Yeah, I swear every now and then. I guess that makes me a naughty little monkey. If you have a problem with that, more power to ya. Everyone needs a hobby.
WIPs
Gong Stampato
FOs
Hot Head x 2
Ribbed-for-Her-Pleasure-Scarf
'04
Hot Head x 1
Top Secret
Black Bag
Zeeby's Bag
Big Bad Baby Blanket
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Thursday, December 23, 2004 |
Merry Christmas, Nora! You got some new furnishings for your cage! Now that you've grow a bit, it's time to replace your old water dish and one hidebox.
Before...
After...
Ok, so it's still nothing spectacular, but don't despair, Nora! By spring we'll have redecorated in a way that will rival those fantasic homosexuals on Bravo. Rest easy my sweet little ectotherm, the freezer is stocked well with mice for you.
I am massively fed up with mom's sweater. Thank god I've made a ton of progress. The front will be finished tonight which leaves me with the sleeves and sewing to do. Pictures of this yarn haven't been turning out, so I'm holding off on that till I get to the final product. The suspense builds...will I get it done in time? Will I be up all night on Christmas Eve, knitting until my fingers bleed? Will mom even like her handmade gift? Ok, so mom's like everything their kids make. But as for the rest...who knows? It's going to be a tight fit especially since I'm working on Christmas Eve.
On the bright side, my shopping is done. I think that everyone is going to like their presents and I can't wait to see them open them up!! Yeah, and I'm pretty thrilled to find out what I got. I've got the yarn to make beanies for the boys and I'm excited to start that sometime soon. I just wish this Christmas thing would finish up so I can get back to knitting for fun. Yay!
A 20 something male came in to my work the other night. Actually, he was brought in by the paramedics and the police. He was hyped up on something though I never found out what it was. Apparently, it took four cops to subdue him at the scene. I've never seen anyone so out of control. He was tied down to the stretcher in restraints and shaking and screaming violently. I mean, screaming. Not just dirty words, he was howling like a sick dog. Of course this attracted everyone's attention but me and my buddy Chris held back and stayed out of the way. Chris turned to me,
"You know what he needs?"
"What?" I challenged.
"A hug."
Chris nominated me, but I respectfully declinced. However, I was suckered into assisting Chris put a Foley catheter in the boy.
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Sunday, December 19, 2004 |
The show went well and I actually had some fun. I have to admit that I started to get attached to some of the kids. Oh well, my time as a role model has passed and I wouldn't go back to dance just to have some six year old girl look up to me.
Mike came to the show, yay!!! That was a true love labor because he came even though I wasn't dancing. In fact, this is what I was in charge of:
It looked better on stage during the correct scenes. The point is, Mike came late and didn't get a program. The story is pretty impossible to follow, so he started thinking up ideas for a ballet. He pitched one of them to me and I'm thinking about working on it myself. So...look for the ballet adaptation of Princess Mononoke sometime in the next five years (hey, I'm not a choreograpy genius, ok?).
Five days to get that evil sweater done. I brushed over another mistake because I really don't care anymore. After a fight with my mom tonight, fixing two rows isn't worth the time. Still, the woman deserves a nice Christmas present.
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Friday, December 17, 2004 |
They always said, "Bad dress rehersal, good performance," and mostly I believed them. However, I worry because yesterday was the dress rehersal for my old dance troupe's show and it went wonderfully. Good dress, bad show? At this point, the ballet is marginal at best. The choreography is good, the music is fantastic and the dancing is solid. However, there is no plot or character development. It's an original creation of my dance teacher, so the lack of direction is no great surprise. Still, the weird and deceptive part is it's called "The discovery of Purpose." Trust me, no purpose is discovered by the audience.
So, what's my role? 100% stage bitch. I'm helping out with scene changes, quick costume changes and small children patrole. I thought that I would be bitter about this role and lust to be back on the stage. Hasn't happened yet, oddly enough. In fact, I'm thrilled about not dancing. I guess old habbits die easy when they incite bad memories. But, dear god, I'm not bitter.
For the empty minutes during the dances where I don't have a job to worry about, I plan to knit. It worked out well yesterday. It was like a new sexual expirence...ooooh, I've never knit standing up before! And in public to boot! I must be hooked because I was able to finish the armhole shaping for the back piece. If I can get the back done and start on the front by tomorrow, I'll be a very happy girl. Perhaps plugging out a sweater in eight days isn't as intanglible as I originally thought. It would be a Hanukkah miracle.
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Wednesday, December 15, 2004 |
It's gone. This is something I have to accept and maybe I'll move on.
I frogged mom's sweater.
Before...
After...
This is not how it's supposed to work! It's supposed to go the other way! Now I'm freaking out. There's just no way that I'll have this done by Christmas. On the bright side, my mom isn't going to snub her nose if it isn't done. I'll just put it in a box and write "Some assembly required." It'll be like all those presents she gave to me when I was a kid ;o)
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Tuesday, December 14, 2004 |
You know, it's pretty tough to take a picture of a snake like that. They're always moving and you only have one hand to hold the camera steady. The end result can be a little blurry, as seen here. But that's my girl, nonetheless.
So, what got me into reptiles, anyway? I'm not really sure. I can remember exposure to snakes when I was in elementary school. The principal, Mr. Kent, had something of a reptile collection. Mr. Kent would bring a snake or lizard out sometimes and let us look at it while we were waiting for the bus. He would always answer questions and let us touch the animals, probably to prove that there was nothing to be afraid of. I'm sure that had a big impact on me.
The first time that I wanted a snake for a pet was also in elementary school. I saw a mom waiting for her kid to get out of class and she was holding this garter snake. She was showing it to the children and other moms and talking about how she got it a PETCO or something. She had a little carry case for it and everything. At that moment, owning a snake became a very attractive idea to me. I'm still not sure why. My mother's exact word were "Not while you live in this house."
When I was a sophomore in high school, I got straight A's for the first, and only, time. My parents asked me what I wanted as a reward. I said I wanted a snake.
Mom had to cave in.
Dad made me research several types of snakes before he let me make a purchase. I thought that a ribbon snake would be cool since they eat guppies which can be purchased for, like, 75 cents. The other part of the deal with my dad was he had to see me handle the snake before it was brought home. That's when I found out, in the middle of the store, that ribbons aren't too keen on being held and spray when they're picked up. Boo.
A customer in that pet store gave us the name of another store that had, supposedly, a good reptile selection. We trekked over there and zeroed in on a rough green snake. Rough greens eat crickets, stay small and don't have teeth. It seemed like a good match. I picked it up and we headed home with my new pet in a brown paper bag. This was just the beginning of strange things being brought home in brown paper bags.
Pandora was pretty cool, but she didn't last long. Actually, she died a month after I got her. I was young, inexperienced and maintaining a tropical humidity level in Tucson's climate was far harder than I expected. I was devestated, but determined. Pandora's legacy lived on.
I got Marc Anthony on sale for $45 from a more reputable in-town reptile store. He was a California kingsnake that I brought home as a hatchling in a deli cup. Marc had a bit of an attitude. I was still young and inexperienced, so handling him was no easy feat. I learned a lot from Marc, but it was not meant to be. I had been using my chem book to hold down one side of his cage and I turned it back in at the end of my junior year. Lo and behold, Marc escaped, but before I could find him, my brother's cat ate him. I was devestated, but still determined.
Though I was still learning loads about reptiles, keeping them wasn't working out. I let it go until last year when I got the itch...and bad. I cleaned up my old terrarium and tried to keep the set-up a secret from my mom, who still didn't like the idea. I anxiously awaited the reptile show and dragged Mike along with me.
I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I go to a herp show. It's almost embarassing. Finally, I picked out a breeder that I liked and settled on a beautiful baby cornsnake. I quized the breeder: "When was she born? Has she eaten yet? Frozen or live?" and gave the snake a good once over. I was inexpirenced no more. In fact, I knew exactly what I was doing. After I made the purchase, the breeder commented that I was the most prepared person he'd seen all day. Oh, hell yeah.
So, that's how I got Nora. I know a ton about reptiles now and I'm a member of the Tucson Herpetological Society. I love learning about herps and would like to increase my collection, but that's just not a possibility right now. Someday, I'll have a snake room with iguanas and boas and a gorgeous milksnake. Until then, I have my beautiful little Nora to dote on and that's plenty fine with me.
*On a side note, I'm big on herp issues. Reptiles should not be bought from pet stores! If you ever have questions about reptile care or keeping, please contact me or check out Kingsnake.com.*
Marc Anthony
"A reptile to Remember"
This is a tribute to my snake
Who, in the sunny month of June
Did from his charmers cage escape.
Not being satisfied with that,
He sped away with snake-like haste,
And was promptly eaten by the cat.
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