Blather, rinse, repeat

Able to leap tall planets in a single bound! SUPERMOON.

( OMFG WHO PUT THIS GLOWING THING IN THE SKY, WAS IT SPACE GNOMES? )

Today was my first Hula show with my new name given to me by Auntie: 'Ilikeanani (The whole meaning.)

It was also the first show I did since last year, when I did that one right after Dad died. I hardly remember that show at all, TBH. It was miserable and awful and if I hadn't needed the money I wouldn't have done it. I vaguely remember dancing with an ancient, I mean ancient, tiny, adorable kupuna. She was 100+, wore her hair in 'dreads, and I gave her a flower to wear in her hair. That was the only really nice part I can remember. I danced for a bunch of kupuna. I love love love dancing for old people. They remember Hawai'i the way it used to be, and they get it. The understand what the Hula is.

Today I was dancing for keiki, little kids. That's always a little harder because they require different kinds of entertainment. Plus it was a holiday show, so I had to adjust the theme and throw some holiday songs in there. Drummer Boy and Hawaiian Santa (the latter one I taught to them.) I always get a little nervous around kids to begin with.

And I'm jittery before any show. My dumb Garmin sent me down the wrong street and I was almost late, but made it just as everyone was filing in. They gave me a nice dressing room and a really big place to dance. I like dancing on the floor much better than a stage. Hula traditionally doesn't go on a stage; you do it eye-level. You'd have done it on the beach, or plain old on land, originally. So this stage thing is a relatively new development for Hula and Tahitian.

Sorry for the tangent. Anyway, I got there on time and met the guy who was doing the music for me. I already had my playlist all cued up and ready to go; he just had to follow my signals (stop, go, louder, lower,) and we were all set. Actually, he did such a great job with that, that I'd have to say he was the best sound-guy I've ever worked with.

It started off a little slow, with no one in the audience really sure what to do with me etc. Drummer Boy didn't go across as well as I'd thought it would. I think that particular Hula is maybe for a bit more of an intimate setting, less festive. I'll keep that in mind for next time.

Then I called the keiki up to teach them Hawaiian Santa, and I was surprised at how much they loved it. They were having a great time. When it was their turn to dance, then the parents all got involved and started becoming a part of the show / audience. It got some reactions, finally.

I also included poi spinning in this show, too. I only ever do that when there are either keiki or kupuna, and when the show is casual. The reason for this is that I suck—abysmally--at spinning poi. I know only two or three good poi-spinning tricks and the rest is really just me hitting myself in the back of the head, the ass, the eye, the boob, everywhere. But if it's an informal show, you can joke about that. So I taught them how to swing poi balls around, I gave them each one (there were so many keiki at this point!) and I spun my two. Actually I didn't do so badly; I was pleasantly surprised that it came back to me. We did this through Hoki Hoki and then I ran off to get changed into my Tahitian 'otea garb.

The keiki lovedlovedloved the Tahitian. I told them they could come up and shout with me (because I do that ridiculously loud Tahitian scream, the "tssyaaaaa!" that gets everyone's ears bleeding,) and because I wasn't using my i'i's I let two of the girls shake have them to dance with. (The i'i's are the 'otea pom-poms, I guess you would call them. They're made out of bark though, like the costume itself.)

So I finally performed La Toere and, holy crap, so much harder to perform than to practice. My fa'arapu (the Tahitian fast hip circles) were PAU by the end of the song. I haven't practiced this dance since the summer and it really showed. All the kids were like "How do you do that!" and I was like, "you need a motor in your hips, haha!" meanwhile I was dying. By the time "Tahiti, Tahiti" came on, I was like, "Wow, we're gonna have to just do this like an 'aparima!" Well, not really. That's one of my favorite songs. I've never performed it before, either. It's so much freaking longer when I'm dancing to it than when I play it in the car, DAMN.

But, if my fa'arapu was starting to die, no one noticed it and everyone had a great time.

I finished up singing and dancing Aloha 'Oe, and then we took a couple of pics and I was out of there in about an hour and fifteen minutes all told. A pretty easy and really fun way to make a hundred bucks. I wish I could do this every Sunday, because I seriously would.

Here are some pics, anyway.

( Hawaiian Santa )

( Keiki spinning poi! )

( After the show )

( That's me, in my dressing room. )

(I have a similar pic of me from years ago, same costume, same angle. The file name just reads "Kapunua" and this one just reads "'Ilikeanani" because in a weird way, I draw a line between 'Ilikeanani and "Jules" the way I did with "Kapunua" and "Jules." Is that strange?)

Well, anyway. This was a really nice way of getting back into Hula. For all that I have these many other interests and lifestyles, this is one that I always hope will be with me forever, and I always rejoice when I'm thrown a chance to be that person again. Sometimes it's a few times a month and sometimes it's just once a year. But I take it any time I can get it. :D

Hau'oli makahiki hou!

Actually, Halloween was pretty nice. I say "actually" because I really expected that I'd be sitting at home, bored all day, after work.

But as it happened, I came home from work (which was boring, and really, really dead – though I did wear my ears and tails,) and had a call from Jo-chan, equally bored and seeing if she could come by to maybe visit Boychild and his folks across the street.

She did, and as it happened, Boychild's Mommy and Daddy were hosting a mini-Halloween party for some of the kids. My other cousin, Cece, was there with her three kids too, ages 4,6 and 13/14.

Jo-chan was dressed as Link, and Boychild as Darth Vader. Cece's boy Z and girl Mimi were a ninja and a Justin Beiber Fairy. Yes, I know: the joke makes itself. ;) She's 4, though.

So Jo-chan and I took the three youngest kids outside to try to teach them Ghost In The Graveyard. Wow, try explaining that one to a bunch of pre-schoolers. Boychild's Mommy was laughing when I told her how the idea of "hiding" and "base" and such were really very adult concepts and the kids just didn't get it.

Then we went to Boychild's little playground while they all played on the swingset all like WE'RE CHILDREN WE'RE CHILDREN WE'RE CHILDREN! And Jo and I pushed them on the swings a while. They'd already been Trick Or Treating so everyone was massively sugared up.

I had to go check on my dogs, and all the kids wanted to follow me. So like a weird kind of pied piper, with fox ears and four tails, I led them all to my Halloween house, with its cemetery in the front yard, screaming crows, barking dogs, and general madness. Mimi asking me the whole time, "But where do you sleep? What food do you eat? Do your dogs like me? Can we play outside? Can we stay in here? Can you spin me?" I see Boychild often, but Cece's kids maybe once or twice a year; somehow her two youngest are still always really clingy and affectionate. You can probably guess by now that I dislike most children – but these ones, I like. They're polite and cute.

By then it was around dusk, and tons of Trick Or Treaters were coming around. I have to note that I've rarely seen so many adults in costume as I did this year. And really, really awesome costumes, too. It was like a parade. A few middle aged people had some really well-made ones, and and one or two of them were actually really spooky. Children were making an effort again, too, I was pleased to note. I don't like it when they don't even bother to dress up, they just come to your door demanding candy. Put some effort into it, goddamn you.

What was even cooler was that a group of people came into my yard and asked if they could take some photos of themselves and each other in the cemetery. I thought that was very cool, and felt that I'd done a pretty good job decorating. :D

Then, I had to pick up children and spin them around and around until I got too dizzy. And then it was time for dinner at my cousins' house, so off we walked, or ran I guess, among the costumed Trick Or Treaters. (One of them loved Jo-chan's Link costume. He asked her to pull the sort out and go "HYAH" and strike a pose, so he could take a picture. It was cool.)

It's the first Halloween in quite a long time that I didn't go out and do something, I think. No haunted houses, no hot boys, no 10 PM graveyard runs, no loud, thumping music and strobe lights. Instead I tried to teach kids Ghost In The Graveyard, rolled around in the autumn grass in my really goddamned awesome best jacket (note to self: change before playing,) and thought, "Gosh, I'm 38 – what should I be doing today?" And then decided, "This, I guess."

After dinner was dessert, and then Boychild's Daddy gave Mom and I a huge glass of wine each before we left.

Walking home, Mom said, "OH MY GOD DO YOU HEAR THAT SWAMP WIND?" I was like "WHAT?!" (Because you yell when you're drunk.) Really, swamp wind? I played in the swamp all the damn time as a child and I never once heard "swamp wind." Then she was like "NO! Not swamp wind. It's the air from the blow up mummy."

So we all walked the rest of the way home laughing way too hard.

Then Mom, Jo-chan and I watched Inception and ate vats of ice cream.

( This is Halloween: )

It was a really nice Halloween actually. Splendid, maybe. ^_^

Two weird things happened between yesterday and today. First, yesterday as I was on my way to work, I found a dead woodthrush on the porch. Looked like she'd hit the window (I later figured out it was a "she.") Then today, on my way out the door to drive Jo-chan back to college (and help her set up her new fish tank in her dorm, for her betta,) I found a half-dead woodthrush in the same exact spot. It was as if yesterday's had ghosted back there; same position and everything, only alive. I could only stare for a second before scooping him up.

He's a he, too, because he sings. And he's probably the mate of the first one, because they are monogamous.

I had to look these things up. In fact, I couldn't remember what sort of bird it was, and had to look that up, too. Then I was in a tizzy, wondering what to do, what to feed it, to release it or not if it got better etc. In other words, all of the things that I used to just do intuitively. Ten years ago, I had a nickname on the North Fork; they called me Jewel of the Birds. These days, I barely know how to hold on to one. Knowing this made me feel really sad. I decided that I've got to relearn my bird skills.

I took little male woodthrush out to the aviary when he could move around some, to see ifhe could fly – maybe he's releasable. Woodthrushes migrate, and today is the beginning of a severe cold snap. It's freezing and below; I should mention that last week it was 70 degrees. These two thrushes might have missed their migration. If that's the case, I'll have to winter him. (Ah, that's the first time I've used the word "winter" as a verb in too long a time.) Anyway, I tried to release him into the aviary and he flew onto my head. Then I tried again, and he flew into my hair and started to nest under it. Then I remembered the bond I used to have with birds.

The whole thing was very strange.

The other thing that happened was that this morning, first thing as I was walking the dogs on the morning chill, I swear I heard my Grandma whispering from her doorway. It was so loud a whisper though, that it didn't sound like it could have come from really anywhere. I heard the words, either "hi honey," or "hurry up." I swear I heard it. I wasn't half asleep or anything, either. It was so odd. If it was "hurry up," then, hurry up and do what?

Or maybe I just lost my marbles for a few seconds there. It's all souls day though, right/ The veil is thin. That is, of course, only on the times that I believe in souls and veils along with quarks and matter. :D

After dropping Jo-chan off and setting up her fish tank, I came home and started my laundry, took down all my decorations (so glad I got that done,) and dicked around on the internet a while. I also did a teeny bit of research on what I believe to be my path patient's condition, and found some really cool ideas for my path paper which I should have started a month ago, but still haven't. Yeah, totally going to put that off to the last possible second, and totally will hate myself for it.

So now I'm pretending to ask myself: Do I begin my epically long homework due Wednesday? Or do I sit down with a monstrous bowl of blackberries and watch Wuthering Heights for the rest of the night? I feel like a lit major today: Shakespeare, e.e. cummings going through my head, (one day anyone died I guess and no-one stooped to kiss his face, from one of my favorite poems, and do you know it took me years and adulthood to understand that "no-one" was a woman in the poem, and not literally "no one?" Some lit major I am!) and I can't imagine focusing on anatomy. Well, maybe Tom Hardy's anatomy. ^_^;;

Decision made, anyway.

Happy all soul's day, and happy Dio De Los Muertos tomorrow. ^_^ Listen for whispers.

Here I am then, on the other side of my birthday. It was a super fun day although I wasn't really observing my b'day as such; it was just a time for some people to get together for a hang. So, my friend RT came up from VA, then there was Homeslice, his daughter the Cute Bruiser, Lady Chrysanthemum, Empress Teishi, Maximus, my Mom, and me of course. People brought metric craptons of cakes and cupcakes and ice creams and I got boxes of pizza and much, much sugar was consumed. We went to my Mom's and played RE: DC, in rounds, by twos. Hilarious, trying to explain to Empress Teishi that Leon Kennedy was my fictional husband while Jared Leto is my non-fictional one. Hilarious, the Lady Chrysanthemum having an identity crisis over killing zombies when she just got finished playing a zombie in our little commercial. And hilarious watching Tropic Thunder with RT and a gallon of ice cream and some wine.

( THERE WILL BE PICSPAM )

So, a few people were unable to make it for various reasons, but still, it was a good time.

Two entries ago I was a little vague about "oh I'll write again after Monday when I know what's going on" or some ambiguous stupid thing like that? Well the thing was, I found this lump on Sano's neck and I was really stressing about it. Between his relentlessly itchy skin, what felt like a low grade fever and now a neck lump close to the prescapular lymph nodes, I got a little panicked. Well, maybe a lot. Logic told me it was just a lipoma because it was a tad superior to where I know the prescaps are, and because it felt like a lipoma. I've felt enough tumors in my years working at The Bad Place that I know what cancer feels like, but I didn't like what all the symptoms added up to.

So off we went to the vet today. First I have to say that the new vet assistant is ridiculously good-looking. Yet I could hardly concentrate on him because I was so worried. I got a Dr. that I really like, and I told him what my concerns were. At first he couldn't even find the lump and when I put his hand on it he was like, "Wow, how'd you even find that?" I told him, "You know what they called me when I used to work for a vet? Cancer-Finder. If there's a tumor, I tend to put my finger right on it every time."

But then he told me what my brain had already told me, even if my stupid nerves were telling me otherwise: the borders are smooth, it doesn't feel like cancer, and the prescaps are slightly inferior to where this is. All the lymph nodes are fine.

However, his immune system is clearly destroyed (remember when the drugs crashed it last year, totally wiped it out?) and is now attacking protein sources in his food. So I'm going to have to figure out a way to make food for him myself, and try to get it balanced. And if that doesn't work, I'll have to seek out really unusual protein sources like ostrich and alligator, WTMFF? Where am I even supposed to begin? And me, a vegetarian; preparing meat is repugnant to me, whether it be chicken or ostrich or whatever. BUT. I guess I'll have to do it. I mean, dogs eat meat.

Well, but anyways. So I was really, really relieved. You know that sense that you get when you feel like you're done worrying for a while and you can go about your life and enjoy your day? That was me today.

So I went out for a ramble at the local hiking park and took a few handfuls of pictures, while I jogged around. Then I took some in my own back yard, too.

( MOAR PICSPAMZ )

Then after my ramble, I went to the store to buy some juice. While at the checkout counter I was behind this little old lady who looked and dressed so much like the Queen Mum that I kind of wanted to bow. It was really cute and weird.

So I got my juice and headed home, having decided that I was going to put my laundry away and do my homework, which is code for "dick around on the internet," and do a juice fast, which is code for "eat pizza and a caramel apple."

Good days.

( And this is me, 38 years old today. )

Ehhh, not so bad I guess. :)

So, things are just kind of plodding along as usual, not that it's necessarily a bad thing.

Well, you know, I shouldn't exactly say that, even. There are some fantabulous things going on.

Joseph Gordon Levitt recommended my short film clip. Now, he's begun a collaboration on his website and I decided to join it, and I have an idea that I love so much it's keeping me awake at night. I want it to work so badly I'm practically peeing every moment.

And then, in school, there's this guy I thought was kind of attractive, and I creepy-stared at him enough so that he finally called me. A HOT GUY APPROACHES. JULES USES CREEPY STARING. IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE. Actually, he tried to text me but texted my landline instead (which made my phone do a Dramatic Reading of his "LOL" that I will save just for hilarity's sake.) I might try to get to know him but honestly? Yeah, I'm not getting burned again. No way, no day oh my brothers and only friends. Still, he seems nice. I hope he will stay nice and can merit a really cool code name. I'd have to think of a good one. You can hardly beat "Chocolate" for a cute-guy name, though sadly that one is ruined forever.

So, those are some essssiting things that have happened, right? Or maybe my life is fantastically boring and I get a thrill off the littlest things. :D

I do get a thrill off the littlest things, though! Got my outdoors Halloween decorations up, but hurray on that. But it rained bitches and hos today so the wires all shorted out. Blast. Still. Halloween. ^_^

Umm, I made an Inception fanvid. What, don't even judge me.

I bought some new fishes! I'm not going to put up pics until they live long enough to be off the critical list. My heart is still broken for Leon and Kyarotto. Maybe I'll get another betta, but I'll have to know for sure that it's The One.

Umm, Friday I was so late for clinic that I missed my first appointment. I left in plenty of time, but the road to the school flooded and I think that a hitch-hiker got injured by a car on the turnpike. I called the clinic from my car, hysterical, all "OMG I am so sorry to be late for clinic, I am so awful!" and my supervisor is the nicest, most mellow guy in the world. He was all, "Yeah, there was an accident, nothing you can do about it. Just get here when you get here." I saw all the flares in the road and I was thinking, Sure I'm super late for clinic and this blows and I'm totally losing my zen, but obviously someone is having a much worse day than I am." It didn't make me feel better though.

I thought for sure I was going to have to make up a treatment, but instead there was time for me to get a treatment – which I get credit for if I do an evaluation. ^_^ I felt as if I'd gotten rewarded for being late.

Then as I was doing writeups I heard said supervisor talking to another student about the merits of gaming. Now you have to imagine, this is not the kind of guy you'd picture being a hard-core gamer. He's very zen, so rational and authoritative but in a sort of gentle way. Then he went on to say that he was such a geek, he'd gotten caught by a former student at the RenFest upstate, in full viking costume.

That's when I cut into the conversation to say that I'd gone to the RenFest in costume, too. I told him I'd cosplayed Raistlin Majere - fully expecting him to say, "Who's that?" Instead he said, "RAISTLIN, OMG, BEST CHARACTER EVER WRITTEN." So we did across-the-room high fives over Raistlin and then he was like, "But...you're a girl." I told him, Yes, but, think about Raistlin. He did, for a few seconds and then said, "You know what, you're right. It takes a girl to cosplay Raistlin."

Then we geeked out over Dragonlance and Resident Evil.

It was fly.

I know you're not bored of seeing pictures of my dogs by Halloween decorations. You can't even lie to me; I can feel it coming through in waves through my computer screen.

( You want to look at my photograhs. )

This entry is so rambly and disjointed that even I'm annoyed with myself. God! I'm just all, GAH, I want to make this commercial and I have to wait until I have everyone in one place. Meanwhile I have the whole thing scripted in my head and can't quit patting myself on the back over how funny I think it's going to be. It's a total sleep-vampire.

Well, honestly, I can't even read myself anymore, so I'm going to shut up now. ^_^

ETA I took my plants in for the season today. Is it sad that I have a "plants" tag?

This past week was a mixed bag. First thing I need to get out of the way is that last night I lost my beautiful white betta, Leon the Magnificent. I couldn't be more bummed. He had looked thin to me, and I called this local fish expert who informed me that either: Leon had too much competition for food (he didn't; he ate tons of food every day,) or he possibly he had fish TB. Which is the same as people TB and just as contagious, and zoonotic. Third option, he was just old. Since it's impossible to know how old a betta is when you get him, I guess it could have been that, too.

But, I loved my beautiful Leon and I really miss him. I wish I could for once get a nice hardy betta. All my other fish are thriving (knock on wood.) I test the water every week and I do weekly water changes. The water is perfect, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Sad sad.

The beginning of the week was actually quite a treasure. My uncle (Dad's brother,) aunt and cousin from upstate came down for a rare visit, and stayed for two days. My cousin is just a few years older than I am and we always have a good time. Plus, my uncle's cheerful ways are a lot like my Dad's, so it was nice to be around that again. We spent the two days—Mom, me, and the three of them—going all over the North Fork to various vinyards and veggie/fruit stands for pumpkins. And I got to pet goats. It's been a long time since I've been around farm animals. I know that sounds rally weird, but it's true; I love to be around different sorts of animals and I have really missed chickens, goats, sheep, turkeys and such. I pet a sheep and goat for a long time and I can still smell goat once in a while. O_O Not sure that's a good thing though.

( TONS OF PICS. )

Haha. ^_^;;

Then we went to Halloween Town (a disappointing store) and I bought a few H-ween decos. That always makes me stupidly happy.

Wednesday night was the "Harvestest Moon," the full moon on the equinox. I missed the actual moonrise over the water by about a half an hour because I fail at military time. :/ meh.

But I went to the beach anyway and snapped a few pics.

( Harvestest moon )

I really like that last one.

Then I saw the movie "Watching The Detectives" and oh, wow, how inane. I mean, I'd hit Cillian Murphy like the fist of an angry god just as hard as the next person and yeah he can turn out a performance and all, and I totally love Lucy Liu, but WOW, it was seriously a waste of nearly two hours. For most of it I was just "COME ON NOW, REALLY?" Seriously, even his prettiness didn't make it worth it - and that's saying a goddamn lot.

However I did finally learn the origin of my new favorite I AM FRUSTRATE .gif:



The .gif is better than the movie.

Oh, do you guys wanna see something else I did?

Well you'd have to go here, because I can't embed it! It got 24 recommends and 9 comments. I was pretty happy!

The rest of the week was much the same as usual: School, Kung Fu, pick Jo-chan up, clinic. And tomorrow is work, and Sunday is work.

Yup, that about covers it!

Once again I tried to fast today. Apparently, "fast" to me means, "still eat food." Maybe I'm not cut out for that kind of thing.

Got tix to VIDEO GAMES LIVE today, which is on The Beautiful Island Of Long next January. WHOOP WHOOP! Me, SB, Jo-chan and apparently some of SB's pals too.

This is a huge yay.

And this is an end of summer picspam:

( SB and Jo-chan spent some time over here last week. Also dogs and bugs. )

( Me and Havok! From this morning. )


( Around the end of summer I start to think of Halloween, and then I begin my transformation to terrifying. )

Ehh maybe not really.

Oh! One more. CC Maximus made this for me about a month ago. I loved it but kept forgetting to put it up. He even captioned it "TIFA!" which made me chitter like a squirrel.



/picspam

I'm so happy to be going to see Inception tonight with My Wonderful Glassworker Friend. She's going to bring me a green tea Smoothie Of Immortality from her food processor. Can't wait to try. However, I'll also be shoveling gobs of ice cream down my maw during the film, as is my tradition. (I've tried, by the way, this Arctic Zero ice cream stuff, which claims to have 128 calories PER PINT and no artificial sweeteners. Which, I'm not sure that's on the up and up. Maybe you grow a second head a few years down the road. Still, didn't taste too bad.)

Anyway, so finally I'll be seeing Inception which everyone swears to me is so far up my alley I can practically taste it. I'm excited. And we're going late, so hopefully it won't be too crowded, and maybe most of the people there will be going to watch Twatlight Part One Thousand, Revenge Of The Sparkledouche or some crap thing like that.

I'm sure that tomorrow I'll post a raving review of Inception. I go into this cautiously, though. I know how I get when I want to love something. :)

In other news, my foot continues to act up. Some mornings I can hardly put weight on it without stretching it first. I DO NOT want to give up running. I'm just starting to get good at doing a mile a day and I don't want to quit. I've been out of Kung Fu for a whole day, and will probably not go tomorrow either, which, DOOM. I hate missing my beloved Kung Fu.

So, I drugged Haku last night in hopes of him having a seizure-free night, and he did. Still, I'm worried. I know it means the phenobarb is losing its effectiveness and I'll have to switch meds. I just hoped it would last longer than this. But who knows! Maybe I'm being too pessimistic and this will be an isolated incident.

Umm. It's very hard for me to be anything but cynical after the year my family has had. My optimism borders on naivete, stupidity even.

And so, my pool is destroyed, (still no news from the neighbors on how hard they are going to ride us for their cellar, and we can't make any claims till then,) and my water filter leaks like a bastard and now my Mom's dishwasher backed up and flooded. I'm not a moron and I recognize the elements when I see them. O_o WTF, water? Honestly.

And last night, my lovely little suckerfish Ruto died. I realized last week that she didn't seem to be thriving, and was kind of listless, just swimming around and not really sticking to anything. But, how do you treat a suckerfish? I checked the water and all the levels were fine.

Also, yesterday was a tough day for me, in terms of missing Dad and Grandma.

BUT. I remain stupidly enamored of this dumb life. I can't help it. I can't stay miserable. Something comes along to make me giddy. I guess that's crazy.

I got a lot of critiquing done yesterday, and a lot of revising of Qualia done today. Some days, I can't help but think that Qualia's gonna make it. That someone will love it as much as I love my favorites. I can't shake that feeling. Ridiculous faith. OTOH I also feel like I'll win the lottery. Haha.

It's as hot as Satan's asscrack today and I spent some time outdoors just breathing in the sweet humidity. Mmmmm. Sun, moon, stars, rain. Yadda yadda.

Today was so pretty, I took some photos. Prepare!

Actually, this one is from last week. ( My sword (in its case) and staff outside of the kwoon. )

( Some of my house spiders. )

( Havok's mug in the camera )

( My two Ninja Wizards playing and running together. )
Dogs so do not take things personally. They just bounce back. After the year they've had (their THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF VET BILLS,) all they wanna do is get back to playing. I appreciate that.

( My pink dinnerplate hibiscus. )
I have a red one, too, but it's not as bloomy as this one.

( Plumeria in the morning, and then in the afternoon. )

( My hair + humidity =... )
FWHOOSH.

I love summer on this island. Well, I love the island, really. :) Hate the tourists and the rude people who make the road hellish, and all the damn loudass summer people yelling all the time.

It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.

The rest of the summer? *fingers crossed*

Last night, one of my good friends from The Bad Place came up from VA, and she, My Wonderful Glassworker Friend and I all went to this fantastic Indian restaurant. The restaurant was part train. No I mean seriously, like it was made out of a church with a train car stuck to it.



We got to eat in the train part. I was so happy. We had a maaahhhvelous time, just like we all used to when we'd get together every few weeks. The food was interesting. I mean, it was delicious, but so damn hot I was pretty sure my lips were bleeding at one point. They felt like they were about three feet big, and throbbing. Glassworker asked me, "What's in the dish you ordered?" and I told her, "Eggplant, tomatoes, onions and fire." They each had a taste of it and remarked on how mild it was, meanwhile I felt like someone had put a blowtorch in my mouth. Maybe it's just me!

But still, it was delish, and I had been wanting to try something daring, food-wise.

Today, I'm trying a "fast," LOL. My version of a fast is to eat fruit, though. So the actual "fast" part doesn't really work out. I had some watermelon and some honeydew melon. I can't do the whole "not eating" thing. I know it's good for you, but I start to feel really sick, headachey, all that kind of fun stuff.

Oh, going back a few days, Thursday was my third day in clinic. It went all right up until I took my client into the wrong room, and proceeded to do an entire treatment on someone else's table, which was already booked. I felt like such a goddamn moron. The girl whose room I had accidentally stolen is in her second trimester in clinic and she was very cool about it. She said it was no big deal and I shouldn't worry, etc. for which I was very grateful. But honestly. I need to think a little!

Aside from that, it's not bad. I have nice patients (*knock on wood* I swear, I don't think I could handle hostility,) and they've given me really nice reviews.

So hey, if anyone could give me some advice about a cloudy fish tank that will nto clear up no matter what, I'd love it. Yes, I've googled it. Yes, I've had the water tested and yes, I've tried: changing the water, treating the water, not changing the water, changing the filter, not changing the filter, changing the pH, adding salt, adding Cycle, feeding less, and using different foods. I've had the water tested, and the ammonia is a tad high (still fighting that, too, to absolutely no avail,) and this seems like a "bacteria bloom." But nothing has worked to clear it up. I'm getting really frustrated and I don't want my fish to get sick. My 20 gallon tank is fine. WTF? It's the same goddamn water.

Right now I'm waiting on that really cool guy that I like to let me know what time he's done with work tonight, because we're going to meet up, hurray. :)

Meanwhile, here's a picspam.

( Havok is interested in The Big Bang: )

( Two dogs forcing grooming on each other. )

( This is Sano telling me, NO, I DO NOT WISH TO GO INSIDE. )

( Havok taking one of his violent baths. )

( My poor car! Samaras fell all over it. )

( My nice garden and pond: )

( Peekaboo robin! )

This one is too cute to cut:


Okay! So I have a few hours yet to draw, paint, revise, whatever. :)

Yesterday was my first day in the clinic, and it went much better than I had been expecting. It seemed so complicated when I went last trimester for orientation, but once we noobs got into the experience, it seemed much simpler. I'm sure next week will be even easier. I seriously had nightmares about it the entire night before. But, I did not: kill anyone, burn the building down, or lock myself into the storage room and starve.

Most people begin working on students who go for a stand-by, but I got three new clients, and none of them had ever had a massage before. I hope I did all right, but honestly I felt as if I'd forgotten everything I learned. And even though the treatments were shorter than anything I've done in class (we've done 90 minute treatments, and these were only about 40 minutes because all of my patients were late,) I still had no idea how to fill the time. They felt like the longest treatments I'd ever done.

Hopefully that "OMFG WHAT AM I DOING?!!!" phase will fade quickly.

It was funny how I scoffed at having to wear a white lab coat as if I were some SUPRA-SPESHUL PROFESSIONAL, but once I put it on, I thought I looked cool and didn't want to take it off. "That's right, I'm in clinic now, looking all like Scully." Though not really.

It's a long day, Thursdays – I have to get up at 6:30, drive like hell to get there on time and hopefully not get caught in traffic (if you're late, you can't make up the quiz,) and then I'm there till 7 PM.

I had off today and cleaned the house like a demon, got all my summer clothes out, (ever hopeful!) scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen, vacuumed and mopped the floors, a bit of yard-work and aviary-cleaning, watered all the plants, put more winter stuff away, and had mad allergy attacks.

Tomorrow I'm working and then hopefully getting together with the Cutest Boy In School but now he might not be in town tomorrow? Ugh! I hope that's not the case. He lives super far away. But we talked a while on the phone. He's a health / nutrition nut (which rocks) and he doesn't drink, but likes to sing karaoke. How much fun is that? Hope he'll make it out here. That's all after work of course (if it does happen,) and I'm working two places tomorrow and extra time.

Sunday's going to pretty much be the bomb after work too. Going to see Iron Man 2 with Mom, My Wonderful Glassworker Best Friend, Lady Chrysanthemum, and Crow Lady. Looking forward to that. :)

Tonight I'm going to eat Healthy Choice ice cream and play Resident Evil at Mom's house.

But, yeah! The original point of this post was my first day in the clinic, and how it was not a massive disaster. Think I can probably handle it.