Tyjannosaurus Rex

What's in a name...

2006-09-10T10:16:00.000-06:00

So, my Twin is preggers again and will not know the sex of said child for a couple of more weeks.
Her first, my nephew Hobbit (not his real name), has a good name made up of Chef's (hubby o Twin) 2 grandfather's names. Because Chef named Hobbit, Twin gets to totally name this baby.
Her first choice for a boy (and they are hoping for a boy) is August...and then they can call him Augie or Gus. ERP.
To me August sounds like a girls name - or at best an androgynous name (a la "Pat")...and Augie just brings up images of Augie Doggie and Augie Daddy, the cartoon.
Now, one of the best blogs about, imho, is Defective Yeti and lo and behold what he has to say about this name.
I dunno, maybe it is because I am a DINK and only have to worry about naming my pets...perhaps I am just "out of it" when it comes down to children's naming conventions of the 21st century...but if Twin names baby 2 "August", I see me having to find a more suitable nickname and making sure that sticks harder than his real name.
After all, what else is an Evil Auntie for?

Crocodile down...

2006-09-03T23:41:00.000-06:00

My hubby has always said that the Crocodile Hunter was going to go out in a grisly way...and like a modern day Cassandra, he was totally right.

Steve Irwin has died in a manner, while gruesome...is very appropo for what he lived his life doing.

I suppose there are worse ways to go than having a venomous sting ray spine thrust thru you heart...but right now, I can't imagine what that could be.

In recorded history, there has only been one person to actually survive a cardiac sting (read about it here).

I only hope that Terri (Mrs. the Crocodile Hunter) and their kids are going to be fine.

this one's for girlzoot...

2006-08-20T22:33:00.000-06:00

...and she knows why...go on ask her :)

‘Badgers on a Hovercraft’

At some point Hollywood is going to run out of either vehicles or animals and that's where Roger Corman steps in, executive producing this “we'll never be out of animals or vehicles” knock-off. Did anyone besides me see “Dinocroc”? Corman can do anything. Besides, badgers are both mean and dangerous on land. Hovercrafts make them extra angry. Expect this to go straight to video

a special thanks...

2006-07-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

...to the friendly EMT's at Silver Springs yesterday for patching me up so nicely.

They were friendly and I have gotten most of the blood out of my clothes!

Use your imagination to come up with what I came down with (hint: although there are wild monkeys about - it was not ebola [nor was it the plague, Mr. Vidal]).

3-2-1 BLAST OFF!!

2006-07-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

i am coming to you live from the Space Coast where i am visiting my p's and most of the rest of my family (including my incredibly cute 8 month old nephew, the hobbit)...today was the launch of the space shuttle Discovery and i was lucky enough to watch it from the beach off Jefferson street in Cape Canaveral (for you who need to know it is halfway between Jetty Park and the Cocoa Beach Pier) which lies about 6 miles from the launch pad.
the shuttle launch was picture perfect (i will try to post some pics when i return to denver as my p's computer is way to slow for any decent uploads/downloads).
tomorrow i am dragging my mom to some touristy places (Ron Jons, Cocoa Beach Surf Co, etc) and thursday we are off to SILVER SPRINGS!!
i know you are sooo jealous :)
anyway - hello from florida - wish you were here!

great hike

2006-06-11T14:15:00.000-06:00

if anyone is in the denver metro area - might i recommend a nice day trip?
check out Castlewood Canyon State Park !

nice hikes - easy to get to - good picnic area - nice visitor center and a neat bit o' history - the remains of the Castlewood Canyon Dam. The dam broke in August 1933 and the resulting deluge was felt (and smelt) in downtown Denver - 30 miles downstream.

zoot, rx princess and i did a couple of miles worth of trails beside the prosaic Cherry Creek; we splashed around in the creek and when a fellow hiker found a pretty big crawdad we oohed and ahhed over the find and then we put it back.

make sure you pack plenty of H2O (especially for the doggies) and some sun screen and go explore Colorado.

anniversary

2006-05-21T22:15:00.000-06:00

My 8th wedding anniversary is this week and i felt an urge to look up what the traditional 8 year anniversary gift is (bronze or pottery) and what the modern gift idea is (appliances, linens, lace, tourmaline jewelry). Throwing traditional conventions aside, we are not really exchanging gifts this year, but instead we are going to take some white-water kayaking lessons. Thus continues our own tradition of doing something stupid/dangerous on our wedding anniversary because really, getting married is one of the more stupid/dangerous ideas around.

What interests me is that the guide that had the info on what the traditional/modern gifts for anniversaries are - went all the way up to the 100th wedding anniversary. 100 freaking years of marriage? Holy matrimony, Batman! What is the proper gift for a 100th wedding anniversary you might ask? (well go on, ask)...It is a 10 carat diamond.

After 100 years of marriage who could muster the strength to lift 10 carats? I think one would be lucky to lift the spoon of gruel to your beloved's lips.

Amateurs

2006-05-12T23:18:00.000-06:00

Pick one faith and stay with it. Dilettantism is the mark of an amateur.

new job!

2005-11-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

i am starting a new job at a new company in less than 2 weeks!
i wasn't really looking for a new job - but this one kinda cropped up on my radar and 3 interviews within 2 days later...they offered me the position.
i have 3 days left at my current job and, surprise, surprise, i am having a hard time concentrating on the job at hand.
the hours and pay are a bit better and this position is a new one so i am gonna have ample chance to chew gum and kick butt to get this job in working order.
all in all...excitement looms over this t-rex...let's just hope this isn't my KT boundary.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2005-09-19T15:13:00.000-06:00

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

What's yer Pirate Name?

I can't make this $h!7 up!

2005-09-10T22:08:00.000-06:00

True story...

I work non-traditional hours and as autumn is nearing, it is inevitably dark when I, and others who share my shift, are leaving work. I do work for a great company and we have security to watch us as we leave as our building is kinda in the middle of no-where and hemmed on 3 sides by empty fields and the parking lot is fairly gi-normus. The guards at work usually ask if we want escorted out to our cars, but everyone mostly says "no"; so the guards just hang out by the employee entrance and watch as the ten-or-so people leave…sounds great, huh?

Well, on Wednesday night I stayed late to do paperwork and when I finished, I fully expected there to be an empty lot with my car parked about 100 yards out (the bad thing about working the later shifts is that parking sucks) and nothing to worry about. As I started down the sidewalk, one of the guards was actually still out there and I did that "smile and dip your head thing to signify that I am being friendly even though I have no idea what your name is" and he started to walk out with me.

"I don’t need an escort out to my car", said I
"That’s ok," quoth the guard, "I don’t mind."
**sigh**

Oh, well, I needed to check my cell phone messages and I did so as I started the 100-yard trek to my car. The guard stayed just far enough behind me so that I kept getting that "someone is following me" feeling and I kept looking back over my shoulder. Sorta weird, but mostly harmless.

Then his cell phone went off.

Now, I am a self-admitted geek. I role-play, love sci-fi from Dr. Who to BG, stood in line with Rx Princess for hours to meet Bruce Campbell, you get the point. But one genre that I am not too fond of is horror; horror movies WIG ME OUT but I still know lots about them as I am a child of the 80’s (the best decade for horror, perhaps) and Bear is a walking encyclopedia of horror movie knowledge.

So, like I said, the security guard's cell phone went off with a ring tone that is perhaps the worst choice for a security guard to have while walking behind a lone woman at night in a creppy, dark parking lot.

Like the title says, I can't make this shit up.

Can you believe it???

2005-09-02T20:26:00.000-06:00

I have made more recent posts than Rx Princess! WOOT!
Maybe I am finally getting the hang of this blogging thing!

Baby Shower!

2005-08-20T21:35:00.000-06:00

I flew in to Orlando last night, and boy are my arms tired [ba-dum-bum].

My twin t-rex is preggers, heavy with child, eating for two, etc. and had her baby shower in Cocoa, FL today and I totally surprised her by just showing up after she had begged me to come and I refused siting too much work and not enough $$. At the sight of me walking in, she screeched so loud a friend of hers thought her water had broken.

Her friends threw her a very nice party at a very posh spot on the Indian River and I have never seen so many onesies, burp towels and baby wipes in my life. For a comitted non-breeder, it was pretty scary stuff. I had to keep asking my mom what stuff was for.

Since we are twins we have pretty much shared EVERYTHING that life has to offer, but now she goes down that scary (well, scary to me) road sans this t-rex. We went to dinner after the baby shower (Twin, Chef Rav, Twin's hubby, and I) and everytime Twin burped, shifted or felt her belly, I was like "OMG! What's going on! Are you about to give birth! EEEEE!", Twin (who is very wise in the ways of being 7 months pregnant) kept saying things like, "it was just heartburn" or "the Peanut was moving" or finally, "quit being so friggen jumpy t-rex, you are making me nervous". Pregnancy really is a foreign land to me. I am sooo glad that she has her wonderful Chef Rav with her as they begin a new phase of their lives together.

Pigeon Cam!

2005-08-18T10:40:00.000-06:00

http://www.angryalien.com/0504/pigeonkam.html

Fantastic 4

2005-07-07T21:28:00.000-06:00

Saw a sneak preview tonight at 7pm...as far as "superhero" flicks go...this is worth a see.

In my superhero movie rankings (where Hulk is a -123 and X2 is +zillion) it is up there with the 2 Spidey movies (better than S2, equal with S1, imho). It might not match the comic book 100% but it is a good story and the interplay between the characters is fun (especially Ben "the Thing" Grimm and Johnny "the Human Torch" Storm).

So, grab a soda and some popcorn and go see a fun, comic book movie. Call me when you go see it, I just may want to see it again. Ioan Gruffudd is dreamy :)

PS...Stan the Man does make a cameo appearance

Sandra D

2005-07-02T13:10:00.000-06:00

Girlzoot: What do you think about Sandra Day O'Connor retiring.
T-Rex: Wow! I didn't even know she was still acting...I love all those 60's beach movies she did!

**sound of Girlzoot sobbing**

Girlzoot: Seriously, what do you think?
T-Rex: Well, I read that she was retiring to spend more time with her husband who has Alzheimer's. It seems to me that since he has Alzheimer's it would be the perfect chance for her to work even more and when he asks where she's been all day she can say "Why, right here with you, my darling husband...you don't remember??".

lost opera found

2005-07-02T12:21:00.000-06:00

Antonio Vivaldi's "Motezuma"

Larry the Gnome

2005-06-27T20:17:00.000-06:00

on Sunday I met the owner of Larry the Gnome while I was working at the Colorado Renaissance Faire (I will post about that experience soon!)
check out her website! my pic with Larry should be posted soon!

this just in...

2005-06-08T09:11:00.000-06:00

ooo...cosmic ray research in Colorado...maybe it isn't too late to get super powers and abuse them!

you'd think it would be at ISU...*

2005-06-04T12:35:00.000-06:00

While catching up on my local news, I came across this article.
It talks about the Modern Drunkard magazine's annual convention which is taking place in Denver this week.
In the article is the following:

Michael Haines, director of the National Social Norms Resource Center at Northern Illinois University, attributes some of the shift to the aging baby-boomer generation that is determined not to let the excessive behavior of their own youth pervade their children's culture.

What gets me is not the content of the above factoid...but the fact that the "National Social Norms Resource Center" is at my alma mater.

WTF? When did this happen, in my happy time at NIU, I did not ever come across this department/area/discpline. In looking at the NIU NSNRC home page, it looks like it might have started in 2002...well after my 1993 graduation (with University Honors, I might add).

* can anyone guess why it would be more appropo for the NSNRC to be at ISU? Please forgive me for the horrible Land o' Lincoln humor.

tornado drill darwinism

2005-06-03T20:38:00.000-06:00

Rainy weather over eastern Denver brought a tornado warning with it this evening while I was working.
So, myself and about 30 other employees who work "non-conventional" shifts huddled in a back hallway and made small talk for about a half-hour until the "all clear" was given in a rather bored sounding voice by the facilities person on staff. We could hear the thunder and feel it shake the building from time to time.
It was interesting to hear how many people, despite the fact that there could have been an actual tornado on our doorstep, wanted to go outside to "check it out"...including myself.
I guess if we 30 people would have been in the gene pool back at the dawn of time, we would not have lived long enough to send our stupidly curious genes down thru the ages.

feline diabetes

2005-05-25T12:14:00.000-06:00

So, I was getting ready to go to work yesterday, when my eldest cat/daughter (Princess Kitten, 10 years old, 1/2 maine coon, 1/2 sneaky neighbor cat) got my attention by getting sick right in front of me.

Long story short (too late)...the wonderful vet doctors at Alameda East Vet Hospital (home of TLC's Animal Planet "Emergency Vets" TV show) told us that our baby had feline diabetes...which, considering we thought she was having kidney (renal) failure...diabetes is a much less-scary diagnosis.

Good news 1: she is going to be ok once we get the insulin and such worked out.

Good news 2: Alameda East is working with a pet drug company (Intervet) doing trials for a new kind of cat insulin (made from piggies). This company pioneered porcine insulin for dogs a few years ago (Vetsulin) and now they are trying to do the same for kitties.

Good news 3: if all goes well with the trial, Princess Kitten will be recieving tests/meds/care at no cost.

Bad news: T-rex must get over her overwhelming and crippling fear of needles/syringes and learn to poke her baby kitty 2x a day.

Needless to say, I will be reading up on this and trying to be the most educated I can on this issue. Lemme know if there is any book/site/etc. that you think would be helpful to myself and Princess Kitten as we start down another road together.

lonely

2005-05-11T23:23:00.000-06:00

lonely socks

go google yerself

2005-05-10T23:14:00.000-06:00

my best buddy, ol' Girlzoot has vowed never to google herself and now i kinda see why.

in a fit of weirdness i did just that tonight with my own moniker...

evidently, a namesake of mine is wanted in Honolulu for a parole violation (in her description it says she is 5'1", weighs 325 lbs and has a "heavy" build...what other type of build can you have at that weight/height, i wonder?).

kinda makes me glad my life is so boring that when i google my name, i don't ever find anything about me.

Auld Lang Syne...

2004-12-31T02:54:00.000-07:00

Which is Gaelic, as we all know, for "get piss-drunk on New Years Eve and call up your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend to cajole or threaten".

Hope everyone out there in blogger-land has a fun and safe New Years!

Oh No!

2004-12-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have become a dreaded "blog slacker".

Must post more of my amusing musings in 2005!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2004-12-15T01:06:00.000-07:00

To my dearest husband, Bear:

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Bear!
Happy Birthday to You! *

Thank you for being a wonderful person and an even better hubby!
I love you!

*sung to the tune of 'April in Paris'

links o fun

2004-12-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

Combine "Buffy the Musical" with "Lord of the Rings"...why the hell not!

http://www.omwh.com/

for you pervy hobbit fanciers:

http://www.subreality.com/chimericon/secretdiaries.htm

for you weird crossover fic fans...Buffy meets Hercules:

http://www.ltljverse.com/index2.htm#chapters1

(yes, how did you guess I was a Buffy fan??)

More links later!

B-day

2004-12-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

I finished Bear's birthday shopping tonight after work. It is tough having his birthday right before Christmas...I have always tried not to get him a bigger/more expensive present and then saying "and that is for BOTH your b-day and x-mas". I am a twin and my sister and I usually got shafted by relatives and friends growing up who would buy us something to share or buy us the same thing - except different colors or do what my grandma did all the time: if her budget was to spend 20$ per grandkid for birthdays, she would spend 10$ for me and 10$ for sis. So, I have made a vow not to shaft my friends and loved ones for their birthdays by giving nice gifts and/or planning fun outings.

Last year Bear was the only 35 year old with a "theme" birthday...he had a Lord of the Rings party and got gifts from/inspired by/ripped off of the books/movies. We also determined who of our friends represented which LotR character. Bear was Gimli (a 6'3" Gimli) and, unsurprisingly, I was voted "most likely to screw things up" yep, I am Pippen.

This year we went bowling at a hip new place and had a pretty good time (fyi...don't bowl with Red, he's a ringer!), bought some cheesecake and ate some pretty good Italian food. A bit more low-key than last year, but Bear declared that he had a good time.

On his birthday proper (the bowling party was a couple of days ago to accomdate schedules) I plan on giving him gifts from me and the pets (yes, I am one of those women who buy gifts/cards for people from my pets) and feeding him chocolate cake 'til he 'spodes.

All in all, not a bad way to turn 36. I just hope he likes what the dog bought him.

Time Sucker

2004-12-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

I love MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing games for you who aren't in the geeky know) and currently EQ2 has me under its spell.

I know that some of my gaming buddies are liking WOW right now. But I am a simple woman, with simple needs and EQ2 seems to be filling those needs right now (needs like killing bastard dark elves, icky trolls and taking out my aggression out on some orks as well).

I have played EQ (the first time around), DAOC, SW:G and now EQ2 and have realized long ago what a monumental time-suck these games are...I mean, I could be doing laundry or composing music or even spending time with Bear, Girlzoot or any number of friends...but I know that I will play this game for a few months (until the snow melts) in the wee hours (when I can't really bug anyone anyway) and then I will get back to reality.

So, if you are playing EQ2, watch out for half-elf bard Kalendra on the Nektulos server!

Working Late

2004-12-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

The only cool thing about working late when you are salaried is that you have a "good" excuse for picking up bad-for-you takeout on the way home, because you had to work late...

Note to self...

2004-12-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Do not drink 6 raspberry ice teas at Red Robin between 10pm and 11pm and expect to go to sleep anytime soon.
FYI getting up at 7am to go to work today was very, very difficult.

New specs

2004-12-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

I guess that I need to get some new glasses as I have been getting heinous headaches from reading both computerized text and hard copies (which I have to do every day). I have had my present ocular aids for about 2.5 years and Girlzoot informed me this evening that I really should be switching out the old specs at least every 18 months...
So beginith my quest for new glasses...and perhaps some contact lenses.
Bear is getting his eyeballs lasered in January but I am still leery of the process. Besides, Bear's eyes are better than mine with only a mild nearsidedness. I am stuck with severe astigmatism and severe nearsidedness. Rx Princess got her eyeballs zapped earlier in the year with much success and loves not having glasses...Bear is going to the same doctor so I know he will be in good hands.
If I lived in the time before lens grinding...I am sure I would be sitting in a cave just tending the fire as that would be the only thing I could probably focus on.

schedule

2004-11-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have a unique work schedule (well, it is unique in the experience of my past work schedules).
I work Tuesday - Friday noon to 9pm and then Saturdays 8am to 5pm.
I have Sundays and Mondays off.
So, this morning as Zoot, Monkey and all my other friends (excepting Lex, he has an even crazier work schedule than I do) got up, struggled thru the snow that we got in Denver over the last 24 hours (tummy high on my beagle)...I was still in bed...
Not trying to rub this in...ok...maybe I am.

Shopping

2004-11-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Zoot, Rx Princess and I went to a local outlet mall yesterday for some awesome shopping.
We got there before 8am and, surprisingly, there were not that many shoppers about. By the time we left (around noon) there still weren't that many shoppers milling about.
What gives? The day after Turkey Day is supposedly the busiest shopping date in the year.
Oh well...Zoot, Rx Princess and I mostly bought stuff for ourselves anyway.

Does not play well...

2004-11-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

After going out and having a wonderful Turkey Day dinner at a local swanky hotel...the gang came over to Casa de Beagle to eat pie and play cards.
Red, Rx Princess, Thing 2, Monkey, Zoot and I were playing a card game where you can "screw" your opponents...I take advantage of my opportunities and pretty much wipe out 3 of my adversaries in 1 hand.
As they grumbled a bit about it, Bear pipes up from the couch:
"Well, she never did play well with others."
and everyone agreed!!
Guess I shouldn't giggle like a mad-woman when I am destroying them at cards.
PS...I guess I learned my lesson when everyone then ganged up on me and eventually I lost.
PPS...naw...the only lesson I really learned was to keep my evil giggles on the inside while crushing my foes.

This is spinal tap (almost)...

2004-11-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Well, my first post and it is rather an ego-centric one (as if having a blog isn't ego-centric enough)...

About 8 or 9 weeks ago I woke up with a pain in my butt (my left side to be precise) and all the way down the back of my left leg and foot. After a week of driving Bear insane with my not being able to sleep or find relief, I went to my GP.
The GP gave me some pain meds (mmm...pain meds) and said "most back pain either goes away within 6 weeks or we will need to explore more extreme measures"...he also recommended that I see a physical therapist to see if some "strengthening exercises" would help out.
So I go the the PT for 3.5 weeks and go back to my GP...the pain is still there and I am popping darvocet and vicodin like a housewife from 1962 to stay sane. Says the GP to I, "Go get yerself an MRI"...so off I went.
The MRI wasn't bad (I actually fell asleep in the cocoon-like tube) and I made an appointment with a specialist (a neurosurgeon specializing in spinal issues) my GP recommended to go over my spinal polaroids.
So, I go to the neurosurgeon, a very nice, funny guy and we view my MRI pics...ah, says he, you have a classic "dark disc" at my L5. After talking with Dr. Neurosurgeon and having him admit that at my tender age of 33 I am way to young to consider surgery at this point...we decided on a course of "cortisone epidurals" to quell the inflammation at the bulge in my disc. This will not cure the bulge, but it should give me enough relief to go about my life...if not from one shot, then maybe a couple more...but the bad news is that if I need more than 3 shots (over time)...then a discectomy will probably be the fix I will need.

Well, to make a long story short (TOO LATE!)...I had my first (and hopefully last) cortisone epidural today.
I have to say 1 thing about this shot in my spine...OUCH. I know the pain is partly psychological (I am fascinated by medical things until sharp implements are headed my way) but it is also real; the injection site is puffy and sore. The doc who did it said that it will most likely hurt for 24 more hours (now about 15 hours) before I will begin to notice (hopefully) the pain that I have had in my back and leg for 9 weeks subside and (hopefully) go away.
Here's hoping...

Special thanks to Rx Princess and the rest of the gang who wished me well and offered luv and support.
Special Special thanks to Girlzoot and Nurse Commando who brought me a chocolate shake this evening and played a game with me to pass the time for a while.
Special Special (factorial) thanks to my Mom who has had cortisone epidurals for the same reason a few years ago...medical research shows that lower spinal issues can be hereditary, who knew that I would get the Pearl family nose AND the Hayne family L5 issues...and who has supported me via phone and email in regards to this issues.
And last, but never ever least, special thanks to my hubby of hubbies, Bear, for putting up with my whining, bitching, tossing, turning, fear and other related maladies while I have been going thru this. He went into the operating chamber and watched the procedure being done and was fascinated by the fluoroscope view of my lower spine. When we got home and I was all ouchy and grumpy, he said something that made me smile "you know, even your spine is cute!"

Let's hear it for having a cute spine and not having acute spine pain!