Wednesday, August 28, 2002 Just a random question... How do you explain 'gaydar' to a straight person?   | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, August 27, 2002 Temporarily down... We're in the final stages of moving the office. Tomorrow morning, the movers will be here to move all the desks and large furniture... I need to unplug my iMac now so that I can dismantle my desk... meaning that I will be without internet until such time as we are set up in the new space and we have internet access switched. (Probably Friday) So don't forget about me in the next few days... I'll be back... Perhaps by some divine intervention I'll be online again before Friday. *smile*   | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, August 26, 2002 Just in case... ...any of you folks get all your BB3 news from me. For some odd reason, this week Jason nominated Gerry and Amy for eviction. I have a feeling that a bunch of people will work hard to get that veto power and try to convince him to put up Roddy... especially Danielle. (I slept through most of the show so I don't know too much else.)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Missing: 'Smiling Mac' Start up a mac using OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) and you'll no longer see the happy mac icon that has graced the computers for 18 years. Now all you get is the Apple logo... they say it's an 'improvement' but it would be a shame to sterilize the whole operating system and mac experience... in other words, take all the mac flavor out. That's one of the reasons mac users don't like PCs... they're just... blah.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Its the same for the straights... I was having a pleasant conversation with one of my co-trainees yesterday and she blindsided me with this question, 'So, at your age, do you find it socially difficult to live in Ithaca? Like there are very limited dating possibilities?' Probably a little more excited than I should have been, I said 'Yes!'... She said, 'That was my daughter's biggest complaint about living in Ithaca.' I have never had anyone else SAY this to me before. I have always *thought* it... but it just felt so validating to hear it out of someone else's mouth... and without me instigating it. We talked about how the only dating potentials are either undergrads or other Cornellians that don't want anything to do with 'townies' and then the 'older set' of professionals. On a happy-ending sort of note. Her daughter did end up meeting someone... but I dunno if it was in Ithaca or after she left. And I believe they've since married and moved to Seattle together. :-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Comments... If you're not going to use the feature, I'm going to take it away. ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, August 25, 2002 UGH At the last minute I accepted an invitation to go see a movie with my friend Jacques. We intended to see 'Late Marriage,' an Israeli film (comedy) about some overprotective parents trying to keep their young son from marrying a divorcee. Seemed like it had some potential. But, when we got to the theater, they told us the movie was not playing at the advertised time. Still set on seeing a movie we rushed to the mall to see if we could catch something else. The only movie we could get into that we hadn't both already seen was 'Serving Sara' with Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley. *sigh* I don't even know where to start. If you have a choice of getting a root canal or seeing this movie... book the appointment with your dentist. I was soooo embarassed for Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley, in fact I hope they've fired their agents... and the person who wrote this movie should never be allowed to work in Hollywood again. I can't remember seeing a worse movie than this... EVER. I really just slunk in my seat and wished it was over the entire time. It was PAINFUL to sit through. It was utterly predictable... and just plain NOT funny. Yikes! What a waste of $8.25!! *ahem* My life coach would advise me to think positively... so... at least seeing a movie like this makes one appreciate the GOOD movies. :-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Another weekend nearly over... Friday night I went out to Common Ground with Rodney. I had an OK time... students are starting to come back so now there are actually a bunch of people out. I left early cause I knew I had to get some sleep to be up for the Vet appointment Saturday morning. The Vet is disappointed in Chrissy for not eating... actually, I sort of felt like I was the one being chastised... the Vet looked right at me and said, "Well, I'm very disappointed." (FYI, This is like the worst thing anyone can say to me... you can call me names, kick me... but for some reason if you say you're 'disappointed in me'... it REALLY bothers me.) She did gently scold me for a few things... she said "I wouldn't advise you to keep offering all these different kinds of foods, because if she develops an aversion and associates particular foods with being sick, then you won't have anything left to feed her when she actually starts eating again." Good point, doc. And then because I'm not good at giving Chrissy her pills, the Vet made me buy a pill crusher so that I could put the pills down through her feeding tube. Of course it's not my fault that Chrissy STILL refuses to eat... I have watched Chrissy try to eat and it looks to me that swallowing is uncomfortable with the feeding tube in. But the doctor says its very risky to remove the feeding tube until we're 100% sure that Chrissy will actually eat if its taken out. The Vet said she's never seen a cat that started eating again and then stopped. So, she prescribed appetite stimulants. I'm supposed to give them once or twice a day and see if that helps to jump start her eating habits. I'm supposed to follow-up on Monday and then have another appointment after Labor Day. So, at least 8 or 9 more days of tube feeding. *sigh* Shortly after getting home from the Vet, Amy came to pick me up so we could go shopping. She, Rodney and I had planned to go pick out clothes for her new job. She was just hired as a salesperson for Johnson and Johnson. (Congrats again, Amy!) So we spent all day in The Limited, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic... just about anywhere we *might* be able to find women's business and business casual clothes. It was fun, Amy was like our little barbie doll we could dress in any way we want. Although Rodney was WAY more into it than I was. I actually developed a headache and was exhausted by the fourth store. After shopping, we stopped off to get a drink at RAIN. It was pretty dead, but we expected it to be at 6:30 in the evening... I took a disco nap (where did I hear this term recently?... it got stuck in my head.) and met Jacques at WowNet Cafe. I had a splitting headache so I couldn't hang out in there for long (some band was playing LOUDLY) and then we went to Common Ground together for a few hours... played darts, chatted. Jacques got hit on (as usual) and then I went home to bed... This morning I had to be up relatively early (for a Sunday) because I have to supervise the movers this morning... and then rush over to the Mediation Center for my 6 hours of rock 'em-sock 'em visitation/custody mediation training. :-) Maybe some laundry after that... and then I have a feeling I'll be ready to collapse. :-) Back to work...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Did I say that? 78% of folks that find my page through a web search were actually looking up 'a-spot orgasms.' *laughing*   | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, August 23, 2002 That about sums it up... PoliticsNY.com on McCall: 'McCall should start getting ready for the heavyweight battle with Governor George Pataki – and a date with history on September 10.' PoliticsNY.com on Cuomo: '[T]he former HUD secretary’s latest maneuverings look the last gasps of a dying campaign. The fat lady is warming up in the wings. She’ll be singing shortly. Cuomo continues to run hard, but his campaign for governor now is about respectability – he needs to do well enough against H. Carl McCall on September 10th to earn a place in the pack of contenders for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2006.'   | private feedback | (0) public comments Power Trip I've sat in front of a paper shredder for the largest part of my day. All in an attempt to consolidate files and make less stuff to move into the new office. I feel like an Enron executive. Its quite a power trip to know that I will be the last person to read these inconsequential memos and proposals. :-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Chiara is outtie!! In a vote of 4-1, Chiara was booted from BB3. I was so relieved because the footage they were showing made me think that Roddy was going to be the victim. And Jason is the new Head of Household. I guess we'll have to see what the 'Pollyanna boy' does as Head of Household. As you get into the final parts of the game its going to be tougher and tougher to stay sugar sweet and 'Gee whiz, well I just love everybody.' *sigh* Ah, Jason... if you have to ask Danielle which way you should vote then your days in the house are numbered. You know you're a townie when... ...you cringe at the thought of all those college students coming back to town. The population of Ithaca literally doubles when classes are in session at Ithaca College and Cornell. Dorms open this weekend for Freshman at both schools... and a lot of upperclassmen come back too since leases tend to start on August 15th. I think its less that there are more people in town as much as it signifies the end of Summer is fast approaching... Count your blessings... Lori called last night to tell me that a cat (Buddy) that belonged to a friend of ours had to be put down. Buddy was having pretty much the same symptoms as Chrissy but it turned out that he had a tumor in his stomach. As per Lori's advice, I gave Chrissy an extra hug when I got home. See, it could be worse.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, August 22, 2002 Buffy Vs. Reba The Parents Television Council (read 'VERY conservative') released its list of the top ten best and worst family-friendly programming. The ten worst? No surprises here. Buffy the Vampire Slayer topped the list, followed by Off Centre, Will & Grace, Friends, WWE Smackdown!, Big Brother II, C.S.I., Temptation Island II, That ‘70s Show, and Boston Public. I'm very proud to call most of that list my favorite television programming. :-) The most family-friendly? Mostly programs you've probably never heard of, although 'Reba' made the list. (I dunno how, the show deals with two unplanned pregnancies, one of a teenager in High School... infidelity and eventually divorce.) Advice to 'Reba:' Get an openly gay character on your show so we can put you in the above list... then I don't have to keep my love of your show a big secret. ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments It takes a village... ...to nurse a sick cat back to health. This morning I came into work and my boss had brought in some of the food he gives his cat with a little note that said, 'Try this.' Awwwwwwwwww. This will make food trial #7 (if you count the tuna I tried to feed her last night... she drank all the water from the can but didn't actually EAT the tuna itself). So, really, the only thing she's shown complete interest in is cooked chicken and she's eaten a few 'Pounce' treats. Does this mean I'm going to have to tube-feed AND cook for her? You've Got Mail I finished watching one of my favorite movies last night... You've Got Mail. There are so many cutie lines that I feel I gotta repeat a few of them... There was the email that Kathleen (Meg Ryan) sends to Joe (Tom Hanks) after he's 'stood her up' for what was supposed to be their first meeting. She says this about the emails they've been exchanging ... 'this form of communication lends itself to talking about nothing. But I have to say that all of these nothings mean more to me than so many somethings.' And then there's the scene where Frank (Greg Kinnear) is 'dumping' Kathleen and asks her if there is anyone else in the picture... she says, 'No, but there is the dream of someone else.' And then of course one of the last lines of the movie when Kathleen and Joe finally 'meet' in the park and Kathleen says, 'I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.' *sniffle* Yikes. I'm such a sap. That reminds me (since I'm a sucker for romantic comedies) that I need to go rent Serendipity with John Cusack. I LOVED that movie when I saw it in the theater and I want to see it again. ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Big Brother 3... Chiara the b*tch WOW. Chiara, who I thought was just sugar and sweet for the whole first few weeks has turned into an awful big potty mouth. Amy, as Head of Household, nominated Chiara and Roddy this week for eviction. It was 'the will of the house.' Chiara immediately went on a rampage, although mostly only for the benefit of Roddy, calling Amy 'southern white trash' among other expletives. Of course, she's all kinds of nice to Amy's face. My favorite scene is when Chiara is whining that she didn't get to 'play the game' and 'strategize' and that she had no hope once Amy came back into the house. Well, hon, wasn't being nice to Amy in the first place part of the game? Lisa said it best when she said, 'Karma plays a major role in the game.' Lesson learned for future BB houseguests, make as few enemies as possible, even among the folks that get evicted. You never know who will come back... Amy is adamant that she wants Chiara gone even though the house wants rid of Roddy. If Amy can convince the houseguests that Roddy would definitely go next week, then she may be able to sway them to her side. (Even though another week with Amy and Chiara together might be very entertaining. :-) And then there's this whole budding alliance between Roddy and Marcellas... You just NEVER know what's going to happen.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, August 21, 2002 Episode of Big Brother or Sheryl Crow Concert? A special two-hour episode of Big Brother starts at 9 tonight on CBS. It is supposed to include a surprise (for the houseguests, anyway) Sheryl Crow concert. Hopefully that won't take up the whole first or second hour.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Oooooooo, those tricky door-to-door religious folk... A knock at the office door ... I open it to find this little cutie patootie girl holding out two religious magazines. She asks if I'm interested in taking them as 'reading material' for our office. Standing about ten feet back is an older woman, trying to remain inconspicuous but carrying a whole stack of magazines. Now they're sending children around to peddle these magazines!?! I presume they think you won't say 'No' to a child. (Of course I still did.) How pathetic.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Do I need a Life Coach? I took Lori and Darlene out to dinner last night @ Applebee's. I had wanted to thank them for all the help and support they've given me with Chrissy. So I left work early yesterday to go take care of my Vet bill... and then went to dinner. Over dinner, Darlene 'threatened' to become my Life Coach. (She *would* make a good one... and she's got a lot of great buzzwords and catch phrases I think would serve her well on a talk-show book tour...) Over the course of dinner and the ride home, we determined I have two distinct areas to work on, 'seizing opportunities when they present themselves' and 'responding optimistically to things that happen to me.' In other words, I always assume the worst and don't act fast enough to see results. :-) Not bad soul-searching during the course of a meal, and I probably won't have to pay the $50/hour, either. ;-) Workaholic... I came back to the office last night... from 7:30 until about 9:30. It's boring at home without cable and RoadRunner, so I may as well be productive, right? Quality time with the cat... Then, when I got home from the office, I put in one of my favorite movies, "You've Got Mail." (How cute is Meg Ryan when she bops around her apartment in her pj's making sure the coast is clear to check her email? I could watch that scene all day.) Chrissy curled up with me on the couch. She's always been a very affectionate cat, but even more so lately. As for the food experiments, there is no stand-out winner. She spent more time mulling over Purina One... (In the last two days she's had Whiskas Savory, Whiskas Dry, Purina One, Iams, and Kibbles and Bits at her disposal) but she hasn't really eaten more than a few pieces of anything. She DID finish off a whole Pounce treat this morning before I tube-fed her, so I guess we're making progress. It is *very* frustrating. Apparently this could go on for months. (I hope I don't have to refresh your memory about the cat that took 360 days of tube-feeding before she ate on her own again. Ugh.) Busy weekend ahead of me... This weekend, I will NOT be visiting my mother as I thought. I was hoping that I would be able to find the time to go to Rochester while my brother and nephew were in town. But with the office move, having to feed Chrissy 3x a day, and agreeing to go shopping with a friend of mine for business attire... not to mention my mediation training Sunday afternoon. I will just not have the time. BUT, my brother says he will be in Rochester next weekend for a bit. So I will make a second attempt for Labor Day weekend. I haven't seen Jason Bradley (my nephew and godson) in way too long! He's going to be 2 years old in just a few months and Mom says he's getting BIG. 'When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name' My Advocate wants me to come by his office today to pick-up a brochure with that title. Apparently its the best publication he's found dealing with identity theft. It outlines a strategy for dealing with the consequences of someone stealing your credit card... I guess I'll do that on my lunch hour. I *did* call my Credit Card company this morning to give them the Binghamton Police Department case number. At the end of our brief conversation, the rep from the credit card company said, 'Shane, thanks for being so helpful.' I dunno why, but that struck me as really odd. I think because THEY'RE supposed to be the one doing all the work, even though that's NOT how it's turned out.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Don't expect an endorsement from Hillary... But... according to the New York Times , insiders say both Mrs. AND Mr. Clinton would prefer Carl McCall to win the primary on September 10th because they believe he is the strongest democratic candidate. There is even speculation about a possible Bill Clinton TV commercial supporting Carl McCall once he wins the primary... Now it starts to get interesting. Bring it on!! Read the article at NYTimes.com. (You have to register with NYTimes.com to read it.)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, August 20, 2002 Thanks for sharing!! Well, now I'm giddy with anticipation... a friend writes: 'Tropical Splash 7UP is far and away the finest new soft drink in a long long time. Better than new coke and clear pepsi. I had one last night in fact. I do hope that it comes to the states soon, as I only have two cans left, and I don't know when I'll be getting to Canada again. If you happen to make a trip up there some day, stock up on it- you'll be happy you did. (I recommend mixing it with tequila. I call it a "mexican maple leaf". mmmmm, mmmmmmmm)'   | private feedback | (0) public comments Tadpole Last night Mikey and I went to see Tadpole at Fall Creek. In my opinion, 'Tadpole' takes a few minutes to find its feet... in the beginning I was more concerned about the video quality (It looked like it was done on a home camcorder). But... once Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth entered the picture, I forgot all about the technical stuff and was completely engrossed by the story. These two are phenomenal actresses. They star opposite John Ritter (who I still can't take seriously) and Aaron Stanford who plays Oscar, nicknamed 'Tadpole.' Oscar is a bit more advanced than the average 15-year-old. He reads Voltaire, listens to classical music, and is interested in the 'poetry of science.' His stepmother, Eve (Weaver), accuses him of having 'high expectations' when it comes to love. He has no interest in girls his own age and gets advice like, 'Just be patient, Oscar. The girls will eventually catch up to you.' He fantasizes about pursuing forty-something women, in particular, Eve. Once you suspend your doubts about a 15-year-old having the emotional depth to deal with this level of complexity (and it sure gets complex), you can appreciate the movie for what it is... a story about someone who just doesn't quite fit-in. It's got a bunch of really hilarious parts and again, I cannot stress enough how great Bebe Neuwirth and Sigourney Weaver are. Go see this movie!!   | private feedback | (0) public comments It will happen when its supposed to... Can I just tell you how sick of hearing this I am. Seriously. This is what coupled people say to single people because they don't care to say anything else... This is what they say when they want to end the conversation with you. 'Well... it will happen when its supposed to happen.' *They're* happy and they don't want to talk about how you might not be. That's a little cynical, and I'm not faulting them for it... if I was in the limerance stage of a relationship I wouldn't want to talk about it either... what a downer. Which brings me to the OTHER thing people in relationships say in response to 'Gee, it sure would be nice to have a boyfriend.' They say, 'Be happy you're not in a relationship. Its a lot of work.' An attempt to downplay the benefits of a relationship so that you will go, 'Yeah, I guess you're right.' and the conversation will end there. This has been said to me about three or four times in the last month. Well let's see... in the last month, just about all of those relationships have been in near break-up mode and the same person who said that to me did EVERYTHING in their power to save the relationship. I guess that means they're HAPPIER in a relationship than out of one... there must be *something* worthwhile to being in a relationship. Why can't they understand that's all I want? And then there is another friend of mine, who apparently just likes playing with my head... who told me he had someone to introduce me to... and then when asked about it later at dinner says, "Oh, I just made that up. It was just a joke." Uhm... a cruel one. Oh yeah, and then you get friends that say, 'Move to Rochester' or this bit of an email from a friend in PA, 'You need to leave CNY for bigger better playing fields. Come to Philadelphia...' Isn't it the same everywhere? Or *is* it just something I have to deal with living in Central New York? Just think about what you're saying and what you're implying when you respond to a statement like, 'Why can't I meet someone?' Have a little sensitivity, please. OK, I know what you're thinking... I talk alot about how I would like to find someone to seriously date... and potentially become a boyfriend, desperation. I certainly don't NEED a boyfriend to live... I really do quite fine on my own. But I can't help if I get just a little wistful when I see that just about eveyone else in my immediate vicinity is happily coupled and I'm not. I go to lunch (with a guy who has a long-term boyfriend) and hear that an acquaintance of ours just started seeing someone that he's head over heels for. I walk back to the office and run into my friend Cheri and her new girlfriend who are super cute together. I call the Vet's and talk to my friend Jon who is seeing another friend of mine, Josh. *They're* super happy. This is just a two-hour slice of my life. EVERYWHERE I look I see happily coupled people. Its like I'm being suffocated by couples. Yesterday, I was reminded of my favorite line from 'Tales of the City' when I read Brian's blog. The line goes something like, 'You can never have a hot apartment, a hot job, and a hot lover all at the same time.' Looking back over my life that seems to be true... and right now I have a job that I truly do love (even on those rough days) and I have a great apartment... you can fill in the blanks. Every day I *do* count my blessings... but it sure would be nice to have someone to *share* all that with. And THIS is actually what prompted my little tirade... I read this post on Todd's blog about how much work it is to be in a relationship: 'For each drawback there are pluses. You don't have to wonder when the next time you're going to get to cuddle with a special someone - it will probably be that night. Money flows in and helps you afford a nicer place. You never have to call to make plans with your best friend - he's right beside you. There's also this intangible love thing - you can't imagine not being with this person or being with someone else. That's what my relationship means to me - being with my best friend whom I want to spend the rest of my life together.' What a lucky guy. How could anyone *not* want that?   | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, August 19, 2002 Quality blogging... Brian's blog, 'Tales from the City', by far one of my favorites, has been nominated for a 'Bloggy' in the Most Humourous Blog category. Check out his site and then go vote for him!!   | private feedback | (0) public comments As if we needed any more evidence... ...of what a whiner Andrew Cuomo is. Here's a little snip I read today, 'Conversely, Andrew Cuomo threatened to not debate at all if he was not allowed to use a teleprompter to deliver his opening statement. The New York Times wrote, “Each candidate was to have had one minute to speak freely before tackling onerous questions about budget shortfalls and potentially compromising file photos. But the arrangement was scrapped when Mr. Cuomo was denied the use of a teleprompter. During heated negotiations that lasted until minutes before the debate at WCBS-TV studios, Mr. Cuomo's campaign manager threatened to pull him out of the debate, aides to Mr. McCall said. A WCBS spokeswoman confirmed the account."' *laugh*   | private feedback | (0) public comments You heard it here first... unless you've recently been to Canada. We're living in a real soda renaissance period. My coworker came back from his vacation raving about a cola flavor he found in Canada: '7up Tropical Splash.' Sounds like it has potential, eh? I was able to confim that it existed by finding a few Canadian beverage distributor's Web sites. But... my pathetic attempt at investigative journalism didn't turn up any leads as to when it will be available in the states. When questioned about '7up Tropical Splash,' the lady behind the counter at the Commons Market said, 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' *shrug*   | private feedback | (0) public comments A union... endorsing a republican? Even I was startled to read that the New York Public Employees Federation endorsed Pataki in this year's Governor's race. In an opinion piece in the Ithaca Journal , Roger Benson, the president of PEF, justified the choice by saying the union was 'Strengthening [a] relationship with an incumbent governor, who is 25 points ahead...' He also *very briefly* mentioned Pataki's record on job security and retirement reform, but the fact that they even mentioned Pataki's poll numbers in their justification is a bit tacky, isn't it? Shouldn't endorsements be about who's better on their issues? Sounds like they wanna be in bed with who they predict the 'winner' will be on election day.   | private feedback | (0) public comments If I were a... If I were a magazine, I'd be 'Popular Science.' If I were a stock broker I would pick my stocks by 'throwing darts.' If I were a third party, I'd be the 'Natural Law' Party. I have a 36% chance of being killed by George Bush in a 1-on-1 pit match. I have a 0% chance of being killed by Bill Clinton in a 1-on-1 pit match. If I were a sex toy I would be 'knowledge: the ultimate book of sex.' My favorite male part is the arm... In romance, I'm 80% optimistic, 86% close, and 69% long-term oriented. Oh yeah, and then there was that quiz I took last week that classified me as a 'cyber-skank.' *eye roll* No, I really have nothing better to do. :-P Fun quizzes @ Atomic Temple.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Amen! I agree with about 95% of the criticisms of gay america in this opinion piece... (Thanks, Todd, for the link.)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Not too shabby... I almost forgot... (I'm terrible with follow-up, aren't I?) Viva, my favorite women's softball team, finished in second place. They lost both of their games last Thursday to Micawber's. Congratulations, Viva, for such a great season!   | private feedback | (0) public comments Operation Revolving Door? Not so much... In case you missed Friday's Big Brother 3 special episode... and you don't wanna read CBS.com's synopsis... AMY, the houseguest that recently re-entered the house, is the new Head of Household. She must have known it was her only chance of surviving. Maybe Julie Chen tipped her off that all the other housegusts had pretty much agreed that whoever came back would leave the following week... but now the so-called 'Operation Revolving Door' has to be put off and Amy gets to decide who gets put on the block. She says 'nobody is safe.'   | private feedback | (0) public comments Just eat something, dammnit!! Allegedly, Chrissy was eating at the Vet's. BUT... She's not eating anything at home. The Vet thinks that she might have an aversion to the food she was eating when she got sick... apparently cats can be a bit stubborn and picky... So that would mean no more Iams, which is what I fed her regularly. I know she's *capable* of eating, because yesterday she practically crawled inside the DP Dough Calzone Box I brought home for dinner... begging for human food. She wolfed down three big chunks of chicken (...the old fashioned way, using her mouth.) So today starts the week o' experiments. I'm going to lay out a bunch of different brands of cat food (Lori is bringing some over later)... a regular vegas-style buffet... and see if ANY of them appeal to Chrissy. God, I hope so... tube-feeding your cat is less fun than it sounds. ;-) 'How'd you get this number?' I got my first solicitation call on my cell phone this morning. The weird thing is they had my mailing address from three apartments ago, but my cell phone number that I've only been using consistently for a few months.... *scratching my head*   | private feedback | (0) public comments Sunday, August 18, 2002 McCall Vs. Cuomo: Round One At 11:00 AM this morning, live from New York City, C-Span aired the debate between Cuomo and McCall. (They're re-running it this evening at 6:30, I believe.) I am so far entrenched as a McCall supporter that I find it hard to be non-biased. I have NO CLUE as to how that debate came off to anyone who was undecided. I'll be interested to see what the press and the pundits say about it all. Personally, I thought McCall came through with tons of dignity and grace that Cuomo just couldn't muster. McCall is so much more of what *I* imagine a Governor to be... stately, thoughtful, eloquent. The type of person I would like to represent New York State. McCall didn't attack Cuomo but he also didn't offer an answer to the question, 'What good qualities does your opponent have?' I found it funny, but people who don't know the details of the campaign might not have. In related news, a McCall profile is prominently featured in the New York Times 'Metro Section' today. A very well-written portrait of his life and experience. Check it out if you get the chance. Gay 'Wedding' Announcements? The New York Times also announced that in about a month they will begin to run gay civil union and committment announcements in the section normally reserved for heterosexual couples' wedding announcements. The section will change its name to something like 'Weddings and Ceremonies' and use the same standards as for straight couples to determine which gay committed couples will get featured. Pretty cool right? ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments This is what happens when I get my hopes up... In a 'plot twist' that is disappointing, yet unfortunately predictable... things in Syracuse did not turn out as planned. I didn't want to mention anything that happened just in case the person somehow had come across my site. But at this point I don't much care... and so I'll let you in on the story. Last Saturday I went to Syracuse with Rodney, Mike, and Josh. I had a blast. And like just about every Saturday that I have gone out in Syracuse, I noticed this really handsome guy at RAIN. Tall, blonde... I don't really know how to describe it, just sort of down-to-earth handsome. So of course my low self-esteem kicks in and I think that he's completely out of my league and I would never approach him. But... about two months ago, I had decided I would try to catch his attention. I got some eye contact. That was plenty for me, I went home happy. So, for the last few months I had been traveling and super busy... and hadn't made it out to Syracuse. Last weekend with the boys was my first time back. Strangely enough, when I saw 'Handsome Guy' he got a big smile on his face... and then later in the evening we had some great eye contact. So I asked Josh, who was sitting beside him at the bar... to exchange seats with me... and he did. Now I was sitting next to 'Handsome Guy.' To my surprise, a few minutes later, 'Handsome Guy' said to the bartender, 'And get whatever he wants,' and placed his hand on the bar in front of me. I accepted the drink. So I turn to him... (and I am trying to rely on my memory of the conversation at this point, hopefully I'll get the gyst of it)... I said, 'Hey, thanks for the drink.' He says, 'Sure thing. You're Shane or Shawn right?' So I'm completely surprised that he knows my name and sort of shell-shocked I say, 'Yes, Shane. What's yours?' He tells me and then quickly turns his back to me. So, probably because I'm buzzed and not thinking appropriately... I turn to him and say, 'I'm glad we've introduced ourselves. I always kick myself for leaving and not saying hi.' To which he says, 'I'll tell you something funny. I already know a few things about you. I know that you work for a design agency and I know that you don't have a car. And I've noticed that you've been missing in action for the last two months.' There was some confusing banter and then he says, 'I'll let you ponder that for a little while.' Again, he quickly turns around as if to end the conversation. Then he gets up and walks off. So now I'm really thrown for a loop. After a while, we all decide that we're going over to TREXX, and so I go up to 'Handsome Guy,' shake his hand, and say, "Well it was nice to meet you, even though I have no idea how you know all this stuff about me.' He says, 'Do you want to hear something scary?' And I say, 'I dunno.' And he says, 'I'll tell you anyway. I have two pictures of you on my desk.' (He could have said desktop, as in computer desktop, I dunno for sure, but he clearly said he had two pictures of me.) So my eyes probably squinted in confusion and all I could say was, 'Why!?' He said, 'I'll tell you next week' and turned around as if to punctuate the sentence. So that was it. And of course my mind was racing... How could he have known that stuff about me? And what are these pictures for godsakes!? Could they be the pics that are going around the internet of me... the... uhm... personal ones? Or just innocent ones that might have been taken of me at Rain by the roving photographer? Or just the ones that you see on this Web site? I (still) have no clue. So, understandably... I didn't want to type anything out about that whole interaction just in case he had gotten his information about me from this Web site. (I didn't want him to read about the whole thing.) But then I sort of came to the conclusion that if he DID read this site, he'd know a hell of a lot more about me than those two things. *shrug* Ok... so back to the story... I ended up going to Syracuse last night with Jacques... and the closer we got to Syracuse the more excited I was getting about finding out the next part of the story... the 'I'll tell you next week' part. I still had no idea what this guy's motives could have been for saying all that, but I was intrigued and I tried to convince myself it was for a GOOD reason instead of someone just fucking with my head. For the most part, I just played pool and darts and talked with friends and acquaintances... but by the time Jacques and I left... there was still no 'Handsome Guy.' And he is normally at the bar by the time we leave. So I'm sort of left with this really disappointed feeling... And I still dunno what to make of it all... A guy that I was interested in... says all this stuff to me, then essentially says 'We'll continue this conversation next week' and then doesn't show up. *shrug* I feel like I'm living in a bizarro episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries.'   | private feedback | (0) public comments Saturday, August 17, 2002 OOOO OOOO OOOOO! My horoscope today: 'There will be a plot twist in your love story.' Very interesting based on the events of last weekend (which I never posted because I was waiting for how things turned out tonight. That is *if* I end up going out in Syracuse...) Now that I've got you on th edge of your seats, I promise I'll post something on Monday... ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Rare Saturday post... If you've been reading my posts recently... you know I don't have internet at home anymore. So... I trudged into the office today to check my Hotmail account and post to my Web site. I just had a bunch of little things I wanted to say. First of all, Chrissy came home this morning. Lori and I went to pick her up from the Vet and got a lesson in how to give her pills and the appropriate way to tube-feed her. (She's still not eating as much as she needs.. so I have to supplement her normal eating routine with 3 tube feedings/day.) Some live pills and an antibiotic once every morning and she should be good to go. She's got a lot of her energy back. And besides the fact that she has a feeding tube sticking out the side of her neck and the fact that she can't jump up as high as she used to... you'd never know she was THAT sick by looking at her. I have to help her up onto things. I'm sure a few strategically places stools will help. :-) She sat with Lori and I on the couch this morning and then took a nap with me in the afternoon. So we should be back to our normal routein shortly. I was only able to get about 25 ccs of 'sludge' down her tube before she insisted that I stop... so hopefully future attempts will be more successful. :-) I'm so glad she's home!!! Just a quick reminder... that McCall and Cuomo have their first televised debate tomorrow morning. It's going to be taped at a CBS studio in NYC, so I assume it will be shown on CBS affiliates, although I haven't been able to find it listed anywhere. Also, the latest poll out shows McCall with a 16-point lead over Cuomo. Good news. I was completely wrong about McCall's 'political stock market' rating going down. He actually was rated a 'Strong Buy.' Politicsny.com had this to say: 'McCall got the greatest news a candidate heading into the final weeks of a campaign could hope for: surprisingly good poll numbers. A poll released this week by the Quinnipiac Polling Institute found McCall leading Andrew Cuomo by 16-points among likely Democratic primary voters. U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s even doing a fundraiser for the comptroller. After this week’s poll, we’re guessing that McCall is raising money so fast that his staffers don’t have enough time to count it – they’re probably just weighing it.' Cuomo and McCall have also agreed to a location and date for their second debate. It will be in Rochester, most likely the only upstate venue, on August 29th. I also found out that my 'advocate' contact from Crime Victim's Services is very active in H. Carl McCall's campaign locally. I guess I'll need to bring that up the next time we talk. :-) I feel like I have tons more piddly stuff to talk about, but I can't think of anything at the moment...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, August 16, 2002 Yes, Virginia, there *is* a Santa Claus. Last night Mike and I skidaddled (has anyone ever tried spelling that word?) to Binghamton right after work. Our first stop was at the Binghamton Police Station so that I could file the Credit Card Fraud charges... no details here... but there were a few highlights if you ask me personally. ;-) Mike and I got dinner at the original Lost Dog Cafe in Binghamton, I had only been there once before... Mike had never been. I have actually never ordered off the menu before, because I normally don't get past the specials. (Well, they all sound so good!) Last night I had the Balsamic Chicken...served over mashed potatoes... mmmmmmmmm.... to die for. Then we thought, 'What the hell?' and went to see what 'Prism' was like on a Thursday evening. It was dead... we got a drink and played 3 games of pool. In a best of 3 championship series, Mikey would have kicked my butt... he won the last two games. ;-) (Man, does he come on strong at the end!) I think we left Binghamton shortly before 11 and *I* was home shortly before 12. Mikey had a bit farther to go... Mikey, thanks for goin' to Binghamton with me last night. :-) I totally forgot to tape Big Brother. So... I only got to read the update this morning. Sounds like quite an episode that I missed. JOSH GOT VOTED OUT!!! Fucker (eiw, pardon my french) couldn't leave well enough alone. If he hadn't been a back-stabbing ass and campaigned against Roddy then he most likely would have stayed. The vote was UNANIMOUS, 5-0. Best yet, I don't gotta look at him again. :-) So I got half my wish... the old houseguest that came back into the house was my LAST pick... Amy is back in the game! Apparently they ran out of time for the Head of Household competition... in a game straight out of 'Fear Factor,' they're selecting the next HoH by who will stay in a tub of water mixed with gross and disgusting things the longest. A 'special episode' of Big Brother 3 with the completion of the HoH competition airs tonight... :-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, August 15, 2002 I *almost* forgot... Last night after work, and after visiting Chrissy... Lori, Darlene, Keelinn and I went to Cass park to go swimming. It *was* nearly 100 degrees yesterday. I enjoy being in the pool but I am so afraid to get my lips anywhere NEAR that water... tastes like a strange and very disgusting mixture of urine, sweat, and god knows what other bodily fluids... (Please, Cass Park, I beg of you... pour some chlorine in that pool!) Keelinn is turning into quite the little swimmer... she now swims on her tummy, on her back, she treads water, she goes underwater, and she's working on her stamina. She's practically a fish! Keelinn swims towards you and she's making such a face you don't know if you should reach out and grab her cause she's struggling or if she's just concentrating very hard on maintaining forward momentum. Somehow, a wriggling of her body propels her through the water, not unlike a tadpole. I didn't really swim much, but I was exhausted when I got home last night. Must have been the heat. Based on a few things going on (not the least of which is the multiple thousand-dollar Vet bill that I'm going to have to pay) I decided it was time to tighten the belt and cut some large-ticket items out of my life... RoadRunner and Digital Cable. Eeek! So, I spent some time disentangling cords and unhooking cable modems and cable boxes so that I can return them in short order. It was like cutting off a limb. I decided I will keep basic cable so that I can watch the networks. That's all I need.. right? I'll just keep telling myself that.   | private feedback | (0) public comments WOW Someday, I hope *my* blog is so popular that I can sell merchandise... A coaster!? A BBQ apron!? Just a few of the cool things you can buy featuring the 'Tales from the City' blog logo.   | private feedback | (0) public comments I'm soooo over Josh from Big Brother 3... I can understand why they're keeping him around... in the scheme of things, he's annoying but harmless. *I* would want to go up against him at the end... he doesn't pay attention to his environment, he's not really athletic as far as I can tell, and he's pretty much a dullard. His bark is way worse than his bite. BUT as a viewer... I can't stand him. I can't stand his little righteous speeches. And I have no patience for his humor and abrasiveness. And why haven't these 'Head of Household' fools figured out that the votes NEVER turn out the way they want them to? In the name of competition, the stronger player is always going to be voted out. I fear for Roddy this week, mostly because Danielle and Marcellas have talked Lisa into believing that he's more dangerous than that slimy worm, Josh. Poor Roddy. Please let Eric come back into the house... I'm gonna have to tape tonight's show since Mikey and I will be in Binghamton taking care of my credit card B.S...   | private feedback | (0) public comments OH... MY... GOSH... The vet just called. Chrissy is taking food by herself again!!!!! This is GREAT news!!!! She's turned the corner and we're on our way. I might not even have to do much tube-feeding at home.... *sigh of relief*   | private feedback | (0) public comments A good laugh... ... or maybe just plain scary... Michael Jackson's metamorphosis... (stole this link from Todd's Web page.)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Ready to live again... I have great news. I left work early yesterday to pay a visit to Chrissy. Lori and I went together... the first good sign was that Chrissy was able to come out of her cage to spend time with us in a private room. They brought her in all wrapped up in a towel... and her eyes were sooo huge... nearly as big and bright as they used to be. She got put on the examining table and she was walking around. She even showed interest in jumping off the table to get on the floor. Before we let her do that though, one of the techs showed us how they tube feed her... and I got to take over for the last few steps in the process. (I was so worried about Chrissy getting excited and yanking the feeding tube out of her neck, but as best we can tell it's sewn-in.) Right now, they tube feed her about 6 times a day,15 CCs each time. I guess they've offered her normal food that she didn't seem too interested in. I can't even imagine having your tummy filled without *tasting* anything. But maybe the best part was that while she was on the table getting fed, and even before that, when we were just petting her waiting for the tech... she was purring. I haven't heard her purr in so long. I forgot how much I missed that. I'm sure this is all because she's actually getting some calories in her now... she's still VERY skinny... and she's still gotta eat something on her own... so we're not exactly out of the woods yet. But my hopes sure are brighter than they were yesterday before the visit. I have to get some work done, but I couldn't wait to post that...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Wednesday, August 14, 2002 What a great picture...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Time to update my skills... I haven't been so involved with the mediation center (my volunteer work) for some time... especially with all thats going on at home and work. But... I am finally going to make time to get trained as a Visitation/Custody Mediator. Most of the cases at the Mediation Center used to be civil small claims court and community oriented. While I'm sure there are still plenty of those, it seems most of the recent cases I've been asked to do have revolved around visitation and custody issues. Previous training sessions haven't worked out for me... but this particular training is 12 hours during the week of August 25th. I think I can squeeze that in. Random Hi! I talked to my friend Ann today... She works at the Mediation Center and called to convince me to take the Visitation/Custody training, but we also chit-chatted a bit. Lori just sent her my URL and so Ann was gonna visit my site... so... HEY ANN!! ;-) 'It may FEEL worse, but it sure LOOKS better.' ...says my nurse practitioner about my ear. So I keep on truckin' with medications as prescribed...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Song lyrics stuck in my head... One fall, that's all... I dunno who it's gonna be. Out there, somewhere... Someone is waiting just for me. No pain, no gain... There's not a chance that I won't take... 'Cause love is always worth the ache.   | private feedback | (0) public comments All tied up... Last night, the women's softball team I was cheering for, sponsored by Viva/Greenstar/Curves (I'll call them 'Viva' for short) won the first game of the doubleheader against Micawber's. The second game, however, Viva lost by only a few runs. This is a great showing against a team that is arguably close to the best in the league, if not *the* best. I was so proud of my 'girls.' ;-) These were the first two games in a series of five. The first team to win 3, will place first for the season. So... last night's split guarantees that both games will have to be played on Thursday. And... if they split again, the FINAL game will be next Tuesday. GO VIVA!!! The only thing I could have done without... was all the bugs. Holy cow! I was bein' eaten alive.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Stalked by evil Veterinarians... I saw the evil Dr. Sara (the first Vet we took Chrissy to) on the Commons yesterday. I nodded at her. I doubt she'd remember who I was... although I did see a slight twitch in her face so perhaps she did. And then I saw her driving by the commons this morning while I was waiting to cross Seneca Street. AND, to top it all off... She had her minions at Briar Patch call yesterday afternoon to 'follow-up' on Chrissy. I was sure they were going to tell me they had forgotten to log some 'mad-scientist-technician' time and that I had to come in to clear up a bill. But the REAL vet called me this morning. She said that Chrissy had a bit more energy today and that she was actually grooming herself again. I highly doubt that she's done that for weeks, so... that's a good sign!!!   | private feedback | (0) public comments H. Carl McCall's response to all the negative news yesterday. Has there ever been a more creative sentence in the history of politics? Cuomo's campaign manager filed a complaint yesterday asking the state Board of Elections to investigate Mehiel's payments to McCall's staff as 'transparent, fraudulent, wrong and illegal, although so devious in their novelty that they have not yet been officially declared so.' *laughing*   | private feedback | (0) public comments Tuesday, August 13, 2002 I hope *we* get it... Senators Clinton and Kennedy are both vying to host the 2004 Democratic Convention in their respective home states. Of course, I'm solidly behind Hillary... wouldn't it be silly NOT to have it in NYC after 9/11... to show the world and the country that we're rallying behind New York City?   | private feedback | (0) public comments A little bit o' this, a little bit o' that... I'm running around like mad trying to do research and line things up for our office move. If you remember, about a week ago, my boss told us that we'd have to be out of here by the end of the month. So we had to find space, and I have to organize the moving, the transfer of all our services, and every little piddly thing you can possibly imagine. This is the second time I've moved this company, it never gets easier. I think our new space is pretty much set now. We're going to be moving just next door actually (making the physical move much easier)... they're repainting and recarpeting and wiring the place as I type. In fact, the office used to be occupied by a client of ours and one of my best friend's (Cheri's) old offices will become part of our new space. (She'll find that funny when I tell her.) My boss has tons of great design ideas and I think, in general, the new space will invigorate us and lend itself to more cooperative/team interactions. I guess in the design business you want that type of thing anyway. A little drama with all the short-notice moving of services, but all-in-all things seem to be coming together. It's very detail-oriented work, which I really love... so I'm in my element. My ears are still bothering me, in fact worse than they were when I went to see the nurse practitioner last week. I have another appointment tomorrow. And I got a few tips to take sudafed for the pressure/congestion. Hopefully the pills I bought on lunch will help. Yesterday, I set up a trip to Binghamton with Mikey. We are planning on going down Thursday evening. Then I can file those stolen credit card and fraud charges... with about 15 days to spare on the Citibank-imposed deadline. I'll make a phone call before we go just to make sure there aren't any other hidden hoops I gotta jump through before making the trip. THANKS MIKEY! You're a doll. ;-) Tonight (if our plans are still on), Mikey and I will go cheer-on the girls in their softball league championship games. It's 'best 3 of 5 games' and 2 are being played tonight. So the series will be continued on Thursday... will let you know if my team wins. ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Hmmmmmmmm.... One of my favorite McCall quotes... 'I started out in public housing, and I don't mind going back into it.' might in fact be a lie... whether he knew it or not seems to be the question. He says his mom told him that at some point in his childhood he lived in public housing and he just internalized the peice of information. The NY Post did a little snooping around and found out that as far as they can tell, McCall never lived in Public housing. I dunno what that really means in the grand scheme of things... but I'm sure Andrew Cuomo will pounce on it. And in another sketchy sort of move, McCall has some of his staff paid for by his 'running mate,' Dennis Mehiel. Both claim that the staffers are working half-time for Dennis and half-time for Carl. Dennis funds his own campaign out of his own pocket... so, if the work done by these 'shared' staffers is mostly for McCall, then Dennis Mehiel is subsidizing McCall's campaign... in a major way. Read *that* article @ the Daily News. Not a very good news day for H. Carl McCall. Probably will knock his 'political stock market' rating to a 'Hold.'   | private feedback | (0) public comments Cause and effect... Mikey, you reminded me that there was something else the doctor said... about what potentially could have caused the 'fatty liver' to develop. First of all, from all my readings there are sometimes when you just can never tell. These cats are 'idiopathic' and no tests can tell you what caused it in the first place. Generally, however, some traumatic or stressful event may have caused the cat not to eat initially... and it's this NOT EATING that causes the fatty liver. They could only venture a guess... that perhaps a viral infection or a little flu or cold may have caused Chrissy to stop eating, and even though *that* may have passed... she still refuses to eat. So, it might not be something recurring that caused it... and it may never happen again. This morning's conversation was semi-rushed 'cause the Vet was trying to get out her door, she was calling me from home. But, these are all good questions that I am going to ask today when I check-in on her. As well as the long-term ramifications of the diagnosis, does this change her future diet, are there medications, does this require more frequent check-ups, etc.?   | private feedback | (0) public comments A mixed bag of news... This morning I resolved to get up and get into the office by 8. I have so much work going on right now, and I had promised a client that I would be here just in case she needed something before she left for vacation. So I set my alarm for 6:30, knowing that I'd snooze it for probably 45 minutes before I actually got up. I was up and out of bed by 7:15... quite a feat for me. Getting out of the shower I noticed the 'missed call' light on my cell phone was blinking. I thought that was odd since I went to bed around 11 PM and it was only 7:30 AM at that point. Weird time frame for someone to be calling me unless it was important. And worse yet, I didn't recognize the number and they didn't leave a message... I decided to risk it and call the number back. It was my Vet. She had the day off work today, so she was calling from home to tell me that the pathologist had called her with test results. Some good news, some bad. Based on the test results the Vet is almost 100% sure that Chrissy has 'fatty liver.' They've been treating her for this all along... so at this point they just keep going... the most important thing is to get calories into her until she gets some kind of appetite back. They expect this to take weeks... with me taking over the tube feeding by the end of this week... (They are happy to keep doing the feedings, but probably my checkbook can't take that kind of stress.) So they are hoping (and me too) that she can come home in a few days... once they get the feeding frequency down to 3 times/day. But, she did caution me this is not such a cut-and-dry practice and that she had seen cats that needed to be tube fed for 364 days (!!!!) before they started to eat again. I can't even think that far ahead at this point... She also said they went a little over the original estimate... so they'll be willing to work with me on a payment plan that spans out 4-6 weeks. *sigh* The original estimate was somewhere in the ballpark of $1,300... she didn't say by how much it had been exceeded, just that I should talk to the front desk about taking care of it. But at least (in contrast to the folks at Briar Patch) the money seemed to be an afterthought as opposed to priority #1. So... we've got a diagnosis... it's slow and steady now.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Monday, August 12, 2002 Big Brother 3... Is Josh's number finally up?? I missed Saturday's show... and Josh was nominated for eviction!! Yahoo! But he was put up against Roddy. I tried following the write-up on CBS.com but I dunno how anyone could follow that convoluted and very confusing synopsis of the show. I guess that's what I get for missing it. I'll have to tape stuff from now on... It makes it sound like Chiara, as Head of Household, laid all of the negative, backstabbing responsibility on Josh's shoulders... In my opinion, that's exactly where it should be put, and I hope that his ass is grass on Wednesday.   | private feedback | (0) public comments In other discouraging news... The only commercial airline to service Ithaca's regional airport, US Airways, has just declared bankruptcy... I guess we have yet to see what direct impact that will have on us.   | private feedback | (0) public comments I have to address this... Twice in the last week I have met folks who had previously only seen my pictures from my site... The first thing they both said is, 'Gee, I thought you were bigger.' or 'Your pictures make you look taller.' For the record, I'm 5'6"... so don't expect a tall Shane if you see me out and about. I'm not trying to mislead anyone. ;-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments 'A little more worried' I'm sort of confused about what's going on with Chrissy, so perhaps typing it out will help me get it straight. I called the Clinic, there is a managing doctor assigned to her now... The doctor says that because Chrissy wasn't holding down food they had to take a step back and keep administering fluids... she's not getting any better or responding to any of the treatment she's getting which has the Vet 'a little more worried than she was in the beginning.' Everything hinges on these test results from Cornell... so they called the lab at Cornell today to give them a gentle nudge. If these tests come back inconclusive then we're really in trouble. Oh, and she said something else that really freaked me out... 'Normally, a cat would be back to eating and have their appetite by now.' The longer Chrissy stays at the Vet, the more worried I get. *deep sigh*   | private feedback | (0) public comments First things first... I left work early Friday afternoon to visit Chrissy. Jon got us into the 'treatment room' where she stays. We couldn't move her because she had an IV in her. It looked to me like she was in pretty bad shape. She barely showed any signs of recognition, she showed almost no interest in getting attention... It was also the first time I had seen her with the feeding tube in place (at least it didn't look like it was bothering her, though.) All in all, I'm glad I went to visit, but the sight just broke my heart. Lori and I started being in the way of other procedures, so we didn't stay long. Earlier Friday, the technician had told me she wasn't keeping down her food, which had them a little worried. But by the time I checked-in on Saturday morning they said Chrissy WAS keeping down food and that she was finally standing up a little and exploring her temporary residence. And that's the last I've heard. Sunday I couldn't check-in because there was noone answering the phones. This morning I find out if I can bring her home... *fingers crossed* Out at the VFW... While at the Vet Friday, Jon had said, "We probably won't see you out tonight, right?" ("We" meaning he and his boyfriend, and "out" meaning at the Common Ground.) I *hate* the Common Ground but we don't have many other options... Jon then said, "You should go out and try to have a good time." So I said, "Jon, if YOU go out, call me." I was surprised he actually did, and so I went with Jon and his boyfriend to the Common Ground. It wasn't all THAT bad. I made the most of it. There were about five or six different folks out that reminded me why I hate going out in Ithaca... but I just avoided them mostly. Mikey was doin' a great job behind the DJ booth, there were tons of songs that I genuinely wanted to dance to. OH! And I ran into an ex-client and so she and I talked it up a bit... danced a little. She's fierce. :-) The Saturday 'agenda' Lori was picking me up at 10:45. We had totally changed our Saturday plans to include hanging out all day at Taughannock State Park AND get our massages, followed by a cook-out. When I got in the car, Lori handed me a funny 'agenda' for the day. It was super cute... all typed-out with times and who was gonna be where, and the different errands that had to be run... and there was a copy for everyone so we could be synchronized. :-) (I didn't get a chance to scan it yet, Lori, but I will. I wanted to post it here.) There were four of us hanging out for the day... Dar-dar, Wendy, Lori and Me. We stationed ourselves right by the lake, it was beautiful. Lori's coworker and one of my friends, Shannon, has a sister, Amy, who is taking classes at the Finger Lakes School of Massage. As part of her instruction she is required to give nearly 700 hours of table massage before she can be licensed. So the school conducts Saturday labs where the students can be monitored and they need a steady stream of 'massage recipients'. My massage turned out to be really helpful in loosening up my shoulders... My only 'complaint' was that Amy had smoked right before giving me a massage and her hands smelled like nasty cigarettes... so I could smell it when she was working anywhere near my face. Ick. But, in general, who can complain about a free hour-long massage, right? Dinner was great... and I really had a great time hanging out with the girls. I hope I get to do it again soon. Syracuse bound... Mike, Rodney, Josh and I went to Syracuse Saturday night. I had a great time. Uhm... so many things happened I dunno where to start... and to be honest I'm not sure I WANT to type them all out. We got there early... and I feel like I blinked and it was already 3:00 AM. Botched routines... Normally my Sunday routine consists of going to Juna's Cafe, getting a cup of coffee and a bagel and reading the Sunday New York Times for hours on end. Yesterday, I didn't get up until after 1... so when I got to Juna's, they didn't have any more papers... I ended up going to Mayer's to buy a paper... and took it to WOWNET Cafe. I hung out there. I didn't get to read too much because a few friends called... and before I knew it, I was being whisked away to shop with Jacques... we got dinner and saw a movie as well. We saw Clint Eastwood's new flick, Blood Work. I have to say it was better than I thought... but pretty predictable. A murder mystery type of movie, high-suspense... Jacques figured out the whole thing within the first half-hour. I, on the other hand, was a little slower to figure it out. I generally don't like the machismo Clint Eastwood crap... on a scale of 1-5 I'd give this movie a '3.' I tried to read the rest of my New York Times last night after the movie... but it was late by the time I got home. I suppose that will give me something to do tonight...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Friday, August 09, 2002 Aquarius and Cancer... ... are my best bets for new dates. So says Joyce Jilson who writes my daily horoscope.   | private feedback | (0) public comments WTF?! WorldCom announces 'finding' another $3.3 BILLION (Yes, Billion) bogus accounting error. Ok... the company's already bankrupt. It's time to throw in the towel. Homogenized candidates We already knew that all candidates are all basically the same. But now we know why. The GOP campaign committee circulated a memo with stock responses to press questions and possible situations that Republicans may face in their campaigns against Democrats. It was written in a sort of "If X happens, then you say Y" format... For example... If challenged on school vouchers the suggested response is, 'I am not going to engage in class warfare. The real issue here is opportunity.' Let's see how many times we see that response verbatim in press releases and articles. Perhaps the most startling one is the encouragement to use 9/11 for political gain. If asked about deficits in the Bush admnistration's budget, Republicans are told, 'Don't be afraid to hit back hard. The fact is that circumstances such as attacks of September 11 have forced congress and the president to increase spending to protect the nation. There is hardly anyone who will disagree with this fact.' Read the full article @ yahoo.com. How much do I *love* Hillary? Seems Hillary wants more money for World Trade Center aid. She wants to take along a group of firefighters, ironworkers and others from ground zero to lobby 'President' Bush while he's on vacation. My favorite quotes from the article: Referring to Bush's wanting to use his time in Texas to clear brush on his 1,600 acres, Hillary volunteered to "put on a pair of work gloves." and added "I am sure the guys I bring with me will be happy to help out." Wouldn't that be a great photo Op... Hillary and George talking about World Trade Center aid while clearing brush...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Chrissy Update Just got off the phone with my friend Jon... They've only tried giving Chrissy liquids through her feeding tube so far. She hasn't vomited so this is a good sign. He says she's very low-energy, spending most of her time sleeping. But... she's stable. I asked about making a visit before Monday... he said that'd be 'OK,' so hopefully I'll get to see her sometime today or this weekend. It's pretty lonely around the apartment without Chrissy. I walk up the driveway with my eyes glued to the windows where Chrissy is normally sitting... waiting for me to come home... I didn't even realize I did that until she wasn't there. :-(   | private feedback | (0) public comments So what's new? Looking straight at the camera in a new campaign ad (the first negative ad in the governor's race), Cuomo charges that McCall is 'attacking my father, my wife and calling the campaign a street fight.' From the NY Post... '[T]he Cuomo ad marks a shift in the campaign that has largely consisted of the two Democrats issuing noncontroversial policy statements.' Leave it to Andrew Cuomo. Read the full story here, here and here.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Big Brother 3... What is up with Josh's facial hair? What would you call that... creative shaving? Yikes. I mentioned before I can hardly stand to look at the man, this just adds to it. I was sad to see that Eric got voted off just as the romance with Lisa was heating up... But I guess one of them had to go. I was sooo expecting that one of them would say "I love you." as they were saying their goodbyes, just as a slip-up or something. They were a little too cuddly and kissy as they were counting votes. BUT... in an 'incredible new twist' announced at the end of the show... (*eye roll* everything's incredible on this show, isn't it?) one of the evicted houseguests is coming back into the house... For selfish reasons (which I am sure you won't have too much trouble guessing) I'd like to see Eric back. I get all misty-eyed thinking about a Lisa/Eric reunion after a week apart. *sniffle* My second choice to come back would be Tanya... I dunno why, I just like her. Then Lori third... and Amy dead last. If there is any justice in this world, Chiara (this week's Head of Household) will put Gerry and Josh on the block. Let the two conniving, backstabbing assholes fight it out.   | private feedback | (0) public comments Thursday, August 08, 2002 If you're really curious... This is what the vet says is one of the possibilities of Chrissy's not eating... Fatty Liver... (Following are some highlights from the online articles I've found.) - Many cats with fatty liver have no apparent inciting cause. In these cats, the disease is termed "idiopathic," which means that no known cause can be identified. - Cats with fatty liver usually are presented to their veterinarian because of loss of appetite and weight loss. - On examination, the veterinarian may note that the liver is enlarged. However, the diagnosis can only be confirmed definitively by a liver biopsy. - Liver cancer, toxicity and pancreatic disease are just a few of the other conditions that might present with anorexia, weight loss, and jaundice. - Hepatic lipidosis, also known as "feline fatty liver syndrome," is the most common form of liver disease in cats in North America. This syndrome can be very dangerous to your cat and can even be life-threatening. - "One of the most important aspects in fighting this disease is to get this cat to eat," says Dr. McCullough. "This is often accomplished with a feeding tube. This is a semi-permanent tube that is placed and removed by a veterinarian. It allows the cat to be syringe-fed directly through the tube, avoiding the struggle of syringe feeding through the mouth." Sounds like they're already treating her for this and the biopsy results will be key...   | private feedback | (0) public comments Bring it on... Andrew Cuomo suggests that NY make a separate list of terrorist organizations, much like the federal government has done... Am I being naive to ask 'WHY?' Doesn't this seem a bit redundant? Are we sending our State Troopers to deal with foreign terrorist organizations that *aren't* featured on the federal goverment's list? Maybe someone can enlighten me... Seems the issues came up while Andrew visited Israel this week... Cuomo wants to take a hard stance against Arafat and list him as a terrorist (since jewish voters in NY are so important a contingent). His quote... 'If the United States would not move, I as governor would entertain proposing a law in the state which would mirror (the federal law) as far as you could go.' Again, what would this accomplish? Its all B.S. Does New York have a 'Department of Foreign Policy' that I'm unaware of? I can hardly contain my excitement... In the most recent poll released by USA Today, McCall is leading Cuomo in the Democratic primary race by 47% to 39%. (In March, the same poll had Cuomo ahead by 13 points.) And... their first televised debate will be held on August 18th at 11 a.m. from New York City. If anyone wants to watch with me, I'll warm up the couch. :-)   | private feedback | (0) public comments Feedback... The other day someone said that my web journal writing style is 'like that of someone writing a term paper.' Uhm, that can't be good can it? (And do people use the word 'Uhm' in term papers?)   | private feedback | (0) public comments The repercussions of having time on my hands... Last night I went to CVS to have my prescription filled. 'It will only be about 10 minutes young man, walk around the store and come back.' I ended up in the hair coloring aisle... Previous