estacey
Friday, December 30, 2005
  oh my god, the kitties love each other!

hot lesbo action, originally uploaded by batorre.

look at mini and how happy she is with her new sister! ahh, this picture makes me ecstatic. i could not be happier that this worked out as well as it did for everyone. mini, stinky, byron, me.. all won here. :)

 
  This lady on Flickr makes AMAZING stockings

I'm negotiating with her through comments to make me a stocking next year featuring sloths, chameleons, thorny devils, and/or turtles. How fabulous would that be?

 
  Oh, what a long week!
1. My stupid car wouldn't start on Wednesday. I thought it was the battery so called Captain Squid to help me jump it. Not the battery. He called someone to look at it, who did so last night. Not the fuses. Maybe the starter. The guy said he'd come pick it up this morning and take it to his garage to fix it. He has my key. He never came. Luckily, my neighbor knows someone nearby who now has the car and is fixing it. He said it'd be about $80. Yay! The other guy was estimating $300, plus the tow.

2. I am still moving, an endeavor not being eased by the above-mentioned car trouble. But my landlord just said that he doesn't have anyone moving in right away, so I'm welcome to take my time. So I can finish it Monday, when I have the day off.

3. I am getting a migraine. I was just saying yesterday how I don't get them anymore since I discovered flavored carbonated water, and therefore staying hydrated. I guess I should have knocked on wood. Ah well, as long as it's better by tomorrow..

4. I am so horribly fat right now. Hardly anything fits. Every time I pass by a mirror, I sing Trina's "Pull Over, That Ass is Too Phat (Whoop! Whoop!)", only I mean fat with an F. Seriously. Ah well, I guess it's good I'm keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing. I am going home in February and there is no way I would show up 10 lbs heavier than I usually am.. (I'm only guessing 10; I won't actually weigh myself lest I be thrust into deep depression).. The gym is now 8 minutes away and I woke up at 7 today so next week I just have to keep waking up at 7 so I can get my ass into the gym before work.

I always thought this was funny. (Courtesy of the Onion.)

5. I have a new affinity for beards and vaguely Canadian accents. :)

6. If I don't post again this year, everyone have a happy new year! I'm going to Arkansanians(?) Bill & Susan's place in Loxahatchee for a party. I'm sure I will have way too many pictures of the affair come next week.. That is, if I can find my camera battery charger. Ahh, moving.
 
  Agh, too cute.
Artificial Legs Help Maimed Bird Walk Again - PetPlace.com

I've seen this story on TV at some point. Very sweet! My god, I am such a sucker for sad cases.. Oh, how I miss my one-legged crab!
 
Thursday, December 29, 2005
  Jesus, wtf.
U.S. No Longer Promoting Landmine Ban - Yahoo! News

Yes, because if there's something this world needs more of, it's kids without legs.
 
  40 Things That Only Happen In Movies - Nostalgia Central
40 Things That Only Happen In Movies - Nostalgia Central

All single women have a cat? What, just one?
 
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
  A TORTOISE and a HIPPO are friends.
TODAYonline (article link)



Anyway, I'm hormonal right now, so I'm trying to stick to the happy news so I don't start crying about the narwhals or the elephants or the Tutsis (the latest issue of National Geographic is being temporary shelved, save for the article about lynx..es). But a little tortoise and a hippo being friends makes me tear up too. But in a good way. :)

Oh, by the way, my neighbors have CHICKENS. Chickens! In Plantation! Kitten is very curious about them, and one of them seems to be curious right back. Very funny neighbors I have over the fence.
 
  xmas and stuff
so whew, what a long weekend.. friday night alli helped me move a bunch of stuff (two civics worth!).. saturday was shopping and more moving.. sunday had my little xmas get-together. went quite well, despite a small cooking mishap.

food was yummy,


as was the sangria. i'm feeling inspired to make more.. maybe for new year's?


by monday, i was dead. i spent monday in bed, watching law & order: criminal intent (on dvd; no cable at the new place). rediscovered my undying love & devotion to bobby goren.



oh, wait. wrong picture. whee!

i meant..

:)
*swooooon* so smart and kind and respectful. ah, bobby. you know that's the same guy that played the bug on 'men in black' right? and the bigg'n in 'full metal jacket'!

yesterday, i laid around in MY BACK YARD (first time i've had a back yard since living in florida!) and got a little pink from the sun. i let the kitties out to explore for a while. it was fun. :)

now today, back at work..
 
 

These are just too funny/cute. :)

 
 

Kelli, Stacey, Kamille, originally uploaded by estacey.

 
 

Smooshed kitties., originally uploaded by estacey.

The kitties are loooving all the space they have at the new place.

 
Friday, December 23, 2005
  I miss my buddy, Nate.

We went to NYC a couple years ago for New Year's.. it was fun. I have a whole collection of pictures of him glaring at me (some people, like Matt Hoe, don't seem to appreciate my photo habit much! - they need to appreciate the fact that I'm documenting their lives! right?) and I just went through and uploaded a few to Flickr. Well, just a bunch of pics from NY and Christmas that year. I wish I knew where the originals were...

 
 
Ha ha, those baby pictures are funny!  I didn't realize all the babies posed so different!
 
So I'm moving this weekend.  I'm excited, but also sad.. I'm going to miss coming home for lunch!  I usually stop in and have a little love-fest with the cats, even if I have other things to do on my lunch hour.  Kitten has actually been nice lately.. It seems that her friend, Bigote, has been beatin' up on her lately.  She's actually scared of him!  So she's been inside a lot and much nicer than she used to be.  I even include her in my lunchtime snuggling - and she lets me!  And she purrs!  Then I pet the big fat Fluffball.. then I go find Elliot, who is invariably sleeping in my bed.
 
Anyway, I feel bad that Kitten is scared of one of the neighbor cats, so even better that we're moving.. I just hate the timing.  And I have a cold on top of all this.  Grr!  It's not so bad, though.. And I'm used to getting SICk when I get sick, so being just "eh" with the sniffles is a lot better.
 
Fluffy last night was sitting on the arm of the couch with me.  When I'd stop petting him, he'd lift his paw up and set it on me, like to nudge me.  Did it twice.  It was really cute.  When I'd pet him, he'd kinda collapse in ecstacy.. at one point, his entire body weight was resting on my forearm.  Had I moved, he would've crashed onto the floor.  Trusting little guy.
 
I'm looking forward to Christmas... I have a little Christmas Sangria recipe and may even attempt flan!  We'll see.  :)
 
I'm also looking forward very much to living so close to the gym.  I keep finding myself singing Trina's "Pull Over That Ass Is Too Phat (Whoop whoop!)" every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a shop window.  But I mean it "fat."  And considering I'm going home early next year.. well, yeah, I better get this fat ass on an elliptical.  I was doing so well.. until Wilma!  Let's blame the hurricanes for everything, right?  :)

O-tay. Lates.
 
  Look at my wookie little niece!
Gundersen Lutheran Online Nursery
 
Thursday, December 22, 2005
 

all alone, originally uploaded by speedM.

 
  I like Lola's story

Lola, originally uploaded by Ed Fladung.

http://www.qualitypeoples.com/2005/12/lolas-story/

This guy and his girl are just so darn sweet. :)

 
  Oh, god! A Xolo for adoption!
Petfinder PetNotes
Someday, maybe I can have a dog..!
 
  piano man
i'm so bummed
billy joel is coming to town next month
but the tickets are like $75+.. something like $90 after all the taxes and fees. :~(



dammit, man, why don't you play the amphitheatre in wpb where i can get lawn seats?
 
  Aww...
Rescue, hospital workers keep injured homeless man and pet cat together: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
 
  OH MY GOSH
I am SO over this weather.  It's 58 right now.  It was like 53 this morning.
Waaaay too cold for here.  My hands and feet are so cold.  Mew.
 
I know that for y'all up north, this is warm.. But I'm just not used to it.  I just.. aggh.. When you get home and it's cold like this, you just don't want to do anything but snuggle under the blankets.

The cats agree: I had to nudge Kitten & Fluffers to go out this morning.  And Elliot just stays in bed, curled up on a fleece blanket.
 
Kitten has been really, um, nice lately. It's weird.  I was petting her last night at length and she was actually purring.  I guess she just needed her ass kicked a couple of times by the cats outside to appreciate my kindness.
 
Cold!
 
 
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
  devil baby with (pitch)fork :D

Venise - 2 months old, originally uploaded by I_M_BonBon.

 
  Awww!

New baby Macy :), originally uploaded by estacey.

I got the first batch of pictures today!

 
  Yay! Good news! :)
Rescuers Free Beached Whales in New Zealand - Yahoo! News

A happy ending! I had given up on such a thing!
 
  random pat hughes

avatar, originally uploaded by bad news hughes.

(of http://badnewshughes.blogspot.com)

 
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
  dooce is in this month's glamour!
(blog entry, cc'd to dooce)

i stopped by magazine rack in the store today to flip through this month's dos & don'ts issue of glamour.. and who did i see but DOOCE! and CHUCK! it was really weird because it took a second to register that i did not actually know the person in the magazine (much like when ultragrrrl was on vh1 and i recognized her from the pics on ikeepadiary.com). page 146!

:D
 
 
btw, for those of you who have not yet begun to use it, google desktop is the best thing ever. along with flickr, flavored carbonated water, icepacks, excedrin, tofutti pops, and batteries during a hurricane.

at work, i am forever having to find old emails and the whole search feature on outlook ain't so great. google desktop is a million times better.. and it searches emails, websites, files, etc.. all at once!

AND it caches old emails. so even though i had deleted the previously-quoted byron emails, i was still able to pull 'em out. faboo!
 
  this was too funny
byron recounted for me mini's meeting with his cat, stinky. it made me laugh out loud.
stinky is a fat kitty. he recently figured out he was feeding her rations for a 14-lb cat. thanks to the big rations, she almost IS.. but anyway.. in case you get confused: he actually only has one cat besides mini. think: synonyms. (i only point this out cos one of my friends got confused and thought he was a cat guy.)

---

they dropped her off last night :)
She's so pretty and soft and fluffy, and LITTLE.
OMG, from the pics, I thought she was gonna be all, like.. big. like Stinky-sized when I first got her or something. But she's so tiny and skinny!
And the juxtaposition doesn't do Fatso any justice. Like.. wha. I knew Stinky was turning into a little fatty and all, but she's so gettin weight control formula next go-around. fat fat fat.
Anyway.. yeah.. Fluff's a little sweetie. :)

I brought her into the bedroom to meet Lard Cakes and they made it nose-to-nose all sniffing and investigating.. ears weren't back, hair wasn't raised.. I was thinking "ooo! they might not start off like assholes!"
and then the moaning and hissing began in earnest. and Mini? total instigator!
It's funny because like this morning, Fatass will walk by where La Flaca is sitting, and she'll stare and watch her, but then Mini starts the moaning and hissing first and eggs on Blubbergut.
So anyway.. I had her in bed last night and kept looking out my door to see Tons-Of-Fun sitting there staring and seriously my stomach just started to HURT. like, I felt sooo bad because I didn't want her to feel jealous or replaced, and I don't want her to turn into a mean old Smelly Cat just because there's a cuter little kitty now. So I set Lil' Punk up with a nice cushy fleece blanket on the recliner, and brought Garfield's bed back into my room so she could sleep with me, which she happily did. Nermel stayed in the living room.

For while I'm at work, I have it reversed. Kate Moss is locked in the bedroom, and Orson Wells has the rest of the house. I don't want them "socializing" without me there just yet. not until I can trust EITHER of them to not take a swipe at the other and start a full-on battle.

:)

also, in the next email, he referred to stinky as Pre-Stomach-Stapling-Carnie-Wilson, Goodyear, Wideload, Lunchbox, and Chunk. Good thing the kitty can't read or she'd get a complex. :D
 
  Oh no! I think someone's seen Ace Ventura a few too many times.
Baby Penguin Is Stolen From Zoo - Yahoo! News
 
Monday, December 19, 2005
  this guy just made my pg. nun photo a favorite
jmarek's favorite photos on Flickr

i always gotta check out the people who favorite some of my stranger pics.. sure enough, he's a freak. with a thing for pregnant chicks.
 
  Byron's half-Swedish niece

my half-Swedish niece :), originally uploaded by batorre.

Pretty little girl. :) And I'm diggin' the ABBA hair.

 
  Mini at her new house!

nap time, originally uploaded by batorre.

And Byron's cat is officially awesome for USING THE CAT BED I bought for Mini. No, really - I was convinced no one would use it since it cost $24.99. (You know, they'd walk past it go to sleep on a newspaper. That's the way cats are.)

Anyway, it looks as if things are improving for the Torre cats; they're close enough to hurt each other but aren't! :)

 
  Look how tall little Kyle got!

 
  christmas music
they play it non-stop on the country station now..
and the other day they played this song - "leroy the redneck reindeer"
all i can think when country artists do stuff like this is that they're making it way too easy for the country haters..
 
---
Well you've all heard the story
About Rudolph and his nose
Well I'll tell you a Christmas tell
That never has been told
Well you may think you've heard it all
But you ain't heard nothin' yet
About that crazy Christmas
That the North Pole can't forget

Rudolph was under the weather
And had to call in sick
So he got on the horn
To his cousin Leroy
Who lived out in the sticks
He said Santa's really counting on me
And I hate to pass the buck
Leroy said Hey I'm on my way
And he jumped in his pick-up truck
When Leroy got to the North Pole
All the reindeer stiggered and laughed
They never seen a deer in overalls
And a John Deer tracktor hat
Well Santa stepped in
And said just calm down
Cuz we all got a job to do
Like it or not Leroy's in charge
And he's gonna be leading you
And it was

Leroy The Redneck Reindeer
Hooked to the front of the sleigh
Delivering toys to all the good ol' boys
And girls along the way
He's just a down home party animal
Two Steppin all across the sky
He makes jingle bells with the rebel yell
And made history that night

Before that night was over
Leroy had changed there tune
He had them scootin a holf
On every single roof
By the light of a neon moon
Santa wrapped his bad with the dixie flag
He as having the time of his life
You could here him call
Merry Chistmas Yall
And all of yall a goodnight
And it was

Leroy The Redneck Reindeer
Hooked to the front of the sleigh
Delivering toys to all the good ol' boys
And girls along the way
He's just a down home party animal
Two Steppin all across the sky
He makes jingle bells with the rebel yell
And made history that night

He makes Jingle Bells with the rebel yell
And made history that night
 
Saturday, December 17, 2005
  :)
Last night was fuuuun. I was Alli's date to her work Xmas party and Alex was Paul's.

Alex had his brand new camera and Matt & I both had cameras.. between the three of us, we got something like 300 pictures. 60-something are up at Flickr. :) I'm sure Matt will choose different pictures to put up (although some will certainly overlap) so you can look for the tag cbxmas05 if you're interested in more pictures of drunk bankers.

The place was open-bar, of course, but the lines were 20 minutes long, so Alex, Alli & I bailed on the line and went to The Bar. We got text messages from the other party-goers telling us that we sucked. Ah well. A few paid-for drinks and we went back to the party and danced and had a great time. Then back to The Bar after the work party closed down.

I feel very fortunate to have such a group of friends. They're really just all so kind and funny.. We went out for breakfast today with Matt's parents, who were visiting from Minnesota, and.. well, I just love them all. :)

OK, time to go take a very needed shower and go to a dock party at Captain Squid's.
 
  I happen to love this picture.

Fake laughing, originally uploaded by estacey.

 
  Romantic tubers.

 
 

I danced! :), originally uploaded by estacey.

 
  Mmm, vodka & cranberry.

Mmm, vodka & cranberry., originally uploaded by estacey.

 
  Party pics are up! :)

Cross-eyed, originally uploaded by estacey.

 
  I HAVE A NEW NIECE :)
found out today that my sister had her baby last night.. a brand new niece baby named macy mae.. named, i can only assume, because macy is cute and rhymes with my name and mae for my grandma j.  
 
9 lbs. 6 oz.!  don't you feel bad for my sister? :)
 
pics to share soon hopefully...
 
Friday, December 16, 2005
  ecosphere
i've long wanted one of these, which i first saw in a signals catalog (which is a pretty cool catalog; check it out).



but last night, i saw one in person for the first time, at brookstone.

omg, they're so cool! the little shrimps are PERFECT LITTLE SHRIMP. just tiny! and they buzz around the little sphere. these ecospheres stay self-sustaining for an average of two years but can live up until 10.

in case anyone has an extra $65, let me know and i'll hook you up with an address.

(this is going to work one of these days. yet, somehow, i still have no roomba.)

btw - my xmas shopping is done! what a good feeling! :)
 
  also
paris hilton totally sucks. i just gotta say that.



back in the days that i only knew of her because she was an heiress, liked to dance on tables, and wore lots of pink, i liked her. she was pretty, blonde, and seemed harmless.

let me say, for those of you who do not know, i totally love britney spears, even despite her recent tumble into the world of the white trash. (although i have to admit that i absolutely hate that she's taken to wearing fur lately. i may have to reconsider my britney stance.) she may not be all that bright - claims to practice kabballah when you know she has no idea what it is, made her child's bedroom into a nativity scene with her baby, kevin federline's progeny, as the baby jesus, and -- do i need to say this? -- married kevin federline. but i still love her. she's cute and says y'all a lot and likes cheetos.

but paris, ohmygod this woman drives me crazy now.
why?
#1. paris hilton perfume? please.
#2. $10k paris hilton watches? uhh.
#3. making out with unwashed greek heirs in public? i'm over it.
#4. that stupid way she poses with her stupid hip out all the time.
#5. her life consists of dressing up and shopping. and dressing up to shop. that is such a pathetically empty existence.. the fact that she probably spends two hours getting ready to go to rodeo drive and get photographed by the paparazzi makes me wonder how she doesn't realize there's more to life out there. she could be putting her money to good use, putting her time to good use.. it's really pretty sad the way that most young celebs seem to use their time and money. you know? they're rich! they could do a lot of good things.. or at least cool things.. but mostly it seems they drink starbucks and mingle with one another.
#6. she claims to be an animal lover. don't even get me started on that, miss brings-a-kinkajou-with-you-in-public-as-an-accessory. also, she trades out her dogs like boyfriends. sad stuff.
#7. on top of all this, she's just not very cute! i used to think so, but the first time i saw her on tv, moving, i was like, ack!
#8. oh yeah, and she did that carl's jr. commercial. wtf?

so anyway, yeah, that's it. thanks for listening.
 
Thursday, December 15, 2005
  omg, malls suck
complaining about the mall seems to be a christmas tradition with me..
http://estacey.blogspot.com/2004/12/new-mall-rules.html

anyway, no different this year.
crowded.
loud.
salespeople-infested. "hi, ma'am." "hi." "can i show you something?" "nope."
i hate being rude, but i hate being sold stuff worse.

but now i have a new complaint!
what the hell is with malls this day and age not having some type of parking lot organization system?? you know, like the J zone and stuff that the other malls have been kind enough to give retarded people like me?

me losing my car is a problem. a routine problem. at stores like target, i now always park down the lane of parking from the TARGET sign. this prevents me from walking down the wrong lane and then having to lug a shopping cart over a median /ditch / bushes.

so tonight i tried the closest thing at macy's. i got out of my car and pictured how the macy's sign looked from my car, noting the angle. that should get me back to my car, right? and i entered at menswear, so that's where i exited.

okay... but there was no car.

i honestly wandered the parking lot for 20 minutes. warm cinnabon in hand. (it was like torture! warm yummy stuff i normally ever treat myself to at the airport and i had noplace to sit down to eat it!)

i realized at one point that there was a second macy's sign. okay. still, no car. i saw a few cars that looked like mine, and i was willing to take 'em just get out of there, but the key wouldn't work.

okay, so finally i wander sadly to the other side of the mall parking lot, having wandered down every damn aisle in the part of the lot i was sure it was. and what do i see? ANOTHER MACY'S SIGN! that's three! three macy's signs at three different parts of the building.. you couldn't see them from one another.. and i had no idea there were THREE. and i guess that means there are two menswear exits, as well.

totally not cool.

also, radio shack is retarded. i needed an ac adapter. $17.99. i got a multi-voltage/size one for $12.99 at target, so it's like six adapters in one. stupid radio shack.

oh, wait, i just looked at my last year's mall bitchfest and i lost my car that time too. ha ha ha! i'm so cool.

and should not be allowed to leave the house by myself.
 
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
  my god
hard to believe this is real.. saw it in the sun-sentinel today. this poor thing.  :~(
 
Marlie Casseus
"These photos provided by the International Kids Fund show Marlie Cassueus, 14, right, as she looks now with a 16-pound tumor-like growth on her face, and as she looked at left in this undated family photo. Marlie will undergo surgery to remove the growth on Wednesday, December 14 at Holtz Children's Hospital, part of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center."
 
 
  xmas shoppin'
aggh, buying for my 18-month-old (or so) nephew is hard.
i go through the toy aisles pretty much have one of two opinions of everything: 1) it's too advanced or 2) he'll probably try to eat it.

i lucked out, though, and found Includes ant bells, 7 note ladybug xylophone with detachable mallet, bee clacker and maracas filled with color beads, centipede drumsticks, and a store all drum with handle and strap."

my sister will probably hate me, but i bet the kid'll love it! i laughed my whole way out of the store.

i also got him a pop-up book about animal families. it's pretty realistic - it doesn't over-anthropomorphize the animals or anything, but is still very cute. his dad is a hunter so i gotta try to drill it in early on that animals are people too. well, you follow. :)
 
  god damn the wal*mart

105_0560.JPG, originally uploaded by thisisdrew.

after i dropped mini off last night, i was passing by a wal*mart on my way back to the interstate and realized there's something i need that, if i can find it at all, would be at wal*mart.

now, i know enough about the evil corporation to not spend my money there. exploited labor, both domestically and abroad.. purposefully out-pricing competitors to drive them out of business.. all things i should not be supporting.

so, anyway, i had no luck in what i went there for, but realized i really needed cat litter. when i got up to the line and realized it was going to take me 15 minutes to get through it, i figured i'd at least make my shopping trip worth it.

a thought that kept recurring during my little wal*excursion: how can they be so freaking cheap?? well, i mean, i know HOW. but OH MY GOD.

it's a horrible, horrible place - everything is so freaking cheap, you just want to buy it, but you don't WANT to.

so now i am having huge pangs of guilt: i spent $100 there. (3 $5 DVDs, my new niece/nephew's xmas gift, cat litter, meal bars, milk, cereal, boca burgers, etc.) i felt guilty the whole time i was shopping there, too, but - omg, so cheap! like these purses that i liked were only $10. i made myself run away from that area before i was tempted.. that must be what cheating on your spouse feels like: this is so wrong, but feels so good!

well, hopefully i can be strong in the future when faced with the extraordinary bargains found on the wal*mart shelves. luckily, i pretty much consider the place to be hell on earth (i had read three magazines in line by the time i got to pay for my stuff) and it takes a lot for me to step foot in there.

 
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
  mini goes tonight!
time to go home and spend some time with her.  not that she'll enjoy it, of course.  she'll try to get away.  ah well.
 
last night, she did quite a bit of stomping around on me.  she's a little stomper.  happy paws, you know.  i'm so sad to see her go.
 
she and elliot were cuddled up on the couch last night and elliot was bathing her.  i got my camera out and had THREE FAILED SHOTS (stupid camera) before elliot got sick of the flash and attention and ran off.  grr, powershot.
 
so alli & i are planning an orphans' xmas day get-together for all of the Family-less in Florida.  it should be interesting.  we're thinking of doing it veggie-style.  alli's not veg, but she humors me.  shh, don't tell any of the invitees.  :D
 
mas, mas tarde
 
Monday, December 12, 2005
 

Mini, Mama, originally uploaded by estacey.

ok, so mini is going tomorrow night. sadness!
she's at that stage that she needs to follow me everywhere - investigating the shower every time i step out of it, to the bathroom every time i pee, her tail tickling my feet any time i'm at the kitchen sink. i'll miss her.
while we're on the subject, i miss mamacat too. she's livin' the good life in kendall now, though.

on a completely different topic, does this look like a good deal?
http://miami.craigslist.org/fur/117496430.html
i'm back to having no furniture, 'cept the couch. i need bookshelves like nobody's business. oh, and a bed. beds are good.

i think we're having a singletons christmas party this year. so far, there are a whopping three people coming - everyone else actually has people they love to spend the holidays with! (wah wah!) we're thinking of doing the vodka watermelon long talked about.

ok, i think that's it.

 
  OMG I miss the kittens!

And Mini is going to Atlanta on Monday! I will be left with a mere three cats! What kind of respectable Cat Lady only has THREE cats?! Bah.

 
  belugas = weird.

up close and personal, originally uploaded by gail on the web.

 
Saturday, December 10, 2005
  omg! what a couple of days!
so i spent last night in the ER. i woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday, nauseous again and with the chest pain. like, right below my ribcage, in the middle. i slept badly until 7 or so, when i called the doc.. i went right in and talked to the doc, who guessed that i either had 1) an ulcer, 2) an eroded esophagus, 3) gallstones, or 4) i can't remember. gave me a prescription for prevacid and a gallbladder ultrasound. he said if it got worse, i could go into the ER and they'd do the ultrasound there.

i started to feel a little better on the way home, so went into work. i was here for all of an hour before i had another attack that left me bawling, so i went home. was fine again for a bit, then in horrible pain. so i grabbed some books (be prepared!) and went to the ER at about 3. at 6 or so, i started to get anxious - i had been sitting through attack after attack in the waiting room. bawling. in pain. i said i had an appt. the next day for an ultrasound, so if it was going to be much longer, i'd really rather wait it out at home rather than in an uncomfortable wooden chair. on top of that, i was starving (all i could think was: boston market!) and had a headache from crying. but they got me an ultrasound. luckily, i'd have half-hour periods where i'd feel fine and was able to read and actively hate on some of the other people in the waiting room. but then it would start to hurt again..

then i had more waiting. at about 10 p.m., i got a room. the doc came to talk to me.. very very nice doctor.. nothing was wrong with my gallbladder. he figured the Rx the dermatologist gave me earlier in the week had caused some stomach problems. he'd give me some stomach drugs and painkillers.

40 minutes of sitting in a hospital gown and freezing my ass off, the nurse finally came with a cup of "GI cocktail" - drink it quick, she said, as it numbs everything, including your mouth. and some percoset. and she gave me a TV, on which i promptly found an episode of Law & Order. it was around now that i wished i had someone close enough, in proximity and in relationship, that i felt comfortable calling.

30 minutes later, i was still in pain enough to cause me to cry out.. the nurse came back in and was worried - everything should've kicked in by then. so i got a nice little morphine injection and scheduled for a CT scan.

within 2 seconds of her injecting the second painkiller, i could feel it.. first in my neck, then everywhere. it was awesome. i had my phone the whole time but didn't feel like talking until then, so i tried to call dawny first.. today i looked at my phone and had to laugh. i'd get "60660" dialed and fall asleep. try again: 60860. i remember trying to call alli too, on the hospital phone.. i'd dial, having to concentrate VERY HARD on the buttons.. then fall asleep.. wake back up and check the phone where i got one of those angry "you've left the phone off the hook too long" noises. apologies to alli if i actually did succeed in calling her. three times. and falling asleep before i could say hi.

they woke me up at 3:30 or so and said i was okay to go; the CT scan, that i only barely remember being done, turned out normal. i was still stumbling around, from the painkillers, but feeling so, so, so much better.

i woke up today -- at 3 p.m.! -- in a panic - i was still hurting! within a few seconds, it sunk in that it wasn't like yesterday's pain.. thank god. that shit was exhausting. so now i'm chugging maalox and taking it easy.

that's been my weekend so far! fun, fun! :)
 
Friday, December 09, 2005
  It's a perfect 72 here.
La Crosse Weather Forecasts on Yahoo! Weather

I see the high in La Crosse right now is 17. They have a low of 1. One degree. Yeah, uh huh, I'll be moving back real soon.
 
  oh, i remember what diving was like..

Hawksbill Turtle, originally uploaded by ecocentrikGuy.

vaguely. i haven't gone since the last condo dive. and now the water's like 72 rather than 82. even alli is getting cold. :(

anyway, hey. thursday was an off day. i woke up feeling bad.. went back to bed after an attempted shower was interrupted by a wave of nausea. (and no, no worries there.) and 'when harry met sally' was on anyway. i ended up falling back to sleep.. and continued the day in a remarkably unproductive fashion. which means it's nearly 3 now and i am JUST beggining to get sleepy. whoops.

i picked up the key to my new place on wednesday night. the guy gave me a tour of the joint. a compost heap! a little garden! a baby mango tree! a laundry room! yay! :) i'll start moving in the last week in december.

OK, i think the zyrtec just wore off. adios!

 
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
  argh
blogger won't work. and i have this beautiful picture to post:
http://wetmen.provocateuse.com/images/photos/johnathon_schaech_02.jpg
 
he's single again.  and is one of the, oh, three celebrity men that make me go mmm.  (jude law is pretty hot, in a total-asshole type of way, and we all know how i feel about tom welling.)
 
i always thought he was too pretty for christina applegate, anyway. and that's saying quite a bit.
 
ok, what a long day..
 
  a holiday wish
remember this steve martin bit on SNL?  this time of the year can be so heartwarming.  :)
 
If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season, it would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace.
 
If I had two wishes that I could wish for this holiday season, the first would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace.. and the second would be for $30 million a month to be given to me, tax-free in a Swiss bank account.
 
You know, if I had three wishes that I could make this holiday season, first, of course, would be for all the children to get together and sing . . . the second would be for the $30 million every month to me . . . and the third would be for all encompassing power over every living being thing in the entire universe.
 
And if I had four wishes that I could make this holiday season, first would be the crap about the kids . . . second would be for the $30 million . . . the third would be for all the power.. and the fourth would be to set aside one month each year for an extended 31-day orgasm, to be brought about slowly by Rosanna Arquette and that model Paulina somebody, I can't think of her name, of course my lovely wife could come, too. She's behind me 100% on this, I guarantee you.
 
Wait a minute, maybe that sex thing should be the first wish! So, if I made that the first wish, because, you know, it could all go boom tomorrow, and then what have you got? No, no . . . the kids singing would be great, that would be nice. No, no, who am I kidding! I mean, they're not gonna be able to get all those kids together! I mean, the logistics of the thing is impossible! It's more trouble than it's worth.
 
So, we reorganize: here we go. First, the sex - we go with that; second, the money. No! We go with the power second, then the money, and then the kids. Oh, wait, oh geez! I forgot about revenge against my enemies! Okay . . . revenge against all my enemies, they should die like pigs in Hell! That would be the fourth wish! And of course, my fifth wish would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of peace and harmony.
 
Thank you, everybody.
 
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
  moving

Monkey I, originally uploaded by ElseKramer.

this is what came up on a tag search for 'moving'
ahh well, i guess it will do :)

so yes, i'm moving again. my sincere apologies to those of you that are using your addressbook's whole T section on me.

i've checked out a couple of places, and last night saw one in plantation via craigslist. it was a guy looking for a roommate. i'm very iffy on roommate situations, but luckily this guy seemed very friendly and well-adjusted. on top of that, he dives. and there are skylights. and it's $500 inclusive. and he's OK with my cats.

actually, the last thing is what we had to negotiate on. he has a lovely and large yard, so now all THREE kitties will get to come in and out.. at my current place, i don't want to let elliot out, as he has never had freedom and i don't know if my neighborhood is the best place to figure it out. but anyway, this guy has no cats and hasn't had them since he was a kid. he's iffy on the idea of having them inside. luckily, they love to be outdoors.. and i said if he doesn't like it, he can always kick me out. that seemed to satisfy him and we're going ahead with it.
really, i can't imagine the cats will ever want to be inside except to sleep or eat. and when they're there and sleeping, they want to be RIGHT BY ME. i think the guy may even grow to like them. :) elliot may have to wear a collar, though; i'm not sure if he's a hunter or not.

i will have to again enter the world of those who have to drive.. honestly, i think it's been two or so weeks since i've had to buy gas. *after consulting calendar, i am 99% sure the last time i bought gas was 11/11. weird, huh? but it's not that far away at all and the gym is much closer to this guy's house so i may actually use it routinely. as i've been meaning to. as i need to. uff-da.

this is good news. i actually have settled back into my house, avoiding the landlord and neighbor at all costs.. but i don't want to live like that, scared of my neighbor. oh, and the landlord trapped fluffy last night AGAIN. i got home from work and fluffers was in a trap again, stinking of sardines (only mildly this time). anyway, after thinking of how much i'm spending by living alone and how much life would be better if i wasn't having to count down the days til the next paycheck, i put in my notice to move and crossed my fingers. i'm glad i found a place that i like and am not settling for.

the future roommate is going on holiday from xmas - jan. 6, so i'll even get time to settle in and get the cats acclimated to the new environment without worrying they'll try to eat off his plate or something. squirtguns work amazingly well when trying to train cats. two days of that and elliot has stopped trying to take my sandwiches away from me; instead, he just sits and stares at me.

in other news, i went to the dermatologist today as my skin has been freaking out lately and it's maddening. we'll see how that works. three medications.. it should do something, right?

 
Monday, December 05, 2005
  Gotta love Lifetime
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Movies That Won't Be Shown on the Lifetime Network.
 
Friday, December 02, 2005
  perderte
i don't know how shakira is faring in the rest of the country, but she's on the radio approximately every time i turn it on down here.

i wasn't too fond of her in her blonde-bombshell phase; after all, i fell in love with her in 1996 in mexico, when she was a slightly chubby hippie girl. another blonde slut singing in english is not my shakira.

but now she has this song "la tortura" y, ay, me gusta.
i'm trying to learn the lyrics to it now.

i had seen part of the video ages ago, so today thought i'd watch the whole thing to see if the black-oil thing was as weird as i remembered.

sure enough, it was.



shakira's damn sexy, and i love the song.. but i don't quite get the oil thing. mechanic fetish? any ideas?
 
  Visitors!

The nice girl who adopted Thor & Scaredy, Rachel, brought them over Tuesday evening for a visit. They are HUGE - bigger than Mini even. And they are both incredibly beautiful.

Scaredy - now Goosey - looks just like Mamacat.

Thor - now Johnny - is very big-cat-ish. Doesn't look like the rest of the family. I'm beginning to think his daddy is Tarzan, who now resides at 10th Life.

More pics are up! :)

 
Thursday, December 01, 2005
  Difficult runways to land on.
I think vad heter olla på ryska says it best.
 
  uh-oh
i got the call again.
amanda looked at my website in science class and is never looking again.

why?

#1. there was a naked girl on a bed.
#2. there was a girl in a really short skirt. (that was me. as a pregnant nun.)

strangely, she didn't mention me smoking at all. i figured i'd be disowned for that.

ah, gotta love kids at this age. she has declared that never having sex, never getting married, never moving out..

she also gave my brother-in-law the third degree for deer hunting. he's pretty much scared of her now.

strange how similar this little girl is to me, huh? she's a bit nerdy, loves animals, is stubborn, and plans on a chaste, single life. of course, i'm not really doing that last part intentionally.. but still!

 
I'm Stacey. I'm a 31(!)-year-old Wisconsin girl living in sunny South Florida. The highlights in my life are my lovely boyfriend, my aloof cats, my adorable/adoring stepdogs, my two lumbering tortoises, select family members, being outside, being underwater, taking pictures, yadda yadda. Stay tuned for lots of babbling!

Name:
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

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Making a difference

A small boy lived by the ocean. He loved the creatures of the sea, especially the starfish, and he spent much of his time exploring the seashore.

One day the boy learned there would be a minus tide that would leave the starfish stranded on the sand.

When the tide went out, he went down to the beach, began picking up the stranded starfish, and tossing them back into the ocean.

An elderly man who lived next door came down to the beach to see what the boy was doing. Seeing the man's quizzical expression, the boy paused as he approached. "I'm saving the starfish!" the boy proudly declared.

When the neighbor saw all of the stranded starfish he shook his head and said: "I'm sorry to disappoint you, young man, but if you look down the beach, there are stranded starfish as far as the eye can see. And if you look up the beach the other way, it's the same. One little boy like you isn't going to make much of a difference."

The boy thought about this for a moment. Then he reached his small hand down to the sand, picked up another starfish, tossed it out into the ocean, and said: "Well, I sure made a difference for that one!"


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