Dreaming is free

nostomach @ 2008-07-05T21:00:00

2008-07-06T02:00:48Z

Business vacation so far:

Got to Highlands around 5:00. Got a tour of the neighborhood, then went for dinner at some friends of my parents'. There was ribs and chicken (tofurky sausages for me), corn on the cob, black eye peas, squash casserole, heirloom tomato salad, and cheese biscuits. Homemade blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Oh Southern cooking, how I have missed thee.

This morning I went on a hike with my dad and his hiking club. It was a lot of fun, except for one mishap. We were crossing an iron foot bridge, and didn't realize there was a yellow jacket nest right underneath it. So us walking across it vibrated the nest and angered them, and I'm standing on the bridge taking pictures when somebody screams "YELLOW JACKET SWARM!!" I ran for my life with the camera, and didn't get stung, although they chased me for a while. One of our hikemates got stung twice. :(
But it was fun other than that.

Had a laid back afternoon, then went to dinner with my parents. Ate too much dairy!

A pretty great day. Heading to Montgomery tomorrow.

nostomach @ 2008-06-30T22:45:00

2008-07-01T05:53:43Z

My itinerary for the weekend:

-Thursday afternoon/night: Drive to San Francisco, do San Franciscan things to be had and people to see, spend night in airport budget accommodations that hopefully aren't too scary

-Friday: 6:00 AM flight to Atlanta (hopefully) departs. Arrive in Atlanta at 2:00 PM. Pick up economy model rental car. Drive 2.5 hours through the Ozark mountains to Highlands, North Carolina. Fourth of July things to be had when I get there?

-Saturday: Whatever the day brings me!

-Sunday: Either stay on in North Carolina or drive to Montgomery, Alabama (home).

-Monday: If I'm still in North Carolina, I'll drive back to Atlanta to the airport for my 2:00 PM flight home. If I'm in Montgomery, then I assume I'll take care of the legal stuff in the morning that I'm there for, and then drive onto Atlanta for my flight home. Return economy model rental car. Arrive in San Francisco at (hopefully) 7:00 PM. Neko picks me up and we go home!

nostomach @ 2008-06-28T22:06:00

2008-06-29T05:07:00Z

Reading reviews on yelp of some of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. Bay Area yuppies and hipsters sure are an insufferable bunch.

Sam 'n Ella

2008-06-28T00:56:26Z

So the junkfood challenge is officially over and I'm celebrating by baking a pan of Trader Joe's chocolate-chip truffle brownies.
Neko and I are licking the batter from out of the bowl and I mention something about Salmonella.
Then! It hits me! We should have two cats and name one Sam and the other Ella. They'd be Sam-n-Ella! We're so excited by this prospect that I almost wish we didn't already have two cats so we could do this. Neko likes it so much that he says, "If we ever have fraternal boy and girl twins, we should name them Sam and Ella"
Me: "No way...you can get away with naming cats cruel names. Not children. Cats won't shoot up high schools"

Joke's on me

2008-06-21T19:18:47Z

Last night for dessert I had apple slices and yogurt with dried cranberries, cherries, golden raisins, and blueberries on top. And I was all, "Woooo this is better than ice cream!"
And for breakfast I had Heritage flakes with unsweetened almond milk with the same dried fruit mixture and I was all "Wooo this better than frosted wheats!"
And here I was thinking I'm doing great on my low-sugar, no junk food week.
So imagine my horror at finally noticing the back of the dried fruit package and realizing that a measly 1/4 cup of it has 32 grams of sugar! All the fruit was sweetened! No wonder it tasted like cherry pie!

Damn it!

Good-bye Frosted Mini-Wheats

2008-06-21T03:41:50Z

I decided while driving home from the vet's office today to go a week without consuming any high-sugar foods, in particular ice cream and sugary breakfast cereals, two things I've been eating on a regular basis.
We'll see how it goes. Right now I feel like I'd murder someone for some ice cream, which as far as I'm concerned, is reason enough to eliminate excess sugar from my diet for a while.
But waking up in the mornings physically ill is the real motive here. It's got to stop. Exercising probably wouldn't hurt either. But I'm only feeling motivated for one thing at a time.

What the hell?

2008-06-20T06:34:59Z

Well. I'd say it's official. My own mother actually forgot my birthday.

On being a quarter-century old

2008-06-19T23:36:33Z

Neko was going to take me to our favorite restaurant (Le Kim's) for my birthday lunch, but they were on another damn vacation! How dare they take much needed time off on MY birthday! The nerve! Unfortunately, the only time slot Neko is able to take me out to lunch on a weekday is that awkward time between lunch and dinner when many places are closed. We checked out Taste of Brittany, but they were also closed, which brought us to House of Shaw just across the corner. I had a veggie bagel (garlic bagel with cream cheese, avocado, tomatoes (shit I hope they locally grown!), and onions. It's very simple but very elegantly presented and delicious. I also had an iced chocolate (like hot chocolate but cold instead of hot).
I'm a little overly full. And tonight after work Neko is taking me to the Creamery for a birthday sundae so my stomach needs to do some settling!

My mom has 7.5 hours to not forget my birthday. I wouldn't put it past her, but at the same time, it *is* kinda weird. Almost makes more concerned than angry.

nostomach @ 2008-06-19T09:34:00

2008-06-19T16:37:54Z

Great. I share a birthday with Jamie Lynn Spears' love child.

It's beginning to look a lot like tweeksmas!

2008-06-19T02:24:37Z

I hate Spring Cleaning. Well, I like the spring cleaning service provided by the city, but I hate the mayhem that ensues. On one, predesignated day per year, the city will pick up just about anything you put on the street contained with in a certain sized pile. It's a great way to get rid of junk.
And the scavengers of Stockton use this period as their own personal treasure hunt. They bring trucks with trailers behind them and load it up with JUNK! Cars will cruise up and down your street, slowing down traffic so they can assess your pile. Methheads will tear your pile apart looking for cords to cut off broken appliances.
Our next-door-neighbors are crazy hoarders. They have 4 cars, only one of which works, they rest they park on the street. Their back yard is piled with junk as high as their roof. I can only begin to imagine what the inside of their house looks like. I shouldn't have been surprised or shocked, but I was anyway when I saw our neighbor hauling garbage from other neighbors' junk piles to bring back to her yard. And guys, this is junk. Broken toilets. Rotten lumber.

WHY IS GARBAGE SO APPEALING??

Cupcakes will save the world

2008-06-16T05:51:27Z

I ventured over to the Dark Side and actually used a boxed cake mix to make the cupcakes for my birthday party yesterday. And you know what? They were totally fucking awesome.

Woman breastfeeds orphan fawn

2008-06-15T23:19:27Z

Now THIS is tandem nursing!!

This picture by Hindustan Times lensman Himanshu Vyas has won the IFRA Gold Award for News Photography. Vyas had heard about an orphan fawn being looked after by a Bishnoi woman near his hometown Jodhpur. At the mud dwelling, he noticed the fawn playing with her children. “When hungry, the woman breastfed the fawn and her daughter simultaneously. Wildlife activism is publicised around the world. But this connect between man and nature is unparalleled,” he says.

The happiest moment of his life was his last

2008-06-15T19:07:38Z

Party yesterday was fun! Thanks to everyone who came!

This was posted on cuteoverload today. I'm not even gonna lie. I got teary-eyed watching it.

Happy Friday the 13th!

2008-06-13T19:53:42Z

I love Loki. Anyone who has been reading this for the past month knows that (by the way, she's two months today, happy monthbirthday Loki!). But she very well might be the last kitten I ever acquire.I had no idea kittens were the most awful creatures ever invented. The only ever kitten I've ever cared for was Tim, and he was exceptional, in that he was Perfect. I don't regret taking Loki in at all, and I'm fairly confident she will grow out of this "sharp, pointy" stage, and believe me, all the good times are so worth it, when she's sweet and cuddly and purry or when she's playing extra cute.
But I counted no fewer than 50 Loki-related injuries on my body last night, and she just added about 25 more a couple minutes ago while in pursuit of my cereal (Beka, has my kitten been hanging out with Max?). The worst is when she makes gets a running start, leaps up onto my leg, digs her claws in my leg for leverage, then lets her claws rips down my skin as she falls.

I AM NOT A SCRATCHING POST. Kittens have no souls! *boohoohoo*

Going on holiday

2008-06-11T03:58:21Z

What's fun to do around here on the 4th of July?

Ploptown

2008-06-11T01:09:11Z

I read in the news today that Stockton currently has the highest gas prices in the country. Number one in foreclosures, now highest gas prices!
We're really winning the shit-eating contest here.

A Very Long Engagement

2008-06-09T18:51:42Z

Right now Loki is being super-affectionate, but that's only because she wants my cereal. Right now she's going through a very mouthy, defiant, adolescent stage. In other words, all she wants to do is bite us. It's getting really, really old. I know it's just a stage, but I've got scratches all over me! She's not affectionate or cuddly at all unless she's sleepy. If she's awake, and you try to pet her, you will get bit. I've done some reading on how to discourage it. Blow in her face when she bites you (works!), offer toys when she bites (also works, but she prefers hands), and ignore her when she's mean. I know I'm not the only person who has experienced this because when I googled "kitten biting", two suggestions appeared: "kitten biting problem" and "kitten biting hands".
She goes in for her 8 week checkup and for vaccines on the 18th, and I'm going to ask the vet to please trim the death claws. Other than this biting and scratching thing, she's perfect. She doesn't even do the "hiding under the bed and attacking your ankles" thing that some kittens (and cats) are so fond of.

In other news, Neko and I casually changed The Date while watching some anime last night. I've come to the conclusion that with me being in school for the next 3 years or so, an October wedding might not be very feasible. So, we've decided on late May or early June of 2010. Neko's okay with a summer wedding as long as we're doing it on the coast, where it won't be hot (in other words, no July wedding in Angels Camp on a golf course...not that we ever considered that. That's just the most hot and miserable location I could think of). In other words, it would be after I finish my (theoretical) first semester of nursing school. It might be very stressful combining a wedding with finals, and of course, the date will probably get tweaked some more in the next two years, but I think this is what we're going to stick with. The year 2010 was chosen because there is no way in hell this is happening next year, and this way, Neko will have been out of college and working for a year.
But don't think just because I'm having a summer wedding there are going to be any pastels!

Totally worthless post!

2008-06-06T20:37:05Z

Neko and I went to the "Farmer's Market" downtown this morning. Total waste of time! I used to go when I worked at Ulmer Photo 2 years ago, because it was just a couple blocks away. And back then, it was a real farmer's market. But now it's nothing but comcast sign-up booths and tchotchkes. As for produce, there were cherries and peaches and that's about it.
Next week I'll try the Thursday farmer's market that's in the mall parking lot. Maybe it's better?

Babykitty is cute. See for yourself.

2girls1cup cake

2008-06-04T03:54:54Z

2girls1cup cake, originally uploaded by pinguino.

On Sunday, Eden and I talked about having a joint birthday party for both of us, since our birthdays are 9 days apart.
THIS SHOULD TOTALLY BE OUR CAKE.
Although, something tells me Baskin Robbins wouldn't be up to it...

This even better than the goatse cake I wanted for my 23rd birthday.

E.Coli...it's not just for dinner anymore

2008-06-03T21:30:15Z

Teapot's urine analysis came back. She has an overwhelming E. Coli infection in her bladder! I was horrified, but the vet assured me that it's not that unusual and that it's not because of anything we did or didn't do. She probably got it from an episode of diarrhea at one point.
We're going to try a new antibiotic for 2 weeks (since the penicillin is making her vomit)and then she will undergo another urinary analysis.

Cognitive Dissonance

2008-06-03T06:05:11Z

Tonight I had one of the worst had-my-hair-in-a-ponytail-too-long scalp-aches, made worse by the fact that I plowed my head directly into Eden's metal towel rack yesterday. Having tried every reasonable remedy without much luck, I decided to rub some Tiger Balm on my scalp (by the way: not a good idea. It never really reached my scalp and only made my hair super greasy and made the kitten hate me because I reeked of camphor oil). Well, I washed it out later. End of story.

So! Imagine my surprise at tonight's Married to the Sea comic...

marriedtothesea.com

I HAVE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE!

But, peanut butter pancakes with strawberry jam on top WERE a good idea.

Rate my turban

2008-05-31T04:23:55Z

Rate My Turban Dot Com

Really funny at first, but then I began to wonder on what criteria I was supposed to be judging these turbans. What makes a turban a "10"?

Micro-paradise

2008-05-31T02:52:32Z

No rain in Stockton, so we have to fake it with soaker hoses.

No normal person should have this much to say about their cats...

2008-05-31T00:44:35Z

I really should just rename this space The Cat Diaries. Hey, maybe they would even make it into a chickflick staring Scarlett Johansen.

We had kind of a difficult afternoon over here at Casa De NekoIngie. Last night, Teapot peed on Felicia's guestbed in the baby's room. For some reason Teapot seems to think that peeing on Felicia's things hurts us. I mean, it does hurt us, because it's very embarrassing, and I'm sick of our cat being hell-bent on destroying everything that belongs to our roommates. But Teapot's not intellectually capable of making that sort of connection, so I don't know why she does it.

When we got up this morning, we discovered Teapot had peed all over my laptop, pocket camera, and a box of lens filters. Nothing was hurt, luckily. I wiped my laptop off with alcohol and it's fine. The camera is fine too, and at least if it had been damaged, it was just a $100 pocket camera. And the lens filters only got pee on their case, which was wiped off. BUT STILL. IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING. Our cat could have wiped out my laptop. And I like that pocket camera. Nice for snapshots when the SLR isn't practical.

...Neko left a desperate voicemail with Dr. Dameron. We couldn't wait until Monday for the urine analysis to begin medication for the UTI. We wouldn't make it through the weekend. (The vet wanted to analyze her urine to find out exactly what sort of bacteria was making her sick and target that only).
The vet called us right back. Said bring her over, we'll give her a shot of penicillin.

...In the office, we had a frank discussion with Dr. Dameron about Teapot's urinary health (why does she get so many damn UTI's??) and her behavioral problems. She said the urine analysis could offer some clues about that.
As for the behavioral problems, Neko told Dr. Dameron that we were contemplating having her euthanized. I was expecting the vet to admonish us, saying there was no reason to have a perfectly good animal put sleep, what kind of pet owners were we? We should be reported to the authorities! To my relief, she said she understood that perfectly. She said Teapot's feral, has failed to be domesticated, and it's very hard to live with a feral animal. We've tried for four years, and she still acts wild. She asked us if that's what we'd like to do, rather than proceeding with the antibiotics. We both started to cry in the office. I mean, what the fuck are we supposed to do? We love Teapot. She's our cat. But she's an awful cat and she causes us a lot of anguish and money. (This particular episode is up to $400 so far). If she were a sweet, wonderful, tame pet, the cost of her medical problems would be inconsequential. But she's expensive AND mean!
So I guess needless to say, we didn't do her in. We said we'd give it another try. We'd try the 6 weeks of antibiotics and see what the urine analysis reveals. It could be that she's been sick and in pain her whole life and that's why she's crazy.

And this is going to sound selfish, but if we can't keep Teapot and Loki, I'd rather have Loki. I'm almost tempted to have Teapot put to sleep so I can keep the kitten. Is that horrible?

I kinda wonder why we complicate our lives by living with animals.

I don't know what to do, guys.

Geek-kitten

2008-05-30T06:10:19Z

Geek-kitten, originally uploaded by JaneIngrid.

Loki loves to be near computers, speakers, etc. It's probably because of the warmth and vibrations, but we like to think that of course our kitten would have some sort of affinity for geeky things.
Tonight I was looking for her and couldn't find her anywhere. She wasn't in any of her usual places. And then I spotted her, chilling out under Neko's monitor like she just belonged there.

Last night was her first night with 'in' us.(Up until then she's been sleeping outside with mamacat) It could not have gone any better. We brought her to bed, she snuggled in between us while we watched Futurama, and when we turned out the lights, she went to sleep and stayed there until we got up in the morning.

I LOVE THIS CAT.

Do I talk about anything besides these stupid cats? Probably not.