I Live Where?

So many of the blogs I read have the little thingy on the side that tells where the visitors are from. So far today I've been from Aurora, CO ... Lakewood, CO ... Littleton, CO ... and Broomfield, CO ... all of which are NOT WHERE I LIVE. It's not like I'm using a wireless hookup and picking up on someone else's signal. Bizarre.

Shhhh ... What Was That?

About two or three weeks ago I woke up at about 3 or so in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep. Tossing and turning, I finally got out of bed and decided I'd get some household chores done before going to work.

The chore of my choice? Laundry. Doesn't sound like a big deal ... except we don't have a dryer. We hang all our clothes on the line to dry. So, there I was, in the pitch black darkness of the woods, hanging clothes up to dry. I took the dog out with me, and had him tethered right by me.

Anytime I go out in the early morning hours like that, my ears are very attuned to EVERY LITTLE SOUND. I'm always afraid a Mt. Lion will shoot out of the darkness and try to eat me. This isn't paranoia, this is reality. We have cat attacks on occasion up here, and dogs get picked off like Happy Meals for wild life.

So, there i was, hanging clothes on the line ... SNAP!! I swear I heard a twig break in the darkness. It could be a deer, an elk, or a mt. lion. I freeze, ears pricked ... silence. Nothing. I get back to my chore. Then I hear it ... the very distinct scream of an elk ... screaming, not bugling happily. And it kept screaming ... on and on and on. I grab the basket of clothes and the dog ... and RUN into the house.

Panicking, I wake up my s/o. I explain the whole story, and show her my hands ... they're shaking out of control!! Then, for some reason, I feel like I still need to finish hanging out the clothes. So I ask her to come with me so I won't be alone. She drags herself out of bed to go out with me ... the screaming silenced now ... and explains to me that if an elk was just taken down by a cat, the cat's too busy to be interested in me.

Thanks, honey.

THEN ... last night I got sucked into watching Monster Quest on the History Channel. They had back to back episodes about ... Bigfoot. Of course, one of the episodes goes on and on about how there have been Bigfoot sightings galore in ... COLORADO. They speculate that, since we have the largest elk population in the world, Bigfoot hunts elk ...

The question is ... Would I rather know that it was a cat ... or Bigfoot? I'll never know what happened ... and it probably was a cougar ... but that darned ol' imagination of mine is going CRAZY!!!

Mother's Day

I am a glutton for punishment, I believe. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to have my mom here for three days to celebrate Mother's Day. I will never do that again!!!

My mother and I do not have a good relationship ... some might even call what I feel "hate" ... I don't know what it is ... I just know that I can't control how I feel and most of our interactions are out of a feeling of obligation on my end.

I want her to leave ... now!!!

Only a few more hours, and I shall be free!!!

Ask The EGGspert

I had a conversation with a friend about eggs. I was telling her how I prefer to buy eggs that come from hens that aren't caged, etc. The problem, for me, is that it's hard to figure out which ones are truly "free range" and which ones aren't technically in cages, but are crammed into tiny rooms with other hens.

Somehow that led to fertilized eggs. I told her I don't buy them because I don't know if the hen and rooster actually "do the deed", or if they've managed a way to commercially inseminate a bunch of hens.

My friend then said ... I swear she really said this ... "Chickens don't have sex, the hen lays the eggs and then the rooster comes and squirts on all the eggs. They're just like frogs, they produce eggs regardless."

What?!?!?

Yes, they lay eggs regardless ... but where the hell does she get her information?? I understand the logic that made her come up with the idea ... but, she spoke with such authority. Like she was the expert! Yeah ...

Why Bother?

I'm awake. It's 3:52 a.m. I've been awake for just over an hour. Why? Because I'm stressing about all the crap I have to do at work. I'm behind because my computer is having some issues and the IT department is supposedly "working on it" ... yeah, right.

It's been two whole days wasted ... ugh!!! The result? I have insomnia because some jerk isn't doing his job!!!

Yesterday morning I sent them an email that said something along the lines of, "I still can't open any word docs, print, use Jenark, or Docuware. I understand you are working on it, but can you give me an approximate timeline in which this problem will be resolved?"

Their response? Oh, you'll love this one ...

"When I figure out the problem, I will contact you for resolution."

WTF??? I'm going to start telling all my clients that when they inquire about when something will be done ... "When I do it." Yeah, that'll go over well.

Firewood, Anyone?

Last weekend we got 36.8" of snow here. As a result, we now have a 60 foot plus tree laying down in our yard. Today I shall go out and begin cutting it up. It never broke at the base, it just leaned over and laid down. During the storm, I went out and knocked snow off it, hoping it would stand up again ... but it did not.

As long as the batteries are still good in the camera, I should be able to get some good shots of the tree to post. I'm not certain anyone wants to see the "progress" I make today, as I don't have a proper saw ... thank goodness the trunk isn't too awful thick. We shall see.

Angry At The Universe

I'm having one of the worst weeks ever! Saturday the 11th of April, my s/o's ex tried to have me subpoenaed ... but I didn't answer the door. Thursday night, the 16th of April, my toy poodle died. He had Addison's disease and went into "Addison's shock". He was at the vet all day on Thursday, and died at home that night. We had a blizzard beginning Friday morning, the 17th. We got snowed in AND had a black out that lasted almost 24 hours. Monday, the 20th was the court date for my s/o to fight the appeal of her ex husband who wants more alimony ... he won. She has to continue paying the deadbeat for another year, at which point I am sure he will appeal again!!

That's all. Isn't it enough? I dare not ask, "What could possibly happen next?" I don't want to know. Hopefully this is our run of shitty luck for the next long while.

But for now, I hate the universe.

Seether

Yup, that's me ... the Seether. I have been so pissed off all weekend, I'm spitting nails!! Seeing as how I can't legally get married in my state, why in the hell can they drag my finances into factoring whether or not she can afford to make alimony payments?!?!?! I wish all the ill will in the universe on loser asshole and his attorney.

Did I mention this is his SECOND appeal?!?!! Yeah, because the first time he lost ... he is like a two year old who feels the world owes him something. He throws tantrums until he gets his way. Fuck off, asshole!!

Irksome

My s/o pays alimony to her ex-husband. She pays him around $800.00 a month. This has been going on for five years. Last November was supposed to be her final payment to him ... we were stoked!! BUT ... he filed an appeal, and the court has made her continue to pay him until the court date. That date is April 20, 2009.

Yesterday he tried to have me served a subpoena. He may have been successful, I have no idea. Some man came to the house, we didn't answer the door, but he left the paperwork on the porch. I never touched it, left it out in the rain ... but, in all honesty, I probably am considered "served".

This is ridiculous!! I think after 5 years of payments, this should be over!!

This is the source of my stress and anger today.

MIA

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've posted. So much has happened, I have no idea where to start. I know I'll never get it all into one post anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

My dog's tumor was benign, so all was good in that department. Then, shortly after that ordeal, he became lethargic. I don't mean to say he was low on energy, I mean to say he down-right had NO energy. When I would take him outside to go potty, he would sit down and lean his head against a tree. He had no desire to do ANYTHING ... eat, drink, walk, play ... nothing but sleep.

I took him to the vet where they ran the gamut of tests, and couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Finally, my vet had a last resort idea ... he was right. It turns out that the little guy has Addison's disease. His kidneys don't make adrenaline, hence the missing energy. So now he gets hormone treatment once a month, and he takes prednisone twice a week.

I am so thankful for my vet, he is so reasonable on prices. He's only making me pay for the injections, he's giving me free prednisone, and not charging for office visits. This isn't a new thing for him either, he's always been so affordable, and good. I found him via a referral 15 years ago, and haven't used another vet since!!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!

Then, about two weeks ago, my larger dog bit the smaller dog because of a jelly bean under the living room chair. The result was the poodle ended up with a punctured lip, a missing tooth, and an almost comatose state because of his lack of adrenaline. More vet time, more treatment, but he's all better now ... again ...

Pack Rat

It's been a good year so far. What are we, like 11 days into the new year? Well, that's 11 days that I haven't screwed up the year. My dog who had the tumor removed is healing up rather nicely. The vet didn't call me last week with the biopsy results, so I'm going to call him first thing tomorrow. Other than that, all is well in Whinerville!

I've decided to make a New Year's resolution for this blog. I vow to use my camera and post pics of stuff. There is this garage I pass on a daily basis on my way to work that, every time I see it, I think, "I have got to take a picture of that and blog about it!" Have I? No ... but I will! My phone doesn't take the absolute best pictures in the world, so I'm going to start carrying the camera around with me. Stay tuned to see if it gets exciting!

Yesterday we went "down the mountain" to visit a friend. Every time we go to this particular house, I have trouble focusing on the visit because I am distracted by the mess. This woman is a total pack rat. She has stuff piled everywhere. You have to literally walk between the stacks of horded stuff in order to get around in her house!

Her boyfriend's lease just expired and he's staying there temporarily. She's pissed and hurt because he won't move in, and they've been together 5 years or so. He has told her repeatedly that he can't permanently live in those conditions, that she has got to get rid of stuff. But she doesn't.

Now, I've heard that this is a mental illness. My mother used to have a friend just like this. I've read about it on the web. it's frickin' insane!! I mean, these types of people throw nothing away ... at all. Newspapers, boxes and boxes of stuff that will be used "some day." I don't even know what type of treatment is available for this disease, but she needs it! Her hoarding has filled every room, including the basement and the garage.

I mean, when my house starts to get messy, I get cranky and things just don't feel good. When the house is clean, it feels good to come home. It feels good to wake up and walk through a clean house. I imagine this friend of mine hasn't had that experience in about, oh ... 19 or 20 years! No exaggeration ... sigh. It kinda puts it all into perspective, when my house is messy, at least it doesn't require a dumpster be parked out front and 50 trips to the Goodwill!

My Voice is Famous!!

Okay, well, maybe not so much. However, my friend Mike, the one who I was the Best Man in his wedding ... he does an on line comic based on his life. I went to his house on New Year's Eve and we recorded the whole evening (vocals only!) and he has snipped and edited, and now I am on his latest "episode". Check it out here.

Sick Puppy

I know I've been scarce as of late, but who hasn't? Busy time of year for most, I'm certain. Right now things are pretty low key in the household because our smallest dog, Butchie, just had two tumors removed and he's recovering. He's at that age now ... hopefully when the biopsy results come back, we will find them both benign and just resolve ourselves to living with a lumpy old dog. Either way, the recovery ain't fun and games. He has a bazillion stitches on his chest where his left leg starts and only about a million on his left hind leg.

My s/o's mother came to visit Christmas week. Shoot me in the head, please!!! She brought her two dogs, who peed in the house about seven times!!! Her dogs also terrorized our cats for five glorious days. The woman would not discipline her dogs!!! So frustrating!!! I am not exaggerating when I describe her discipline ... for each offense, the dogs got spoken to in baby talk as follows: "No, no pee pees", and "No, no kee kee" ... ummm, what the hell?!?!!

She's gone now, but she's taken some of my sanity with her.