Summer cuts

I ate some bad sushi on Tuesday night and ended up working from home Wednesday, which gave me a chance to get some photos of Zoe's new summer do. (It's nearly impossible to get a good photograph of Zoe in artificial light because of her dark hair - even with natural light the pics aren't great, but you get the idea).



I used clippers to trim down her coat for the season. I know a professional could do a much better (and far more even) job but I'm a cheapskate.



Uneven hair aside, I love the way Zoe looks with shorter hair - she's so darn cute. A bath will follow soon after this post. I can't traumatize her all at once you know! The last photo makes me laugh. She's got that, "what you talkin' 'bout Willis?" look on her face.



Another Bailey update: he's "un-aged" at least 5 years. My boy is like an energizer bunny!

A fond farewell to a fine pair of Jacks

I faithfully watched Jack Bauer save the world for eight years; and watched Jack Shephard search for redemption and a way back home for six. Bauer officially and permanently fled the country last night and LOST left the airwaves Sunday night in a 4.5 hour-long television event.

Needless to say, it's been an emotional 48 hours for this Jack² fan.


I generally prefer Dr. Shephard (Matthew Fox) to Agent Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), and the LOST finale was far more emotionally-charged than 24's, but both endings left me with a feeling of bittersweet satisfaction.

Unlike many Losties who posted reviews and comments online, I genuinely enjoyed "The End." I got enough answers to keep me from going crazy and most of the characters I came to love were given closure.

Seeing Ben (Michael Emerson) go from a horrible bad guy to not so bad, back to bad and then to pretty good was so unexpectedly wonderful. His decision to remain outside the church was beautiful. I found his "redemption" one of the most meaningful of all the islanders - and he finally got his chance to feel "special."

But the last scene was absolutely perfect. Fox said he predicted this exact ending since the beginning of the show. Bamboo field. Jack. Vincent. Right eye. LOST.

The audience of Jimmy Kimmel Live was filmed watching the last scene before the Lost cast took the stage for the "Aloha Lost" show, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I'd been weeping for quite a while by then.

My one gripe: I thought the return of Shannon was really lame - I'm not a fan of Maggie Grace and I thought her character on the show was phenomenally annoying. I felt like her inclusion cheapened it for the rest of the castaways who made it back for the "group departure." But that being one of the things I liked least about the finale, the show was pretty great. Evangeline Lilly is a darn fine actress - I hope to see her elsewhere very soon. Did anyone see her in The Hurt Locker?

As for the final hours of 24, it was nice to see the king of douche nozzles, President Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin), completely unravel. Throughout the entire final season, his snake-like whispers in President Taylor's ear made me sick. What a slimeball.


I was also glad to see President Taylor (Cherry Jones) finally throw in the towel and admit her wrongdoings. I'm sure Jack's camera-phone video speech - stating that the path to true peace must be predicated on truth, honesty, understanding and a mutual willingness by all parties to move forward - helped her to see the error of her recent ways. Ahh Jack. Always good for spouting what might seem like holier-than-thou rubbish coming from anyone else's lips.

And who can say buh-bye to 24 without acknowledging the queen of awkward, Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Her tearful lines were the last of the series, and they were pretty darn believable.

If they could've somehow brought President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) back to life, I would've been completely satisfied. He remains my favorite of all the characters on 24. I guess I'll have to settle for his Allstate ads.

I'm gonna miss that big yellow time clock...bip-boom...bip-boom...bip-boom...bip-boom...

I haven't attached myself to many new shows in recent years, so the end of these two leaves me with far less prime time TV to look forward to. I guess I'll have to read more!

The skinny on mascara from a non-phat girl

For the most part I'm a clean-faced girl. I never put on make-up at home, so if it goes on it's after I've arrived in my cubicle and the application is most-often stretched over an hour or more between work-related tasks.

Mascara is a sore subject, as my eyes constantly run like nobody's business. I only recently discovered my magical anti-histamine recipe: Claritin redi-tabs taken with Zyrtec liquigels at the same time.

When mascara is feasible, I've turned to Cover Girl time and again. Unfortunately, when it comes to makeup, I've always viewed Cover Girl as "low-end", but CG's Lash Blast mascaras proved me wrong. I've loved most of them from the start. Breakdown below:

- Lash blast luxe (red tube): HATED it. Sparkles clumped like crazy, as did the mascara.

- Original lash blast, including water-proof formula (orange tube): LOVED it. Fantastic brush. Individual lashes highlighted.

- Eyelights (white tube): I tried both the hazel and green-eye versions and found the eyelights for green eyes to be far more flattering on me. Excellent brush; very subtle, yet effective color; long-wearing with little to no smudging.

- Lashblast Fusion: MY LOVE! Best mascara ever. CG advertises this mascara as their first volumizing/lengthening mascara, and that is the perfect description of this mascara. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Other mascaras:

Maybelline Colossal mascara: Hated it - clumped like nobody's business.

Maybelline Stiletto mascara: Liked it. Minimal clumping; the lengthening achieved with the brush made my review of it draw even.

My favorites: Cover Girl's Lashblast Fusion and Eyelights mascaras. Top two by leaps and bounds.

Self-proclaimed squirrel

I found out yesterday that our annual company "mystery trip" requires a passport. While I was certain that mine expires next April, I dug it out of my fire-proof box just to check. What I found made me laugh my ass off.

Behold the old-school over-21 North Carolina driver's license. Pardon my ignorance if it is/was common practice across states, but the red background indicates a 21-year-old and over adolescent.


Why I still have this license - in a fire-proof box no less - is beyond me. It honestly looks like something any kid could create in his/her basement with a low-scale laminating machine. Perhaps that is why the NC license changed so drastically soon after.

Catching Fire

I finished this book last night, and while I preferred the first book, I enjoyed this one, too.

The plot in Catching Fire felt a bit rushed - especially at the end when all the subterfuge is revealed and the reader basically learns what the premise of the final novel will be. There are many looming questions to be answered!

I also found myself caring more about the secondary characters in The Hunger Games. I didn't really feel like I got to know the other players in Catching Fire, but perhaps that will come in the final book, Mockingjay.

I can't write much without giving too much away, so read the trilogy yourself! (The editorial reviews on Amazon are good, so if you want all the details look the books up there).

The final book is scheduled to be released on August 24, 2010. There's been talk of these books becoming movies, too, which I think will be fantastically cool if directed by someone with talent. I'd love to see Katniss Everdeen's post-apocalyptic world interpreted on the big screen!

How Bailey got his groove back

Bailey, my Norwegian Elkhound, is 12 1/2 years old and 2 months ago moved around about as easily as a 105-year-old grandpa. My vet gave me some samples of Rimadyl, and while the drug had a positive effect, the case-studies online terrified me (dogs were dying after several months of treatment and autopsies revealed acute liver damage believed to be caused by Rimadyl).

I know you can't believe everything you read online, but I'm not willing to take any chances with Bailey's health, especially since Rimadyl won't extend his life - it can only make him more comfortable.

I decided to supplement his diet with a joint enhancer instead. I purchased a 90 count bottle of Ark Naturals Joint "Rescue" about a month ago and it has made a phenomenal difference in Bailey's quality of life. Both Kerry (dog-sitter extraordinaire) and my dad have commented on Bailey's reclaimed sense of spryness and increased energy. Bailey even jogged with my dad on Saturday morning!

Next week we'll adjust to the "normal" dosage of the supplement (Bailey's recommended dosage should've been doubled until then, but with his sensitive stomach I adjusted it down to 1 1/2 the recommended dosage).

While some of the prices I found online are extremely inflated, I know I didn't pay more than $27 for 90 tablets at Whole Foods. Yes, they were on sale, but the regular price was no where near the $40 price tag on the Ark Naturals site. Amazon has a 90-tablet bottle listed at $28.63.

As indicated earlier, Bailey has an extremely sensitive digestive system, but this supplement hasn't upset his regularity at all. If you've got an elderly four-legged friend, I highly recommend this supplement.

Blast from 1985

On Friday night, my parents and their best friends stayed the night with me before embarking on a week-long beach vacation Saturday morning.

My dad found the photo below in my room and brought it down to show Kathy and Roger. As he handed over the photo, he commented, "Does this make you feel young?!"

I'm pretty sure it's from our vacation in British Columbia during the summer of 1985. My dad must've taken the photo because he's not in it. I'm second from the left and my brother is in the middle, with my mom on his left (right in the photo). It is quite strange to see my brother, who is now a bit over 6'1", shorter than my mom who is now shorter than I am!


Having Kathy and Roger around is always so wonderful - they make my parents so happy. They've all been friends since 1972, and while they don't get to see each other as much as they'd like, they've managed to remain very close for almost 40 years!

Sprucing Up

I've kept two coco liner baskets on a shepherd's crook for the last few years in my front yard. Until recently, the baskets were occupied by mums, which my dad claimed were deader than a doornail the last time he visited. Little did he know that a little water always revived them without a problem.

Nevertheless, I decided to put a bit more effort into my hanging-basket-presentation.

I combined Copia Bacopa (the white flowers), Lanai Verbena (the purple flowers) and Celosia. While I hope the baskets fill out a bit more with growth, I was pleased with my results.

I implemented a tip, too, to combat drying out. I cut the handles off of regular plastic grocery bags, cut a few holes in the bottoms of the bags and placed them in the coco liners. The bags don't show and they help to hold moisture in the coco liner. I really hope this technique keeps my new arrangements from shriveling up!

Quote of the day

Found this on Free Kibble today.

"Saving just one pet won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one pet."

I recant!

That is, I recant my previous hate-post towards LOST. I have fallen in love with the show all over again.

I was two episodes behind before I caught up on Thursday (May 6th). I was hooked again after "The Last Recruit," and absolutely beside myself with grief after watching "The Candidate." As a blog I read stated, "and then there were five."

Jin and Sun's demise - after only very briefly being reunited following a three-year separation, made their deaths all the more heartbreaking. I, like many readers online, was torn by the fact that neither put the welfare of their infant daughter above their desire to never part again; but I still wept uncontrollably when their hands parted as they slipped away from each other in death. (Seriously, awesome score, the music of LOST is perfectly pitched).

Some people online compared the scene to Jack and Rose in Titanic. I strongly disagree with that comparison and I think anyone who's watched LOST since its inception would have to agree. They're all fictional characters, yes, but Jack and Rose were with us for 3 hours. Jin and Sun have been with us for 6 years.

You can view the scene via IMDB here (please pardon the cheesy title given by whoever posted it).

After receiving my first Entertainment Weekly with season 6 LOST info (I'm a new subscriber), I'm both eagerly anticipating and dreading the finale. This is the description of the final ten minutes, as stated by the EW guys who were on set during the filming of the finale:

"The scene is bold, implicitly clear yet open to interpretation, and bring-boxes-of-tissues emotional. It seems that this groundbreaking game-changing drama intends to leave the airwaves in a heartbreaking, head-spinning blaze of 'Wow!' and 'Wha?'"

Of course what comes to mind for me is the series finale of Six Feet Under. I have never in my life been so affected by a television show - never cared so much about fictional characters and their fictional lives - as much as I cared about the Fishers.

That scene. The beginning of the greatest most final finale ever. Claire starts up her Prius to leave LA behind for a new life in New York, as she watches Nate, her dead brother, jog in her rearview mirror. EVERY TIME I even think about it I get chills and sob like a baby.

If LOST affects me the same way I'll be extremely impressed. But even if it doesn't, I've definitely enjoyed the show.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TODD AND MARIA!

Big brother's supremely obnoxious watchful eye

I am a contractor for the government.

Translation: I am a slave to the government. I am meagerly compensated. As a "contractor" I am treated like a 2nd-class citizen by many "true" government employees, who are paid twice as much as I am although I work just as hard. If I get started on the injustice regarding vacation time or benefits I'll spin into another dimension, so translation ends here.

For many months now, the government has slowly limited all employees' (not just contractors') ability to effectively use the internet as a resource. We're not only blocked from Facebook and certain Twitter pages, but I often find myself unable to search university directories for reviewer/author names and contact information. In those cases the government is not keeping me from taking unauthorized "breaks" from work, but it is instead preventing me from doing my JOB.

Yesterday's instance, while I admit is on the "unauthorized" side, sent me into an unparalleled rage. I found myself unable to LOG IN to my personal blog.

I do NOT post blog entries during work hours. I rarely post comments to other blogs during work hours, but when I do it's only during my lunch hour. HOW Is that unreasonable?! Should there be no fun at all between 8 am and 5 pm?!

Jen and I joked that soon we'll be blocked from Manuscript Central* (the site through which we do 95% of our job), and that we'll be made to request hall passes to go to the bathroom. I don't know about her, but I was 100% serious. What's irritating is that if put on the spot, I could certainly point out others' far more inappropriate behavior during business hours, but I choose not to fight back in that manner. I'll vent instead.

The icing on the cake: my government-run institution sponsored a workshop to promote social/business networking through Facebook, Twitter and Blogger a few months back. Thanks for that big brother. Maybe next time you'll dedicate your resources to tools we can actually use.

And yes, this post was written last night and scheduled to post Thursday morning. No part of this message was written while imprisoned in my cubicle under big (ass) brother's watchful eye.

* Manuscript Central does have a Twitter account, to which important service updates, etc. are posted. I do NOT have full access to that page and/or its posts. I'm not surprised.

Rollin' earth-friendly style

On Sunday, Zoe joined Jen and I on a business trip to Charlottesville, VA. Our last trip there was far less pleasant. Think disgusting accommodations where I didn't want to tread without flip-flops in the shower. BLEGH. But on this occasion I was delighted to have the opportunity to test-drive a PRIUS.

While my dad would never allow a "free-moving" dog in the vehicle, you'll see Zoe front and center below.



We really didn't allow Zoe to roam free for very long, as she usually migrated to my side of the vehicle, where she wanted to burrow in the floor board where the brakes and acceleration pedal are located: DANGER.

Jen snapped a pic of Zoe, trying to get comfortable in the PRIUS floor - RIGHT-side of the vehicle.

MAY

May is one of my favorite months. I'm always sad when it ends, but before it does I thoroughly enjoy the true Summer intro it usually provides.
Not too hot, not too chilly; May is a perfect month. It's full of graduates, happy moms, the anniversary of my brother's wedding, and practically perfect weather.
MAY.