I've been absent for some time from blogging... Probably because I can't blog from TV.com! It's annoying. I can't type in the blank box. It's annoying.

Anyhoo, life has been pretty good lately. I had a really hectic past few weeks, what with schoolwork and all.

Unless I go on to some long drawn out political rant, I don't think I have much else to talk about...haha!

It's been so long since my last blog, I almost don't remember quite how to do it... =/

Has anyone played FooPets? Or maybe you remember it as the Pokey app on Facebook (you adopt a puppy and care for it)? If you've ever had an account with Pokey, please let me know. FooMojo made it possible for people to transfer pets, and I've been trying to collect Pokeys from these accounts. If you've ever played, I'd really appreciate it if you'd be willing to log back in and sell your pet to me! =D

It appears TV.com is on the fritz again. I can't log in and it keeps telling me to clear my cookies, but I did that and it's still not working. Darn you, TV.com. Darn you.

Also, my internet is on the fritz! I can't get on for more than a few minutes when I'm at home. It's really annoying, especially since we bought a new wireless router that was supposed to be stronger than our old one. Not so much, apparently.

I was in the bathroom this morning about 4 am, washing my hands and getting ready to hop back in bed, when I started feeling nauseous. At first I thought I caught the flu that's going around, but after a couple minutes of feeling like I was about to throw up I started getting unbelievably dizzy. I couldn't really see anything, I couldn't hear anything other than the ringing in my ears, and I was shaking like crazy. When I tried to move I felt like I was underwater and every movement took so much effort. I sank down and curled up on my bathroom floor, too afraid to move for fear I might fall and break something. It took about 15 minutes for my symptoms to finally clear up, but I was still afraid to move. Dad came out of my parent's room to see if I was okay. I went back to bed and slept for a couple more hours, then woke up feeling okay. I hate it when I get anxiety attacks, but I can usually stop them if I feel them coming on. That is, if I'm conscious. I've never had one wake me up before. It was bizarre and I really hope it doesn't happen again tonight. I think I'm worried about school and work and the dog show and getting everything ready for the dog show. It's a lot of work! Plus, I was just told last night that I would have to be on a few more live news segments than I had to do last year. Last year was just the one, and I was a nervous wreck for that one. This year I have to do 5 about the dog show and about the ways to get your dog ready for the dog show. So thinking about that makes me panic. I feel like I've been fighting another attack all day. The weird feeling goes away when my mind is occupied.

Oh! I went to the driving range on Sunday for the first time in like 4 years. Who knew I'd be this out of shape? All my muscles hurt on Monday and I'm still sore today. I think I might've damaged my wrist - it hurts to bend and it's not really getting better. But golfing was fun! I wasn't great, but it was fun! Hah..

How are you all?

And in case you don't remember what I'm talking about when I talk about the dog show, go here: www.uacdogshow.com. I'm going to take pictures at this year's event, so I'll post a few after the dog show!

Over the past few days (well, today and yesterday) I've seen a couple things online that I just can't believe.

1. This story proves just how disrespectful and ignorant the liberal media in our country truly is. If the parents of the dead (not just dead - injured and bloody) Marine respectfully ask you not to publish the photos that show their son as he's dying, then you don't publish the photos no matter how much of an impact you believe they'll have.

2. This video illustrates just what's wrong with this presidency. "I pledge to be a servant to our president, Barak Obama." What is that!? As our president, he's supposed to be a servant to the people. It doesn't work the other way around. We are not supposed to serve him. Very few things are able to shock me anymore, but this is definitely one of them.

3. Vick has been allowed back into the NFL completely about a month or so earlier than he was supposed to. Just further proof that the rich and famous get off easy.

I do take some pleasure in the fact that the media (at least, Yahoo news stories) are starting to use less and less attractive pictures of Obama in their publications. Once the president starts making controversial decisions, their attractiveness to the general public starts to drop like a rock.

Well, Vick signed with the Eagles. And I, for one, am very angry. Who would sign this guy? Seriously. He killed dogs. KILLED DOGS! He beat them and trained them to be aggressive, and if they didn't "perform" he executed them or abandoned them. Yeah, he served almost two years in jail. That's not nearly as much as he deserves, though. He should've been beaten, mauled by the dogs he tortured, or thrown into a pit with lions and tiger and various other ferocious animals. He doesn't deserve to have a career after what he did.

And the whole thing with PETA? Well, don't even get me started on PETA. They're a horrible "organization" that shouldn't even exist, let alone get funded by idiots (and no offense to any of you who've given to PETA; how were you supposed to know the truth?). It's a left-wing, hippy, nut-job organization: "We all need to live in harmony with each other, with the animals. We shouldn't eat the animals. We should hug them and care for them and cuddle the monkeys who'd like to scratch our eyes out!" Yep. Nut-jobs. EDIT: Here's the link I forgot to include about PETA's hypocrisy. Click here.

I'd like to hear your thoughts - all of them. Whether you agree or disagree with me, please share. I'd like to get a feel for how other people view this idiot and his new, more famous career.

No, I'm not talking about kids. Not talking about humans either. I'm talking about raccoons. Little nocturnal devils that sneak into your garden and eat all your ripe tomatoes and drink your hummingbird water. The little rabies-carrying freaks that knock down your tomato plants and brush off the unripened tomatoes so that they'll never ripen and you'll never get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Those thieving little brats who climb into your garbage can and pull everything out and scatter it all over your yard, then eat your tomatoes and leave smashed bits and seeds behind.

Yes, those creatures.

We came home after a week of camping (very good time, by the way; more on this later) to find our garden ransacked. Our first instinct was to blame it on the neighbor kids, until we remembered that kids don't much like vegetables and it would be a waste of time for them to come over and take every ripe tomato off the plant. Then we thought squirrels were behind it, until we realized that squirrels would much rather grab one juicy tomato and carry it off into a tree to eat it, rather than just eating a few bites and mashing the rest into a pulp. Then we remembered our raccoon problem from a few years back. One of our neighbors trapped a bunch of raccoons a few years ago and took them accross town and set them free. Well, sadly, he passed away about a month ago, and it seems the raccoons found this out and came back. And now we're doing everything we can think of to get rid of them. Dad rigged up a motion sensor light last night, but that didn't do anything. We bought some sort of spray today and sprayed out tomatoes with it, and hopefully this will do the trick. If not, I'm tempted to buy a BB gun and sit outside all night to BB the little buggers in the rear. Or, I could use Dad's slingshot, if I could figure out how to aim it. Apparently it's illegal to kill the little freaks.

I'll leave you with this last thought: Can you beleive we live in a country where it's illegal to kill these thieving mammals, but perfectly acceptable to allow a mother to murder her unborn child? Something about this seems wrong. Very, very wrong.

Well, all of the kittens are still healthy and happy. Except one. Poor little Cooper still has conjunctivitis, and it's worse, so I drove him to the shelter today for a check up and more meds. He got a stronger version of the eye gel the other kitties have been on for 10 days. Tomorrow is their last day of meds! They finish the oral antibiotic (clavimox) and their eye gel (erythromyacin?) tomorrow morning. Poor Cooper has 10 more days, starting tomorrow morning. Poor little guy. He has to be quarantined in the downstairs bathroom, so he's all alone. He looked so sad when I left...

I'm really pissed right now, but I'm pretty sure I'd be shunned or yelled at or forever lose a couple friends if I posted why. *shrug* People. Who needs 'em?

TV.com isn't letting me post or see blogs (unless they're from 2006...), so I'm posting from Gamespot. Much better postability, I have to say. It's kind of like the old TV.com, like before they changed it to resemble Hulu (at least it looks like Hulu to me..)

Sorry for the short blog, but it's a full moon, and my faith in humanity is dwindling down to almost nothing.

Hello! The following will be a bit of a rant. There will be more blog that is not ranting underneath the rant, so if you're not interested in reading me complain, scroll on down. If you'd like to read my rant, be my guest!

So, the foster kittens are doing very well. They're getting over their upper respiratory infections, but their conjunctivitis seems to be getting worse. Naaiya and her family (the official foster parents) are on vacation this week, so that leaves me and Fwirrel (who lives next door to them) to take care of them. Well, Fwirrel got some sort of flu-bug-virus-thingy and couldn't help me at all this weekend, which was extremely stressful because I had another petsitting job I had to drive across town to get to. And the dog was a crazy black lab, but that's a whole different story.

Anyhoo, it's my responsibility now to go to the kittens in the morning, around 8, and feed them and give them meds. Then I drive back (it's about a 10 minute drive) to the kittens around lunch time to give them more food. Then I stay for a while and let them play and climb all over me and poop all over the place (well, they poop in the litter box, but they step in it and track it all over the place). Then I can leave, but I have to drive back over around 5 or 5:30 to feed them again and give them more meds. Then I can go home, but I have to go back over around 8:30 PM to give them more food. This is a lot of driving and a lot of responsibility.

So I decided this morning that I couldn't handle this back and forth, and I called Naaiya and told her I couldn't handle it and I needed to bring the kitties back to the shelter. She didn't answer her phone, so I left a message that went something like "Hey...I'm having trouble doing all the kitty-stuff by myself, Fwirrel is still sick, and I don't think I can handle this. Please call me back. I'm getting really stressed out. I think I should bring them back to the shelter. I mean, it's not fair to them to be cooped up in the bathroom all day and only get food and attention every few hours. I feel so sorry for them. Please call me back." So she called me back an hour later, after I'd taken a short nap that temporarily relieved my pounding headache.
-"Hey," I answered.
-"Don't bring the kittens back," she said.
-"What? Why not?" I asked.
-"Just don't bring them back."
-"But I'm having trouble with this. It's just me taking care of them, driving back and forth. It's a lot of driving and a lot of work for just one person. I'm stressed and I have a headache and I haven't been feeling well for a couple days," I said. Surely she'll understand, I thought.
-"Mom doesn't want you to bring them back. And besides, it's not that inconvenient for you."
-"Not inconvenient? I have to drive to your house. And at night! If Fwirrel wasn't sick and could help out at night, I wouldn't be as stressed, but I have to drive to your house at 8:30 at night to drop food down for the kittens and leave? That's not convenient."
-"Oh, it's not inconvenient. Just don't bring them back," she said. I didn't say anything. If I'd opened my mouth, I would've burst into angry tears. They think they can take advantage of me. They think they can just tell me what to do and I'll do it, no matter how inconvenient or stressful it is for me. Naaiya said, "Okay? Just keep them."
-"Fine. Whatever. Have fun at the beach," I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. I hung up my phone and burst into tears. Now, I'm not normally one to cry when I'm angry (let alone at all...), but I hadn't slept well the night before (had a creepy dream about flying werewolf monkeys that were attacking me - no, I'm not kidding, I really dreamt that) and I had to get up early, drive across town to walk and feed the dog I was petsitting for, then drive over to her house and take care of the kittens, then over to Mass to listen to a priest from Sudan beg for money, and then home for a quick breakfast, then over to the kittens again. I could feel the breakdown coming, and I'm not surprised that that was the trigger.

I called Naaiya later to ask her how I should go about getting more eye-gel for their conjunctivitis, but she never called me back. I texted her, but she won't text me back. I guess she's mad at me. *shrug* I think I have more right to be mad than she does, but I suppose I did interrupt her vacation with my concerns about being able to care for her foster kittens. *grumbles*

My parents were upset that I was still going to take care of the kittens even though they're pretty much using me. I know they're using me, but the kitties need care and they'll get more love and attention if I'm caring for them, rather than if the shelter is caring for them. The shelter workers don't really have the time to give attention to the animals; they're always so busy cleaning and preparing food and doing all those important employee things. I know they're using me, but I'm doing it for the kitties, not for them. I'm also kind of taking care of their actual pet cats, dropping food in the bowl for them and letting one of them (the other one scares me...it's possessed or something) outside every once in a while.

And I don't really even like cats! Though I have found a place in my heart for the clawing, furry, meowers, I doubt I'll ever truly be considered a "cat person." *shrug* They're okay. But I love the dogs more!

Well, I started listening to a Gaelic Storm station on Pandora. Have you heard of Pandora? If not, go here. It's great. I love the music; something in it speaks to me, as weird as that sounds. It inspires all sorts of stories and such.

I watched a great movie last weekend called Unknown. It's great. Five guys wake up in a warehouse with absolutely no memory of who they are, why they're there, or how they got there. I won't summarize it because it's really hard to summarize and not give away the ending. You should definitely watch it. It's fantastic. And I hadn't heard of it before I found it at the local used book store for $3. Great buy, and great movie. I also bought Shergar, an Irish movie about an Irish racehorse. It was surprisingly good for one of those sappy-inspiration movies. I recommend that one too.

Hope you're all doing well. I'm going camping again next week. I'm finally getting new hiking boots! I've been using a pair of Vasque men's size 8, which are too big for me. They were on sale..haha! But I'm getting womens shoes this time. I'm buying them when we're up there, so I don't know what kind I'm getting yet. They're either going to be Keens or Vasque. I'm excited!

Apparently I'm not allowed to say "Sucking" in my title. Stupid censorship. It's not even a curse word! Anyhoo, onto the blog:

I stepped out of my back door after dinner this evening to take a look at my garden, maybe pull some weeds, pick a few peppers or tomatoes, or just enjoy the overall peace and quiet that comes around sundown. I spent a few minutes pulling weeds (including a dandelion that must have been on steroids; the thing was as tall as my mid-thigh, and I'm 5'5" tall). The dragonflies flitted around my head and the crickets chirped loudly at my feet.

A few minutes into my quiet-time, I looked down at my bare feet and saw three little mosquitoes lined up (and I'm not exaggerating) in a perfectly straight line, like they were pigs at slop, or fat people lined up at a Golden Corral buffet. I squealed and swatted them away, only to notice a couple perched on my other foot. I swatted them away too and was about to run in the door when Dad said "Stop!" and started doing what I now call his "Mosquito Jig" - he hopped around clapping at every little flying black speck that could possibly be one of these horrendous blood sucking devils.

But where did they all come from? We live in the south, known for it's humidity and mosquito-population, but walking out your back door, even in LA (where I am not living), shouldn't mean walking out your back door into a swarm of mosquitoes dense as a column of smoke. The culprit? Our neighbor's decorative fountain that he never uses.

I really have no complaints about my neighbors other than the typical neighbor complaints. They're nice people - very interesting, from Saudi Arabia. Their kids are irritating and like to take up the whole road when they play and leave stuff lying around for everyone else to trip over. They have a giant, ugly satellite dish next to their house (of course it's facing our house) so they can (supposedly) get channels from Saudi Arabia (because why else would you have a jumbo-satellite dish that huge?). A couple years ago they had half their back yard paved into a fancy concrete deck/patio that they rarely use. The fountain was built into their lovely patio, and for a while they used to turn it on and let it run. It was very pretty and added a sort of waterfall-meets-ocean sound to our back yard (that sent us running to the bathroom if we listened to it for too long). It turned into a lovely little nesting place for frogs and toads, and we were often serenaded by their croaking songs. But after a few months they got bored with it, and they haven't turned it on in a couple years.

We didn't notice it so much last year. We realized there was an abnormally large mosquito population hanging around our back door, but we didn't really care because we didn't have our garden last year. This year, though, we can't spend more than 5 minutes outside without getting eaten alive. I have a bite the size of a dime on my wrist! I tallied up all my bites - totalled to about 8 or 9. I couldn't really tell for sure because a couple are either one really huge one, or two really close together.

We're getting really close to contacting the health department, or some other government organization in our city, to report them. Mom wants to talk to our neighbors first to see if we can sort it out, but they didn't really care when their kids took our mail and threw it all over our yard and into the street, so would they care that their fountain is making our lives miserable? Probably not. But having a fountain full of stagnant water and mosquito larvae has to be against some sort of city code, and I'm determined to find one that they're breaking so that we can finally rid ourselves of the horrendous mosquito problem.

Our foster kittens are doing well. Magnus has been renamed Cooper (as in Mini Cooper, because he's the runt - though he has done quite a bit of growing over the past week), Kaydence is happy-go-lucky and nuts, Keesa has a URI so she's on antibiotics (her sneezing and wheezing is finally getting better), Callahan did something funny to his paw and won't put pressure on it or use his claws for anything, and Kesler is acting strange (doesn't want to walk, rolls in waste, won't use the litter box, doesn't like to be touched or picked up, etc). I want to take Kesler back to the shelter to get him checked out, but the foster-mom-in-charge wants to give it a couple days to see how he is. If something is seriously wrong with him I'd rather know now (especially if it's contagious!). Hopefully it's nothing. *crosses fingers*

My parents invaded Facebook! Apparently when I sent my mom a link to one of my photo albums she thought it was an invitation and signed up. Dad got into it for "work purposes". And he joined Twitter as well, which was my last final private online place to share my thoughts (other than here). I was enjoying the privacy of Twitter because no one I knew was on it (except for my cousin) and I didn't have to worry about offending anyone or making anyone mad or being myself and saying what I think. Now I'm going to have to guard everything I post: "Is this something I wouldn't mind Dad reading?" *sigh* Maybe I'll open a brand-new Twitter account that isn't in any way linked to the one I have now. It's really annoying. Facebook I didn't mind quite so much, because I already never act like myself on Facebook. I tone my morbidity and sarcasm and dry humor down as much as possible because it freaks most people out. But I loved Twitter because I could keep my thoughts short and sweet and I didn't worry about who saw it because no one I knew was on it. Oh well. I suppose all good things must come to an end...

I started watching True Blood on Monday night and I'm almost done with season 1. I really like it. I didn't expect to because of all the great things I've heard about it. I tend to not like really popular shows/music/movies because everyone else does like them. I hear so much about it and before I can get around to trying it I'm already sick of it. Anyway, I decided to give it a shot and I think I may be addicted. I've been up until 2 am every night (or is it every morning?) watching as much as possible. Hah...Yep, I think I'm addicted.

Hello!

Well, Naaiya and her mom and I picked up foster kittens on Friday. They're so cute! We got five of them. Four of them are from the same litter and are about 3 weeks old. One is from a different litter and got mixed in, and she's about 4 weeks old. She has a cold right now, though, so she's quarantined in the downstairs bathroom. Poor baby...

We have three boys and two girls. The boys are Callahan, Kesler, and Magnus. The girls are Kaydence and Keesa. Magnus is the runt, so he gets a special name. Haha..

-Keesa

-Callahan

-Magnus

-Kesler

-Keesa on the left and Kaydence on the right

They're so cute. We have them until July 20, so I'll post more pictures as they get older and bigger.

I'm going camping next weekend! We're going to visit my Grampa for Father's Day (leaving Saturday and spending the night with them) and then we're going up to the campground and staying till Wednesday. I'm so excited. We only got to go camping one time last year, and we already have three different trips scheduled for this year. Yay!

Hope you're all doing well!

I found Cake Wrecks a while ago, and it is absolutely hilarious. The blogger in charge Twittered a link to the Fail Blog. I've been surfing it for a few minutes and found some funny ones I thought I'd share:

I'm sure there are many more funny ones, but it's dinner time so I gotta go! Enjoy, and laugh. I did..

Today is my birthday. I'm 19! Or..I will be around 8:00 tonight. Anyway, I'm close. I can't believe it. Where did 18 go? *sigh*

We're going to foster kittens later in a couple weeks, probably around June 11. Kittens can't get doggy parvo, so it's either foster kittens or foster nothing until next summer. I'm not really a cat person, but little kittens are adorable, so I'll live. Haha...

Well, I really don't have much else to say...How is everyone?

Keanu started showing parvo symptoms on Friday night, and at 11:00 Saturday morning they brought him back to the shelter.

~R.I.P. Babies~

Well, Malia came down with it yesterday, so we had to return her to the shelter as well. She's probably joined her sister by now. So far Keanu is okay. He's still eating and playing and biting fingers. Hopefully he won't develop symptoms...

Here's some information about parvo, for those of you who've never experienced it. (Copied straight from wikipedia).

Parvoviruses can cause disease in some animals. Because the viruses require actively dividing cells in order to replicate, the type of tissue infected varies with the age of the animal. The gastrointestinal tract and lymphatic system can be affected at any age, leading to vomiting, diarrhea and immunosuppression, but cerebellar hypoplasia is only seen in cats that were infected in the womb or at less than two weeks of age, and disease of the myocardium is seen in puppies infected between the ages of three and eight weeks.[1]

Canine parvovirus is a particularly deadly disease among young puppies, about 80% fatal, causing gastrointestinal tract damage and dehydration as well as a cardiac syndrome in very young pups. It is spread by contact with an infected dog's feces. Symptoms include lethargy, severe diarrhea, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite, and dehydration.

Fwirrel and I went to check on the babies and spend some time with them, and we saw all of the tell-tale signs: lethargy, diarhea, and some milky substance that's either vomit or diarrhea (it's hard to tell unless you see it happen). We took all three pups to the shelter to get them checked out. The vet techs tested Ulani because she's the only one showing symptoms. The test came back positive and the shelter kept her. She's most likely been euthanized already (R.I.P Little Girl!). They told us we could either leave Keanu and Malia at the shelter, or we could bring them home with us and watch for any symptoms. We brought them home (couldn't bear to leave them). Parvo symptoms usually show up 7 - 10 days after exposure, so we'll know by next week if we're going to lose Keanu and Malia as well.

So far Keanu and Malia seem fine. They're both eating well and drinking well, and they both still romp around and play-attack each other. Hopefully they'll be okay...

We have foster puppies! We picked up the three shepherd mixes (maybe German Shepherd mixed with something fuzzier?) on Friday, and we just now figured out names for them. There's one boy and two girls. The boy (my little baby) is named Keanu (not after Keanu Reeves). Fwirrel's little girl is named Ulani, and Naaiya's little girl is named Malia.

Keanu is a bossy little boy. He's the smallest, so he's always standing up for himself and bullying his sisters. They bully him right back though.

Malia is bossy too. She's the biggest and most outgoing, and she likes to get her way. She's really sweet though and likes to cuddle up to you when she's tired.

Ulani is the sweetest. She's laid back and likes to relax and be cuddled, but she loves to play with her sibligns too.

I'm officially a professional photographer! One of my pictures on iStockphoto finally sold! I'm so excited. I only get $1.68, but still. Yay!

I don't understand all of the animosity towards Kris Allen. So he won. Big deal. Take this article, for example. I don't understand why people are so upset Adam didn't win.

I finally got around to unpacking from my trip! I always put off unpacking, more so than the actual packing. Not sure why..And I'm not actually completely unpacked yet. There's still some stuff in my suitcase. Oh well. I'll get to it tomorrow. And in case you didin't see my blog about my trip, here it is.

I went to the used book store and bought more $.50 to $1.00 CDs. Here they are!

Broadway Project (electronica, 2003, $.50): I really like this more than I expected to. It's really difficult to describe though. I was listening to it, trying to pinpoint why it sounded so familiar, but I couldn't. It's almost like listening to a distant memory that you can't completely recall. Frustrating, but wonderful music.

Captain Yonder (rock, 2006, $.50): This isn't one of my better buys. Actually, it's one of my worst. It's not bad music, but it's very...odd. It sounds somewhat like old country mixed with folk music. And it definitely sounds like something you'd really appreciate only when you're high on something. The CD is worth a try, but it's definitely not something I would've paid full price for and kept.

Paleo (gothic/indie/lounge, 2005, $1.00): I wasn't sure about this one. The cover/case was extremely interesting, so I bought it. It's definitely not what I expected, but I really like it. This one is also very difficult to describe. It's very Indie (but in a good way!).

Plumbline (electronica, 2000, $.50): This one was interesting. I'd seen it in cheap section before, but I didn't buy it. This time I broke down, and I really like it (I'm listening to it now!). It's like rock/electronica, and it's pretty good. I'm actually kind of surprised it's not more mainstream (at least, I'd never heard of it).

So Many Dynamos (alternative, 2005, $.50): I love this one. It reminds me a bit of Simple Plan mixed with some other pop/rock stuff. It's fun, but it's good at the same time.

We're picking up puppies on Friday, if all goes according to plan (the shelter has puppies that fit our needs [we're taking 3, and only 3, pups this time - 6 was too many!], nothing comes up, etc.). I'm very excited. I love pups!

The news dominating the front page of TV.com consists mainly of the fall lineup. I'm sorry to say that a lot of my favorites have been canceled. The Unit, Eleventh Hour, Life, Knight Rider (I stopped watching halfway through the first season, but it was kind of fun..and very funny, and not in an intentional way), The Unusuals, Terminator (even though I didn't watch last season due to DVR conflicts), and Dirty Sexy Money. At least most of these shows ran about two seasons. At least they hung on to them for that long?

I'm getting pretty sick of the weather. It's been hot and cold and hot and cold and spring-like and cold again. It's messing with my head and my allergies. I keep getting pressure headaches, allergy headaches, sore throat, runny nose, and I sneeze every time I leave the house. *sigh* I'm fine at the shelter around all the dog-fur, but as soon as the pollen hits me it's all over.

And speaking of the shelter, they keep making up weird rules. Here's a list of some of the changes I've noted over the past three years (1165 1/2 hours) I've volunteered there:

1. You can't take out puppies under 7 months unless someone wants to see it.
1.5 You can only walk puppies over 7 months on concrete.
2. You can't wash dogs in the back cages.
3. You can't wash dogs in the back at all.
4. You can't take out puppies at all.
5. You can take out puppies, but only if someone wants to see them and is 90% sure that's the dog that want to adopt.
6. You can't give treats to the dogs.
7. You can use kibble for training, but you have to document exactly how much kibble you give to every dog.
8. You can walk puppies 7 months and older on the gravel, but not the grass.
8.5 You can't walk puppies under 7 months at all; you have to find an employee to take it out if someone is interested in it.
9. You can't walk dogs on choke-chains.
10. You can't roll your sleeves up.

The last one is the newest, imposed (apparently) today. It's hot here, so I roll my shirt sleeves up, even though they're short sleeves. It's a T-shirt, so the sleeves are short, but longer than I'd like. I get hot and I end up with a freaky farmer's tan. Anyway, I roll the sleeves up to keep cool, and we've been doing this for as long as we've volunteered, and no one's ever said anything. I've talked to the staff, the manager, the director, and the volunteer coordinator before while I've had the sleeves rolled up, and no one's ever said anything. But today I get pulled aside and told "You can't wear your sleeves like that." Ugh! I mean, there are dress code rules (no shorts, no sandals, and you can't wear tank tops or spaghetti strap shirts for safety reasons) but I've always worn long pants (or capris on the really hot days), T-shirts, and sneakers. There are volunteers who come in tank tops, or in shorts and sandals, but no one says anything to them! It's weird. And kind of annoying.

Anyway, I'll post pics of the pups when we get them. Yay!

I survived! Hah! I survived my first trip alone anywhere (not counting school sanctioned outings, where there were always chaperons a-plenty). I'm very excited, and empowered, and I'm looking forward to next year when I plan to go up alone again. Here's a run-through of my trip, for anyone interested enough to read it!

Wednesday: I packed. I hate packing. I kept putting it off and putting it off (and Twittering about putting it off). I realized after dinner that I needed to get crickets for my critters before I left, so I was halfway out the door when Dad said "Don't worry about it, we'll get crickets tomorrow after we drop you off." So I put my pajamas back on and packed some more.

Thursday: I got up at 6:40 after not sleeping at all. I can't ever sleep the night before a trip. It's irritating. I don't know if it's from excitement, anxiousness, or what, but I wish it would stop. I got to the airport around 8:30 (an hour before my flight) and checked in. The person that checked me in is also a volunteer at the animal shelter, so we talked for a while about the dogs, and she gave me a hug before I left. Dad said "Don't expect every airline employee to hug you before a trip!" (Haha?). I made my way through security, had to strip off my belt (that was, unfortunately, not just for show) and hold my pants up while walking under that metal-detector-doorway. I made it all the way to my gate, which happened to be the very first gate in the airport. Didn't I luck out! I sat down and pulled out my iPhone and tried to look as bored as possible to offset the nervousness I was feeling. Well, it wasn't so much nervousness as anxiousness. Excitement, even. But still.

We boarded the plane right on time. I ended up next to some older businessguy (looked like he was maybe late 40s or early 50s). I sat down and he said "Well, prayers do get answered!" and I was instantly freaked out. Then he looked over to his colleague (or..partner in a possibly wide array of crimes) who was sitting next to a woman and said "Well, we sure lucked out! We're each sitting next to beautiful women!" And I put my earbuds in and tried to sink into the corner. I'm okay with compliments. I like compliments. But when they come from 40-something year old strange men in tiny airplanes that offer no place to hide but that bathroom, I get a little uncomfortable.

The flight itself was smooth. There was very little turbulence (just a bit shaky due to clouds) and it was only about 50 minutes. Much better than driving the total of about 8 hours. My aunt and uncle picked me up and we got my luggage and went to Bob Evans for lunch (greasy grilled cheese...yum). We went back to their house, where I was introduced to their giant German Shepherd named Zeus. He's a monster. But he's a sweet monster who likes to play fetch, get scratched behind the ears, and gnaw on your arm. We took him across the street to play fetch, then picked up three large pizzas for dinner. Some other family came over (my mom's brothers, her sister, and my cousin and her husband). My other cousin showed up later. We talked and ate, and then everyone left and I went straight to bed. Any sort of travel, long or short, tires me out. And I didn't sleep at all the night before.

I had a fitful sleep, due in part to the thunder that boomed around 11:30, shortly after I finally fell asleep. After about an hour and a half I was relaxed enough to fall back to sleep.

Friday: I got up around 8 and went to the park with my Uncle and Zeus to play fetch. After breakfast we (aunt, uncle, and I) walked around their town (outside of Philly) and hit all the thrift stores. I don't usually find things at thrift stores, probably because I'm wary of germs and diseases and such. But at the last thrift shop we went into, I found something I couldn't resist buying. Season 2 of MI-5. Now, I've never seen the show before. I've seen season 2 at my local used book store (how I originally found out about the show) but it's always been selling for upwards of $40. I'm not willing to shell out that much for a show I've never seen. So when I found it at this thrift store for $5 (yes, five dollars) I had to snatch it up. I paid and left, hoping they wouldn't suddenly realize their mistake and run out after me, demanding $35 more or the box set back. I made it all the way back to my house with it, so I guess they didn't know just how much they could sell it for. I'm going to watch episode 1 (of the second season, so I expect to be a bit lost) after I finish this blog.

We hung around their house for the rest of the afternoon, watching Oprah and The Doctors. Then around 5:00 they took me up to the train station so I could train into Philly to go to dinner with my cousins. I've never been on a train alone before, so I was nervous. Of course, taking a gnat straight to the eye didn't help my nerves much either. I got on on the train and sat down. Then I realized I was facing away from the direction the train was heading, so I wouldn't be able to read the signs before we got there. I tried to hide my nerves behind a mask of boredom (tourists never look bored, so I must not be a tourist if I don't look bored..right?). I made it all the way to Suburban Station (with a little help from the friendly woman behind me) and off the train. *sigh* My cousin found me and walked me to her apartment, then we caught a cab to Swanky Bubbles for dinner. Good food. I got the bow-tie pasta with sun-dried tomatoes. After dinner we went to The Franklin Fountain for ice cream, then we walked around Philly (and couldn't seem to remember why the Liberty Bell was so important - their excuse was alcohol..mine was...sleep deprivation?). We made it back to my cousin's apartment (with her psychotic-but-adorable cat named Junebug) and crashed.

Saturday: I woke up at 3:30, staring directly into the hate-filled eyes of Junebug. She was crouched on my bed, next to my face, staring at me. Freaked me out. Took ounce of control for me not to scream. I don't like cats in general, but waking up to monster-cat staring me in the face was too much. I lay awake for about two hours listening to her jump and run around (and drag most of my stuff around the room) until she finally fell asleep somewhere and I was able to roll over and sleep without worrying about waking up with not eyes, or no hair, or a few unwanted body piercings.

We went to my cousin and her husband's house for breakfast, which turned out to be a brunch of pancakes and coffee. I met their cats (sweet sweet kitties that didn't want to tear me to shreds).

After brunch my other cousin's boyfriend came to pick me up so we could meet my cousin at the Philly Rock Gym. We went climbing! And I was so sore. I bought a shirt (rather, they bought me a shirt) and then we went to their condo to cook an entree for the big family dinner at my aunt's house (not the aunt with Zeus, my other aunt...are you confused yet?). We made lasagna (both vegetarian and tasty tasty meat), some sort of brussels-sprout-potato hash, potatoes, and salad. We went to my aunt's at about 6:00 to set everything up.

Dinner was great. We all grabbed food and spread out. We all talked and caught up and poked fun at each other. It was nice to be able to get together as a family again. I hadn't seen all of them at once in four years, since my cousin's wedding. It was loads of fun.

A couple hours after dinner the crowd started to break up, so I left around 9:30 and went back to my aunt and uncle's house to pack and check in online for my flight the next day. I wanted to sleep, but after I'd buried my exhaustion earlier that day I couldn't dredge it up again. I packed and folded clothes and packed some more until I finally felt my eyes get droopy. I slept surprisingly well.

Sunday: I got up late, around 9, and went down for breakfast. I surprised Zeus, who thought I'd left a couple days ago and hadn't noticed me getting home the night before. I ate a quick breakfast (yum, everything bagels) and finished my packing and headed off to the airport. I went to the check in counter, where my little gifty-credity-card-thing wouldn't be accepted by the automated check in thingy. I had to get the attention of an airline employee, and while I was waiting I noticed a $5 bill on the floor. I snatched it up and checked in.

I made it through security (they didn't stop me for my belt this time, which surprised me) and made it all the way to my gate. This one was a little less easy to find, but I managed. I sat and sat and waited until the scheduled boarding time, then waited some more. I noticed my creepy guy from my first flight was also on this flight, so I started praying I wouldn't be next to him. His creepy friend was with him too, looking ever so slightly like a pedophile, and I prayed I wouldn't end up next to him either. Once we finally got to board (about half an hour late) I ended up next to a nice looking older gentleman who was flying with his wife (she was a couple rows down). He did a Sudoku puzzle the whole flight. I was pleased. I also had two pilots behind me, and a flight attendant in the row across from them (which happened to be an exit row). I started feeling safer and safer (if the current pilot [and/or co-pilot] suddenly and inexplicably dies, we'll have two more!). My flight arrived safely, but a little late.

I found out once we got home that my parents forgot to get crickets, which meant my critters hadn't eaten in over a week now. Then I found out that my lizard's light had blown on Friday and no one bothered to replace it, so he went without necessary UV light and warmth the whole time I was gone. And I found that Mom forgot to lock my car when she got out, and my check engine light is back on (which happens if my car is pushed too hard). I leave, and things fall apart!

In other news, we may be getting foster pups on Friday instead of Sunday, and I'm very excited. I'll post pictures as soon as we get them!

Well hello!

Tomorrow I'm flying up to PA and staying near Philadelphia with family. I'm very excited. This is my first solo trip anywhere. Well, anywhere other than a school-sponsored, highly-chaparoned trip.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning around 9:30 and getting there around 11. It will be nice to fly the 50 or so minutes up there instead of driving the 8 or 9 hours. Phew! Haha...Anyway, my Aunt is making an apple pie, two pizzas, and a dinner for my and the whole family tomorrow night. I haven't gotten to see everyone in a while.

On Friday I was supposed to train into Philly in the morning and spend the day with my cousins, but I found out last night that one of them couldn't get the day off. I'm kind of upset about it. I told her last month that I was coming up, and she told me she'd get the day off. So, one month later, it turns out she has too much paperwork and has to get it done. I understand that she has to work, but I'm irritated that she couldn't figure it out until two days before I'm coming up. Some notice would be nice...Oh well. I'm going to train in late afternoon and we're going to an Asian restaurant and then for ice cream.

Saturday I'm going indoor rock climbing with my other cousin and her boyfriend, and maybe some other family members. Then Saturday night we're having another family dinner at my other Aunt's house. I'm flying back home on Sunday.

I've been messing with my old computer, my Compaq, and it's been giving me problems. I updated it and then it wouldn't let me open any programs. So today Dad called and had a nice chat with some people in India and managed to get it working. Turns out it was my TrendMicro PC Security thingy that screwed everything up. Dad un-loaded it and apparently now it works again!

I'm still working my way through the Stargate series, but now I'm on Atlantis. I've made it to season 3, disc 2. I hate the next episode (I watched it in a dark room at night and it freaked me out..haha) but I have to watch every episode to make my marathon complete...*shudder* Haha...

I won't be on here at all for the next few days. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Oh! I'm officially out of school for the summer, and I'm so very happy. Freedom! Fwirrel is in Hawaii, and when she gets back next weekend (5/22 or something) we're going to pick up foster puppies (probably 5/24). I'm excited. Puppies! I'll post pictures when we get them.

I didn't do much of anything today. I was going to go to the shelter, but I didn't feel like it. I haven't slept much the past week, so I wanted to just take it easy. I went shopping and bought some pants, then I ended up at the local used book store. I'm trying to save up my money for my trip to PA, so I put a limit of $5 on whatever I decided to buy. I couldn't find anything I'd already heard of, so I picked a $3 movie called "The Purifiers" starring Kevin McKidd, Gordon Alexander, and Dominic Monaghan. I'd heard of two of the three actors, so I figured why not. Turns out it's an indie movie about gangs that originate from different karate schools, most of which use their martial arts abilities to commit crimes. The Purifiers are a gang that use their skills to fight crime, and they're persecuted by the bad gangs. There are a ton of fight scenes and slow motion fight scenes, and the acting isn't wonderful. The soundtrack is pretty good techno (some of it). Thankfully the movie didn't have nudity or sexual situations. That's always a worry for me, picking out movies I've never heard of. And it's happened a couple times where I picked up a movie, bought it, watched it, and turned it off halfway through because it was just intolerable. Anyway, this movie wasn't that at all. I was very happy. So if you like UK indie martial arts movies, check this one out.

The "Questionable Entertainment" section refers to a web-series made my James Gunn (and his brothers) for Spike.com. Now, I'm not one to frequent Spike.com, but I found the videos when I Googled James Gunn (after watching Scream Queens). Anyway, these aren't, like, wholesome family entertainment, but they're funny. Well, the two I've seen were funny. I've only watched the one with Nathan Fillion and the one with Alan Tudyk. So, here is the link, but seriously, don't click it if you're easily offended or dislike the "DLS" (dialogue, language, sexual situations) on TV. Other than that little disclaimer, enjoy! Let me know if any of the other ones are funny, too. The only reason I watched the ones I did was because of Nathan and Alan. Two of my favorite actors, and I just couldn't help but check it out!

Speaking of Alan Tudyk, did anyone watch Dollhouse this Friday? It was amazing. I loved Alan Tudyk. He was awesome. He's such a great actor. So I was pretty excited that he was in it, and he was great. I loved all but the ending. I won't say anything about it in case any of you haven't seen it yet, but to me it felt like it was kind of a rushed ending. I'm hoping that maybe they had more scenes, but they had to cut it so it could fit into the hour. Hopefully that was the case, because it definitely felt like they left something out. But I'm so excited for next week, even though it is the season finale.

Finally, it's almost summer! I have a portfolio for English 390 (this clas.s is finally almost over!) due Wednesday, an exam Thursday in Women in Antiquity, and an exam next Monday (the 11th) in Sociology of Deviant Behavior. I'm very happy. Then, on the 14th, I'm flying up to PA to visit family and coming back on the 17th. Then, after Fwirrel gets home from her trip, we're (Fwirrel, Naaiya, and I) are picking up foster pups from the shelter. I'm so excited.

Okay, so on my last blog I was able to post "clas.s" without the period. Now I can't? Hm. Flaky.

My goals for the summer:
1. Write more shelter dog stories and hopefully attempt to get them published.a
2. Write more of my book, and hopefully get that closer to completion
3. Relax

Does anyone else have goals for summer?

Oh, and how many people are tired of hearing about the Swine Flu (or the H1N1 Flu, or, as I've started calling it, the R2D2 Flu)? It's a flu. And I understand that it's a different strain that we don't have any immunity to and it could be deadly and blahdy blahdy blah, but still. It's a flu. People die from the flu all the time, every year. And so far the only US death was a 2 year old who came in from Mexico while he was already sick with Leukemia to get treated. Honestly. Does that even count as a death from the Swine-H1N1-R2D2 Flu? I mean, it's sad that the kid died, but still. Honestly. Anyway, I'm very happy that I can open Yahoo and not see "SWINE FLU!" in the top 4 featured stories. Maybe it'll finally all go away...*shrug*