’s office called today to check up on Hopper’s skin condition. i was going to call them anyway, but they beat me to it. the bald patches behind her right ear and the tuft missing from the left side of her neck are growing in nicely. however, now she has a bald patch behind her left ear, that i noticed over the weekend. she hasn’t been scratching any more than usual, so the office told me that they wouldn’t put her on an antihistamine, which was the original plan if it wasn’t improving. but antihistamine alleviates itchiness, which doesn’t seem to be the case here. it doesn’t look as bad as her right ear did, so who knows? they said to continue giving the Derma Caps and that they’ll check back.

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i’ll end on a bright note. this was from today’s Get Fuzzy, my absolute favorite comic strip:
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http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20050926.html
accessed 9/26/05

sat-8 :: you are beautiful

Saturday8

i’ve been thinking this week - what makes you beautiful? of course, beauty comes from inside … but every girl has her ‘beauty secrets.’ tell us yours!

1. tell us your favourite brand of facial cleanser. (i’ve been bouncing around, and i need advice!) 
dermalogica Anti-Bac Skin Wash

2. i recently discovered c.o. bigelow’s rose face lotion, and my skin has never been softer (really!). tell us about your favourite facial moisturiser. 
i have really oily skin, but even so, you still have to use a moisturizer.  i use dermalogica Oil Control Lotion, which doesn’t come on heavy or greasy, and really does soak up excess oil.

3. i have a great body lotion from les couvents des
minimes (bath & body works) - the honey kind. WOW - i just want to eat my arms when i put it on! what’s your favourite body lotion? 
unlike my face, the rest of my skin tends to be dry.  i don’t usually like heavily scented lotions, so i use Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Body Emulsion.

4. must-haves for mascara … i prefer the kind with the white primer. do you wear mascara, and if so, what brand/shade is your favourite? 
i don’t wear make-up on an everyday basis, but when i do, i like Lanc?me D?finicils in black.  this particular mascara makes it look as though i actually have eyelashes!

5. razor - UGH. do you wax, razor, pluck, or use depilatory? if so, give us brand that work for you. 
i just shave and use the Gillette Venus.

6. LIPS - like many women, i feel naked without some colour on my lips. i prefer deep plums & wines. tell us your favourite brand and color (if any).  my lips tend to be dry, so i use Mary Kay’s Satin Lips? Lip Balm, which is the best lip balm ever (here’s my full testimonial).  when i was teaching, my make-up was limited to mascara and some lip color, but not a lot of color.  i liked a little, but not as much coverage as lipstick, so i’d use Clinique Almost Lipstick.

7. i never wear foundation/base … just a little
powder every once in a while to stave off the shinies. how do you feel about foundation? 
part of the reason i don’t wear make-up every day, mainly in the summer, is because it’s so humid here and i hate the way my face ends up feeling.  in the fall and winter months, however, i might wear foundation to even out my skin tone when going out at night.  i use Clinique’s Stay-True Makeup Oil-Free Formula, for obvious reasons.  i never put it on my with my fingers because that’s just gross.  so are those wedges.  i love a good brush and use Chanel’s Le Pinceau Teint (foundation brush, i guess). after initially applying foundation, i use loose powder (Clinique’s Blended Face Powder), and Clinique’s Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder throughout the evening for touch-ups.

8. if you could do away with one female
‘beauty convention’ - shaving, perfumes, eyeliners, blushes, hair
masks, etc., what would you like to rid the world of? 
the concern with one’s weight

Blog Advance

the new blog surfer site i’ve come across. it works the same as the others–surf a blog for 30 seconds and receive half a credit. i just signed up last night and haven’t seen any bogus sales blogs as of yet. the blogs i have seen are different from the usual rotations, so that’s refreshing.

Shakey Solution

saw the chiro on Wednesday, who says that there’s nothing physically wrong with me that my back should be hurting the way it is. with my flexibility and muscle strength i should be able to do high kicks all day, he said. and as much as i want to go back to martial arts, my back has just been too painful.

he’s convinced that the problem is organic, that my body is incredibly toxic because of all the medications i’ve been on, which he’s been telling me all along. and because i’m constipated (again, due to the meds, he said), i’m not getting rid of all the waste that you’re supposed to get rid of. once again, he advocated drinking those damn nasty-tasting protein shakes. now, he wants me to drink them twice a day!

and for the last couple of days, i have been drinking them twice a day! instead of making my own (ok, Brian makes them), i buy a smoothie from the pizza place across the street and add the 2 scoops of protein mix. ok, Brian adds them and throws it all in the blender. you can’t just stir it in with a spoon because it’s so lumpy.

i don’t like using the blender because the noise scares me. stupid, i know. high maintenance, according to the chiro. well, when Brian was at work yesterday i used it all by myself after buying the smoothie. it was a near disaster. everything went fine until i went to pour the stuff back in the cup. then the lid fell off and the rest of the smoothie ended up on it and in the sink.

today, i marched over to the pizza place with the tub of protein mix tucked under my arm. the counter girl didn’t want to take responsibility for making a smoothie and adding the stuff in, but the owner’s son didn’t mind. and he said that any time i come in, just ask for him and he’ll make it for me. yay. their smoothies have ice cream in them (as opposed to just frozen fruit, milk, and ice in the homemade ones), which is probably why they taste so good. but at least i’m drinking the shakes!