Seven.Caged.Tigers

I’m working on a massive redesign of this site. Finally. My deepest desires come true…this site will be red.

Mr. Bling

Oh lord.

So a few weeks ago we FINALLY got our 45 gallon fishtank up and running and with fish. Two of the three cats were pretty uninterested, but Dewey loved the fish like they were his own. He played with them. Maybe ate one or two. And pawed at the tank. Anyway, I come home from work yesterday and notice that Dewey isn’t too interested in his fishies. I go and check. The seven are ALL DEAD. So I knew something happened. I’m not a fish tank expert (hubby knows much more than I about the hobby), but when I touched the tank it was rather hot.

Well, come to find out, the cats had knocked the sensor out of the tank and the poor little fellows baked in HOT (nearly 100 degree) water. Poor guys. I guess the tank isn’t quite cat-proof.

On a lighter note, I’m now addicted to Kindom Hearts for the Playstation 2. It’s a great game and I’ve only been at it for like five hours total. Grrr….I must get home and play with Soru and the gang.

For once I felt feminine. I’m (for whatever reason) wearing a skirt today.

Not to beat an already bloodied and bruised horse to death, but American Idol had a concert last night at 8pm on FOX. That would have been fine. I’m a fan of the show and have been since it’s first episode. But I had some major issues with this concert:

* Why the heck did they include those badly lip-synced parts? These people are supposed to have talent ‘ya know.

* Why did the final 30 sing the same songs we’ve been hearing for the entire competition. I wanted desperately to be wowed by the new and different!

* Why did I have to look at the bloated and nasty face of Alexandra Bachelier once again. I thought I was rid of her…

Basically…it sucked. Bad.

Curious about Epinions and what I write? I just FINALLY got something up at rockreviews.net. It’s probably not final, but as it stands at this moment I’m pretty pleased with the results.

Last night was a marathon reality TV event. First the season premier of Survivor: Thailand. Yes, indeed, I am a freak. Anyway, the promised suprise was that each of the two elder players (one female and one male) chose their teammates. It was basically the largest game of chance ever. Anyway, that was all fine and dandy except for the fact that the old man chose all the young, apparently “athletic looking” people. The old lady on the other hand chose all the older, more seasoned types. So, on the first night, this jackass of a Pastor for Alabama (John) was kicked off of the elder of the two tribes.

I can’t wait for the season to get on with it. My bet is that if the other, younger team has to choose they will rid themselves of this really dumb, really crass jerk named Robb from Arizona. The idiot even brought his skateboard. Why? What? To board around on the sandy beaches….yeah. That’ll work. When hell freezes over.

The second half of my viewing night came with Survivor three. It was eviction night. Danielle was head of household and Lisa and Amy were on the block. Neither Lisa or Amy suspected that the two others (Danielle and Jason) actually have an alliance that has stood since week 1. Alas, Amy was kicked off. She was good about it and went on her marry way to greet her very excited dog that immeditely began to piss in the studio. EVERYWHERE. If nothing else, that was the highlight of the show. Anyway, those three remaining were in a knock down brawl for the Head of Household that would put them in the final two. I’m kinda rooting for Lisa…just because that could throw a wrench into the plans…

So yeah. I just lived through another weekend. Thought that’s not a shocker considering I was “Up North” in Gladwin for two nights. I ate well and slept well. What more could a girl want? Oh, and by the way here’s a picture of an adorable baby just birthed by my cousin Ashley. Congrats Ashley and Ryan!

One year ago yesterday was a bit on the tough side for everybody in the United States. Hell, everybody around the world was probably flooded with painful emotions like loss, fear, and disbelief. Yesterday, I refused to return to that deep and difficult place. Instead of watching hours upon hours of the same videos, interviews, and stories, I decided to simply rent a movie. I really didn’t matter which one. I settled on Frank Darabont’s The Majestic. Simple, pretty, and with a good story it served the purpose well enough.

What obscure band are you?

Yow. Check out your own name here: http://www.kabalarians.com/gkh/your.htm#links. It was more than just a little accurate for me…both in a good and bad way.

“The name of Shelly gives you a very inquisitive, restless, seeking nature. You feel impelled by intense desires that you cannot comprehend or satisfy. You have had the desire to accomplish something outstanding and to do something very worthwhile for humanity, especially early in your life. This name gives you a versatile, clever, analytical mind, but unfortunately you cannot direct your interest toward an undertaking for long, as you do not have the patience and practicality for systematic hard work and attention to detail. You resent obstacles, delays, and restrictions. This name gives you ambition, high ideals, and much creative ability, but the intense dynamic nature is too often spent in feelings and in moods, rather than in constructive action. You desire to be your own boss, yet you find it difficult to stabilize your life and to settle down and be accumulative. Your feelings swing from optimism to pessimism. You can be very cynical and caustic, and you subject those around you to outbursts of temper and moods of self-pity. Your home-life particularly would suffer. This name has given you an appreciation for refinement, and the better things in life such as art, music, and literature. You can express a very friendly, debonair personality to strangers which invariably makes a very favourable impression. It has been your experience that once you lose control to indulgent habits, for example, smoking, drinking, or emotional outbursts, it is very difficult to retain control. You would be affected in the health through a sensitive solar plexus and nervous system. Nervous disorders, nervous indigestion, and stomach ulcers could develop. “

I just heard the most ridiculous thing on the radio this morning. Apparently, the mayor of Detroit (Kwame Kilpatrick) has decided to re-enforce an ancient law that police officers music salute him upon his entering and exiting his residence. Ummm….yeah. You think this guy has a major issue with his ego? I do believe so…

This past weekend was both relaxing and tiring. Relaxing because I wasn’t at work nor did I have any *real* responsibilities. Tiring because of all the bike riding and car rides. Then there was that darned 5-mile walk across the Mackinac Bridge yesterday morning.

Also, I got the opportunity to talk to a 25-year old from Atlanta (cousing/niece of one of the attending families). She was diagnosed with bladder cancer six or so months ago and underwent chemo and radiation as a treatment. I hope I helped even just a little. It’s kind of my goal in life to track down people like myself. This one was just a fluke. Though, I’m feeling a bit warm and fuzzy from the encounter.

Finally, I came home and there were two interesting things. First, our phone lines seem to be crossed. We, quite literally, picked up the phone and somebody was engaged in conversation. We called the cell phone from one of our jacks and it wasn’t our number recognized on the caller ID. In addition, we can for some reason call long distance to some locations yet some local numbers seem to require a strange 5-digit code that we don’t know or understand. VERY strange. Biggest issue with that is it seems to effect our dial-up connection. God. I wish we could have cable modem or DSL. Then, all would indeed be right with the world.

The second, sadder, interesting thing was that my parent’s dog had to be put to sleep. Bud was a wonderful pet of fifteen year who nearly reached 17 years of age. She was actually a stray on the streets of Flint when my aunt, uncle and cousin picked her up. She was already a sweet dog, loved children, was spayed, and really very cute. Signs were attached to trees and grocery stores. Nobody claimed the dog that came to be known as Bud. We quickly acquired her and within moments loved her. She didn’t lick, bite, or bark. Yet, she was attracted to small bodies (of which I was one at just age 11 or so in 1987). Bud stayed with the family for all those years and lived out a very good life full of love and care. Even in 6th grade (approximately 1989), I was very attached to Bud and won the grand prize at the local Young Authors competition. The story? Written through the dog’s eyes about her life on the mean streets through eventually landing on our doorstep. Bud was put to sleep on Saturday.