Siber-Den

28 January 2003

I've Had It Up To Here With Germies

I just came from buying my third course of antibiotics in a month. *sigh*

About a month ago, I developed a weird sort of infection in my nose. Went to one doctor, he shrugged it off and said it was nothing. Hot compresses and over-the-counter antibiotic ointment should do the trick. Just for good measure, I took a course of penicillin. The infection didn't even take notice of it. Last week, I finally decided to try a specialist, an ENT dude, and he finally figured out what the hell was wrong with me (physically anyway). Enter second course of antibiotics. Fast forward to last night.

Last night, I was in the garage with my two cats (or spawns of Satan, as Kev now refers to them :), petting them and making sure the heater was warm enough for them. I noticed some weird bump on Kitty Koolie's chest and thinking it was a tick, started messing with it. It turned out to be a hair mat. My sweet little Kitty Koo didn't like me messing around there and bit my hand at the fleshy part of my palm to let me know. It wasn't a very hard bite. There was barely a puncture wound. No bleeding at all. I went inside and washed it off and went home. Two hours later, my hand began to throb and swell. Taking a closer look, I noticed a red streak had begun to form on my arm. *sigh* Blood poisoning!? *sigh*

Without a second thought, I brought up a google search page (I love the internet) and searched on "cat bite" "blood poisoning" and "antibiotics", and sure enough, the one the doctor prescribed not four days before is often prescribed for bites. I immediately took one and another a few hours later, and in the morning, the red streak was gone. *whew*

After a call to the same doctor this morning, enter the third course of antibiotics.

I'm freaking out that I managed to have that little bottle on my desk when I really needed it. Having that little bottle on my desk prevented a trip to the emergency room and possibly an overnight stay.

Not to mention Kev wreaking vengeance on innocent little Kitty Koo.

My arm's a bit achy and tingly at the moment. It feels like I've been throwing baseballs all night. Slight feeling of malaise over all. Hard to believe, all this from a little puncture wound.

Weird.

You know what? Appendicitis. I haven't had appendicitis yet. Fourth course, anyone?

[Posted at 20:13 on 01/28/03]

26 January 2003

A Few Miles Short Of 50,000

Holy Cow, we're back. I don't know what has gotten into Kev and me, but we can't seem to get enough of good music lately. We did Randy Rogers at Greek Bros. Friday night with John and Cathy, and last night, roadtripped up to Dallas to catch the Dead End Angels with new friend, Scott. What an amazing couple of nights. What an amazing couple of shows.

Scott is cool. A very friendly sort who seems to enjoy calling chicks "sugar", "honey", and "darling" :). I got to poke fun at him all night for that.

At some point this evening, I'll put up a bit about what's been going on these past few days. It might end up being quite a tome, so short errands and possibly dinner might have to come first.

[Posted at 16:38 on 01/26/03]

22 January 2003

Routine

How incredibly sad is it that the nice lady at the fast-food drive-thru window was surprised today that I only wanted one breakfast taquito? Granted, the order was for one taquito because they got the order WRONG. Still, she saw me at the window and exclaimed, only one today? She was actually relieved when I told her, no, I wanted three actually.

How incredibly sad is that?

(Um...I get two for me and one for Kiwi...in case anyone's wondering.)

(And yes, I do spoil my dog. You got a problem with that, Kev? :)

(And yes...I may be frequenting that place a bit too frequently)

[Posted at 11:04 on 01/22/03]

21 January 2003

A Little Too Intense About Things I Shouldn't Be Intense About

Wow. I haven't updated in a while. Sorry. I can't help it. I've been focused on answering friends' emails. Evelynne just gives me too much to think about when she emails me. *waving at Evelynne* :)

We did catch The Dead End Angels on Saturday night, in San Antonio this time. Very nice show, though the venue wasn't really designed for a band as good as the DEA. Maybe when the weather gets better, they'll get to do an outdoor show there. The place has a cool patio.

I must be amazingly emotional lately. Let me explain. Kev and I have been fortunate enough lately to enjoy small discussions with Scott and other members of the band during their show breaks. I cherish those little chats. These folk are exceedingly NICE. Even Jessica, Scott's wife, is very friendly.

Anyway, there's one member of the band who's had kind of a rough go of things lately. She's had surgery on her vocal chords. A few weeks ago, she had her tonsils removed. She so loves singing, she showed up a few days later at the Gruene hall show Kev and I took in. And sang like a trooper. Still, it should be amazingly apparent to anyone listening at any of their shows what an amazing voice she still has. The other night, after the show, I got a glimpse of how hard it's been for her. She was talking to Kev and revealed how insecure she feels about her voice now, expressing hope that her voice therapy will help her regain some strength. I wanted to reach across the table and shake her. How can she not know how great she sounds already? I told her she and Scott have begun to sound so good together, Kev and I often look at each other during shows and say, Susan who (long story)? She looked at me as if she didn't know whether to believe me.

You know what I wish? I wish I'd been a fan of hers back before the DEA, back when she was promoting her two cds. I wish I'd known about her when she felt good about her abilities. I would love to have seen her enthusiasm when it was full. It's so contagious right now, that one can't help but be taken in by it.

This all probably seems strange to anyone who hasn't experienced a DEA show. Sorry. I've been feeling really emotional about this chick since she sat down at the table the other night.

[Posted at 22:56 on 01/21/03]

16 January 2003

More About Rescue

A few days ago, I put up a link to an article about Maddie's Fund. I sent the link off to some friends in rescue, and got this response from Margie, head of the local Malamute rescue:

Maddie's Fund money is something we're working on with TARPA (newly founded shelter/rescue group). Getting the shelters and rescues to work together is part of it, but it also includes getting veterinarians onboard. There are percentages cities/counties need to meet proving there is improvement in the system.. but you don't have to start perfect to have some of the money available.

One question is still who gets the money... ie, how do you know the rescue is good? Toward that end, part of what TARPA is doing is "certifying" reputable rescues. Not rescue police, more like a rescue BBB. TARPA membership lets the shelters know the rescue meets a minimum level of care and adoption standards, and the shelter can release the animals with confidence. This is all still "ground floor" and membership is still small, but there's growing interest. TARPA has a small site at http://www.tarpa.org/ .

Boy, do I feel out of the loop. I had no idea so much was going on behind the scenes in Houston. Good for the pups in town.

And thanks, Margie. Keep up the great work!!!

[Posted at 21:22 on 01/16/03]

15 January 2003

Bootlegger

Kev and I watched That 70's Show tonight. In one scene, the characters played with an old, bulky tape recorder, and Kev marveled at what we thought was hi-tech back then. I told him that I actually snuck one of those full-sized tape recorders into the first two Star Wars movies so I could have the dialogue whenever I wanted it (keep in mind, this was pre-pre-vcrs)(also keep in mind, I was a major Star Wars geek). Kev thought that was funny. It seems I've been making bootlegs for a long time. Something I hadn't realized. :)

[Posted at 21:06 on 01/15/03]

No-Kill Nation

Yes, I know there are bigger problems in the world, but this is pretty damn amazing.

Around the same time the comptroller's audit began, Maddie's Fund was created by Dave Duffield, founder of the computer firm PeopleSoft, in memory of his miniature schnauzer, Maddie.

The California-based charity began with $240 million and is expected to rise to $1 billion in the next few years, with the goal of creating a "no-kill nation."

To get the money, communities must show they can eliminate killings of adoptable animals within a five-year period, a goal so ambitious it forces cooperation among city government, animal rescue groups and veterinarians, which New York City has infamously lacked.

[Posted at 13:35 on 01/15/03]

14 January 2003

Yippee!!

Yaaaay!!! Decent people do exist. Someone actually turned it in. I have my mp3 player back. Woo hoo!

[Posted at 10:40 on 01/14/03]

13 January 2003

Stupid Stupid Stupid

ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

I'm going to have to kill Kev. Why, you ask? Because I'm stupid, that's why. *sigh*

What are the chances that someone found my mp3 player at the gym today and, like a decent person, turned it in? I called the gym and have to wait till tomorrow when they'll have access to the safe. What are the chances? I would turn one in if I found one. Does that count? Does that mean mine will be found by an equally decent person? *sigh*

The reason Kev figures into any of this is what he's doing right now. He's ebay-ing. He has already found MANY mp3 players similar to mine on ebay and is very excitedly exclaiming how cheap it will be for me to replace mine.

Ebay...making stupidity less painful.

Kevin...soon to be killed if he doesn't stop with the price exclamations.

I can't believe I left my mp3 player behind. *pout*

[Posted at 20:29 on 01/13/03]

11 January 2003

Dogs

Ok, I'm the first to grieve when dogs kill animals. Last week, I received a frantic call from my mom at nine in the evening. Something was attacking Galena in the backyard, and Mom was afraid to go back there. Mom could hear her screaming and sent Camie out there to help her. Kev and I drove home and found Galena scratched to hell. After searching the backyard, we found a cat, apparently a stray, in one of the bushes. Whatever happened, Galena or Camie was the winner in that instance. As much as I love these dogs, I hate their tendency to kill.

Anyway, the local media has been up in arms about a, as they put it, pack (4) of "rampaging dogs" that has struck several times at a local Houston school district barn. Local students raise ag animals for local livestock shows and lodge them there.

It is sad. Those poor animals. I've had to deal with the aftermath of instances like this on a smaller scale. It isn't pretty. It never fails to leave a pit in my stomach for quite a while.

Still. Aren't they just raising these animals to be sold to be butchered anyway? I guess they view them in some way as pets, but they're more like investments for them, paying for future scholarships and such. Every time I've gone to the Livestock show, it's bothered me that all these pampered, fattened, gentle humanized creatures will end up on the butcher's block. It seems a little different than the mass, faceless, loveless numbers that are slaughtered so local fast food joints can peddle their muck.

They probably will find that the lab mix they managed to capture is a gentle, sweet dog. Prey drive usually has no bearing on aggressiveness towards people.

Don't know what my point is about all this. There is no point. I'm rambling. It's been a bad week for dogs. Too many stories of cruelty that I couldn't bring myself to post about. Sometimes I get a bit defensive about them.

[Posted at 16:34 on 01/11/03]

10 January 2003

I Hate Our Mayor

*sigh*

On the way home from coffee tonight, we cut back and through that neighborhood, only to come upon newly started construction on West Alabama.

The bastards have started.

[Posted at 23:53 on 01/10/03]

Fun Thursday Nights Make For Rough Fridays

I never thought the day would come when I would have to admit to something like this, but at last night's Randy Rogers show at the Firehouse, I was an "Adam you 'effing' rock" screamer. Well, I didn't exactly scream THAT. I wasn't THAT toasted. I did find it amusing, for some really stupid, odd reason, to shout the title of one of Randy's songs. Over and over and friggin' over again. Thank God, he finally played the damn thing so I could finally shut the hell up. Holy friggin' cow.

Speaking of the show, this guy's music is REALLY good, and he's great live. Last night's show was the fourth RR show we've seen. Good stuff all around. Even his between-songs banter is good.

We went down after the show to have him sign our minidisc and Randy remembered us from the Texans tailgate show. Dude's got some memory. He was toasted last night, but he seemed fairly amused that we recorded the show.

The weird part of the whole evening (story of my life...varying degrees of weirdness) is my connection to the opening band. As they started to play, I noticed the bass player and kinda furrowed my brow for a second as I tried to think where/how I knew this guy. I finally realized he was a former employee of mine. He and his mom used to work for us/with us. I waited till their set was over and went down to make a total fool of myself, er, see if he remembered me. I stopped where he was loading up his gear, and he looked at me, and I asked if he remembered me. This kinda scared look came over his eyes, and he said, no, I don't think so. Then I said, come on, Jim, you know who I am. When I said Jim, he started, and exclaimed, CALLIE!!! For some odd reason, he's going by James right now. I guess only people who know him call him Jim. Anyway, we talked for a long while, then he came upstairs and we talked some more and he sat with us for a while. It was good to see him again. It's been about 8-10 years.

*groan* Why oh why was it so necessary for me to hear that damn song? We're listening to the boot as I type this. I'm going to have to burn those minidiscs.

[Posted at 22:43 on 01/10/03]

08 January 2003

Traffic-Cone Orange

There is hope.

Mayor Lee Brown has asked the Texas Department of Transportation to give the city until March to plan ways to get city streets ready to relieve the resulting traffic snarl from the freeway project.

One of the big fears is the potential for disaster when Houston hosts the Super Bowl next January. City leaders want to avoid the spotlight shining on little more than gridlock.

"We need to make sure that all of the news media then is showing all the best aspects of the city, not being stuck in traffic somewhere," said Tom Davis with the Houston Downtown Management District.

Now, the Department of Transportation says if by March 1, the city can come up with a viable plan to relieve traffic and the financing to pay for it, it would be willing to play ball.

[Posted at 19:42 on 01/08/03]

07 January 2003

Long Day

I am very proud of myself. I drove all the way to the west side of town (35 miles round trip) and didn't race once. How about that?

And I had my seatbelt on the whole time.

I didn't once, however, use lower gears to slow my car down. Sorry.

[Posted at 00:13 on 01/07/03]

05 January 2003

Too Cool

We finally managed to see the second installment of LOTR last night. Wow. What an amazing movie. Glorious. And Gollum WAS all that.

I almost wish I hadn't read the books some twenty years ago. It's almost a shame that I know how the whole thing ends.

'Till next Christmas....

[Posted at 13:34 on 01/05/03]

04 January 2003

Not All Pet Stores Sell Pets

I love Petco. I just came back from our local store and a much needed petfood/treat run. Petco does such a great job when it comes to rescues and helping the rehoming community. At our local store, at one end of the store, there were ten or so very well-behaved dalmations smiling at shoppers, hoping someone will decide to stop and take a look. What beautiful dogs. The local dalmation rescue has done a great job with them.

At another end of the store, a local cat rescue had set up about half a dozen crates containing sweet, beautiful cats.

If nothing else, these public efforts at least get the idea of rescue into people's heads. It still amazes me how many people don't know about rescue.

[Posted at 15:13 on 01/04/03]

03 January 2003

Car Nut

I raced a Jaguar today. It wasn't a fancy Jag, nothing but a sedan-looking thing, but the dude driving thought he was hot...well...hot mustard for driving it and tried to zoom (yeah..whatever) around me. I was on the Beltway going to my mom's and he zoomed all over the place to get in front of me but kept misreading the traffic flow in various lanes and just ended up behind me for the e-z tag lane at the tollbooth. After that, it was more of the same. I just cranked it up to 80 and left him in my wake because he just didn't know how to gauge traffic. Sad, actually.

Anyway, that little episode got me thinking. I wasn't at my best today because I'm on antibiotics for a little nose issue I'm having, and I could tell my reaction time wasn't peak. Though there were no close calls or real craziness to speak of, I kinda decided that I need to sorta swear off racing. I don't do New Year's resolutions, but maybe I should make an exception this year.

So, anyway, we were all at Rudz tonight, chatting away, and I brought up the race and my decision to try and taper off on racing, and everyone at the table nixed the idea. Reasons ran the gamut from my craziness is fun and it's part of who I am to the car would be wasted if an old lady drove it. *sigh*

There was consensus amongst my dear ones that several other dangerous driving habits of mine need to change, but the racing shouldn't stop altogether.

There was also consensus that I'm weird for not downshifting to slow down my car. The only reason I ever downshift is to race or speed around someone. I never have, even when I was driving my Volvo, downshifted to slow my car down, hence my problem driving in the mountains. I slow down by using the brake or putting it in neutral. Am I the only one who does it this way? Were my teachers (my parents) wrong to teach me to drive a standard this way? And thinking about this in a practical sense (if that's what it is), my car is going to SCREAM if I downshift while cruising along. The engine is loud enough as it is. Hmmm.

My life, it's a friggin' democracy.

[Posted at 22:37 on 01/03/03]

02 January 2003

One Of Those Days

Real email correspondence with the online pharmacy I utilize about a missing asthma med shipment:

Me:
Hi,
Is there a way you can check to see who signed for this? I did not receive this shipment and the ups details page says it was delivered on the 24th of December. We were out of town till the 26th of December.

Thanks,
*signed*

Me (ten minutes later):
Ooops. Sorry. :)

I found the package by our back door in the bushes. Thanks, anyway.
*signed*

Response:
Dear Callie,

Thank you for writing to *online pharmacy* regarding your prescription order.

Thank you for your note. We are very pleased to hear you received your order. Sorry it was tucked away under the bushes! Those UPS drivers sure are sneaky.

Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have any questions or comments. Thank you for contacting *online pharmacy*.

Best regards,

Matthew
Customer Care Specialist

It's been a ditzy day.

[Posted at 22:03 on 01/02/03]

01 January 2003

It Is Montrose

Aliens.

I did a few "scary" manuevers today when leaving the store parking lot, and Kev threatened to call any accident I might have in the future an "irresponsible." I protested and asked him what if I'm not to blame. He said then he would call the incident an "improbable."

What if aliens are involved?

[Posted at 22:36 on 01/01/03]

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