Its Finally Here!!!

After much anticipation, the day is finally here - where I shall go to the mountains and forget about all the crappiness going on here :) I have packed up half my stuff in the car and have to actually go into work and be there for 8 hours or so and pretend, I mean, REALLY..work! After work I am picking up O, throwing the food in the cooler, grabbing some ice and heading to Virginia! First stop - Mount Rogers Recreation Area! Camping on some creek somewhere not far off the interstate. Just 2 days from now i will be in the Catskills!! Cheers!

I'll try to make these entries a little more entertaining from here on out. Its 5:30 am and I've had no coffee, can't sleep, and thinking about maybe cleaning my extremely dirtyhouse before going into the office. Or giving Oreo a bath....now thats not a bad idea....

Oreo is clean now... and the house. Would upload pictures but my dinosaur computer seems to not be recogizing the card reader. See you in a few days!

Packing and Waiting

I have 3 days left - and I have pretty much packed everything. Now all I have to do is sit around and wait.... wait for it... oh yeah, and pretend to work. I think I have everything planned out. I bought about a million dollars worth of crap for the trip and have a case full of candy, chocolate and marshmallows (your basic needs, of course). All I need now is to buy some final stuff at the grocery store and shove it all into my car!!! So. Here I am. Waiting...

My New England Adventure

So its been about 400 years since I last posted anything on my blog. But since I'm going to be going on a long (for me) road trip and I bought a teeny tiny computer to bring along with me - I thought I could use this forum to post some pics and let family and friends know I'm still alive (going by myself).

Me and Oreo (my dog) are going to take a 2 week (17 days) vacation up north and see as much as we can see across atleast 5 states (we are going to stay in 5 states but drive through more). The trip doesn't start for 11 more days - but I'm getting so excited I can barely stand it. I've worked up an itinerary and have already started to pack (dork). Here is the plan:

Day 1 Leave after work and drive up to VA near Wythesville.
Day 2 Wythesville to Harrisburg, PA (stay in a hotel)
Day 3 PA to the Catskills!! Camp for 2 nights!!
Day 5 Catskills to Adirondacks (camp) - hike and paddle with O
Day 7 Adirondacks to Vermont (camp) - Green Mountains
Day 8 Vermont to New Hampshire (camp 2 nights) in White Mountains
Day 10 NH to Acadia NP for 3 nights of camping (biking, hiking, boating)
Day 12 Acadia to Portland Maine (hotel 2 nights)
Day 14 Portland to Hagerstown, MD (hotel)
Day 15 MD to Blue Ridge Parkway (camp 2 nights along parkway)

Whoo hoo! I'm so excited!! More to come!!

the girl with too many animals...

So I inherited some sort of a soft spot for four-legged friends and can't seem to stop myself from picking up animals off the side of the road (or those that accidently walk through my yard and look hungry and in need of loving). As such - I have never needed to go to the shelter to find a pet - they just find me. It has been a blessing (had lots of great pets) and perhaps a curse all at the same time. First Muffin (the awesome cat), Grain (the one we stole from a neighbor), Pooh (the ghetto kitty), and then Oreo (the mangy nasty rat turned fluffy enlarged papillon). All great friends. Pooh and Oreo are still with me and are the loves of my life. All has been in balance in the world of happy rockgirl animals.....

Then.....Halloween 08 comes along and then enters Big. Big was a pit-bull mix who appeared to be either playing real-life frogger or maybe just attempting suicide in the street on my way to work the morning of Halloween. I see him at the 4-way and feel bad that this dog has somehow gotten loose and seems to be lost. Then, for whatever reason -- perhaps fate -- he starts chasing down my car. It was as though he saw some sort of hidden sticker on the back of my car (the one that says "SUCKER FOR ANIMALS-FOLLOW ME." That is how Oreo hitched a ride, as well.

So I can't let a suicidal frogger dog just end up road kill after having made eye contact and the poor thing entering my sub-conscience. Stupid mind. I pick the poor fellow up and bring him home to my basement where I diligently make flyers and spread them around in hopes of his owners come rescue him and love him forever. I knew it wouldn't happen. The poor thing had a choker collar on and was very malnurished.

A month later I gave up and started posting ads for him on websites and at work - trying to find someone with a big heart to take this poor pup and love and care for him. My roommate, conveniently, is in vet school and got him fixed, chipped, up-to-date on all shots, etc. We brought him into the house and he became our foster friend. For the lack of creativity - we named him after his enormous and very muscular head -- Big. Short for Big head. If you have to ask at this point why I would name a dog big -- you obviously missed the previous pet names that should pretty much sum up the fact that I completely lack creativity when thinking up names. If I ever have children - I might name them Baby Slime or Super Melon. I think thats the reason why perhaps I should not have them.

Anywho-where am i going with this jabber? Big was a joy to house train. It was 3 months into this when we realized it was time to attempt a crate. It was too much for my stomach to come home to the site of this:

But all of this I have decided was a chance for me to learn patience. Tolerance. I've been reading about it for a long time and this presented an opportunity to practice. Meditation and deep breathing can get you to a point - but at some point you have to try it on in the real world.

And what better way then by having your house destroyed?

But all this aside. Our patience prevailed. We didn't give up on the little bugger. We continued to work with him.

So Big has been with us now for 5 months. He is potty trained, crate trained, and the sweetest, most lovable dog in the world. He gives hugs, cuddles in bed with you, and now when I come home I see this:

Its a sweet site.

More Proof of the Evil Nature of Spiders

Check this photo out.... What is the tiny little barely visible black dot, you wonder? Well, let me tell you friend... this little black beastie is a black widow spider. Yes, a real one. Where was this phot taken? My back patio.
As you know, I have arachnaphobic tendancies bordering on the insane . This morning, when I was outside making sure my dog didn't fly away in the tornado-like winds we were experiencing at 5:30am, I noticed this little bastard trying to make a run for my back door. I guess he had been de-homed in the winds and he was making his way for the warmth and secure setting that is my house. I, of course, welcomed him with the bottom of my shoe that I scrambled to find in my un-used gym back next to the dining room table. How dare he? Isn't it winter? Aren't the little f**kers supposed to be dead? or in some underground fortress beginning their winter hibernation ceremonies with the devil himself?

Doggy Bling

So here's one of life's greatest mysteries, in my opinion... Doggy clothes. I was at Target not too long ago and noticed they had quite an extensive collection of doggy clothing and accessories. For example, there is a little "Bling Dog Tee" in hot pink. AAhhhhh, and then there is the Leopard Print Doggy PJs. And just in case all those boy dogs are feeling left out (you know how sensitive boys can be...), there is doggy suit. There is everything from your average sweater, to pink shiny raincoats, to denim jackets (you know acid washed is coming back, right?), and lets not forget to get them their tiaras, tutus, and pearl neckaces... Swim trunks, fringe shit, Issac Mizrahi designer dresses, crocheted sweaters, smoking jackets, if you don't belive me - check it out for yourself!!

Have I died and woken up in doggy hell? Because thats exactly where my dog would feel like she was living if I bought her something so hideous. She gets pissed when I even suggest putting a bandana around her neck. So, okay, I remember once when I was a kid I put a doll dress on my cat and put her in the front yard to see what she would do. She rolled over and played dead. How could a person subject their animal to such complete and utter humiliation? I'm outraged!! Okay, so maybe occasionally you throw something fun on for a halloween party. I mean, hey, everyone is doing it so its cool. But damn doggy lingerie? And people actually think I need a hobby. Please, America, lets work together on not becoming so freakin frightening.

My New Addiction

I have a new addiction. A new way to totally waste a day at work. The Onion. I've visited the site before when friends have pointed out various articles, but I've never really spent much time reading through some of the archives and browsing the merchandise. Its beautiful. It really speaks to me. Sarcastic wisdom at its finest. LOVE IT. Some of my favorite articles include "Area Woman Emotionally Invested in Jennifer Anniston's Well-being" and "Action Figures Set Cubicles Apart."

The former summarizes our society's ridiculous obsession with Hollywood. The latter is a fav because I feel like I am the subject of of this article. My coworker (next cube over) and I share a wall that is covered in tiny fuzzy chickens, mini rubber ducks, sticky frogs, a bendable Uncle Sam and frog, a Lucky Cat from Japan (via Epcot), a lucky ceramic frog from Hawaii, an arrowhead shaped like a buffalo, and a ceramic, bejeweled snowman. No shit. I'm not lying. I'd show a picture if it weren't for the fact that one might recognize my office and figure out my oohhh soo secret identify. Course, you see one sterile cubicle, you've seen them all.

In addition to my cubicle figurines, I have decorated the walls with postcards, photographs, posters, magazine cut-outs, bullshit training certificates, tiki voodoo-like totem heads with feather sprouts coming out of the top, a limestone core sample, some unprovenienced artifacts (which can be found in any archaeologist's office), a sugar flower that came off some gross store-bought cookie, and, of course, about 45 sticky notes holding thoughts that can't seem to stay in my brain. This is both an attempt to decorate our boring grey lives and a contest to see who can tacky it up the most before getting busted by facilities management. So far - no one has really said much. I even have a calendar of half naked native Hawaiian guys under my desk - taped to the inside lower wall. Its my little half-assed secret. My friend Peter has a similar calendar sporting some hotty Hawaiian ladies. This is just what a corporate office needs, more half naked people. I think I might suggest that at our next staff meeting.

So in the meantime, check out The Onion if you haven't already.