grrgoyl: (Bad Jesus!  Very Bad!)
[personal profile] grrgoyl
This probably won't be my best work, but there are some things that need to be said and I'm getting a headache trying to coalesce them into anything coherent. As a consolation, I'm including photos which are always very popular.

First, our terribly gay ferret Xandir has been terribly sick for weeks now. Sick enough to stymie a ferret specialist in New York that Tery has been corresponding with. We believe he has some form of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) that's giving him diarrhea and alarming weight loss. Tery is barely sustaining him on a repulsive diet of raw liver, raw egg and goat's milk mixed in a blender.

He went into the hospital yet again for another day of IV fluids, and Tery asked how I felt about her bringing the machine home to keep him hooked up overnight. The machine in question is a fluid pump, which is coincidentally also the bane of my existence working overnight as it is the machine that alarms constantly every time the animal moves and causes an occlusion in the line. So you can imagine how thrilled I was at the prospect of having one in the relative peace and quiet of our home.

But the other problem was devising an enclosure for Xandir. With a catheter stuck in his veins, we couldn't have him running about free-range as our ferrets do. We dashed to Target in search of some sort of baby playpen. We were almost big enough Polacks to shell out $40 for a crib-like thing, before Tery came to her senses and discovered the storage bin aisle, with a large $13 tub that would do just as nicely.

Impromptu infirmary


Fortunately Xandir wasn't moving much so we weren't subjected to the interminable beeping that I put up with at the hospital. He was miserable stuck in the tub, while all the other animals were doing their damndest to jump in and join him.

He's doing a little better now, but it is quite demoralizing.

~*~

My check has been cashed by the State Department, which means it's a fairly safe assumption that my passport application has been approved. In anticipation of my trip to England, I'm suddenly craving new T-shirts. I think I deserve them -- I wear boxers and wifebeaters the rest of the year and besides, nothing says American tourist like tacky novelty T-shirts. But I think these are actually pretty cool.

First, this Serenity shirt which I love the most:

Fruity Oaty Bar


Second, this awesome vintage Cure. I think [livejournal.com profile] vagynafondue should buy one for herself and one for Chooch, who WILL grow up to be a Cure fan if he knows what's good for him:

This top is the place where nobody goes


Lastly, and sadly out of stock currently, Shaun of the Dead. Which, on a trip to England, might be a bit like wearing the band's shirt to the concert.

You've got red on you


These shirts and many, many more can be found here.

~*~

I love eBay most of the time. What I don't love is when there's a million of something available, and some berk outbids you on your auction just because it's ending an hour sooner. I believe there are enough auctions of any given item that everyone can have one, but some people would much rather ruin a total stranger's day.

I mention this because our old Sharp Hi8 camcorder died out of the blue a few weeks ago, leaving us not only without access to scads of home videos on 8mm tapes, but with a tape trapped in the camera itself. Without knowing whether the problem was with the battery or the charger or the camera itself, I thought the safest bet was just to get a used, really cheap 8mm camcorder for the purpose of playing our tapes one last time so we could convert them to VHS.

Well. Camcorders, it turns out, have a very high resale value. There's a veritable feeding frenzy going on as we speak on camcorder auctions. There's even a power seller with a constant stream of camcorders up for auction, all beginning at 99 cents. The catch is the seller comes right out and admits that the cameras are "as is" and they don't even run a basic test on them before putting them up for sale. Almost every one of these auctions finishes between $80-$100! I've made some foolish purchases in my time, but if I ever pay $100 for a camcorder that might not even turn on, feel free to suspend my internet privileges.

The upside of this is I could probably get $30-$50 for our completely dead Sharp, unless we have to resort to forcible means to extract the tape.

After losing several auctions I thought no one else would possibly be interested in, in frustration I took the next Buy It Now offer I came across. I probably should have shopped around a little bit more, but I can only take so much failure before I just snap.

~*~

Finally, my new icon is from our latest rental, The God Who Wasn't There. This was a recommendation from my London friend Jeffy, who felt sure such a movie wouldn't even be available in ultra-conservative, radically religious America (I smugly informed him how wrong he was). This is a refreshing change from all the Evangelical Christian documentaries we've been renting. It's more or less scientific proof that Jesus never existed. It was a little too MTV style for Tery's tastes, with flashy graphics and music, but I enjoyed it. One of the most compelling arguments is the similarity "The Greatest Story Ever Told" bears to multiple pagan myths, like Osiris, Dionysus and Odin. "Ah, but OUR resurrection story actually happened, that's the difference," the Christians argue. O-kay.

Also the fact that Jesus fulfills 18 out of 24 of the mythic hero criteria. He's even kind of low on the list below Hercules, Oedipus and Theseus. Also there are a number of other deities who were thought to have been born on Dec 25. The list goes on and on.

Features the superintendent of a Christian school filling our children's heads with all sorts of garbage getting argued into a corner and fleeing the interview, as they always do when they run out of bullshit to spew.

It's only an hour, but some of the juiciest interviews are stuck in the bonus features for some reason, lasting longer than the movie itself. I think you'll agree from this icon that it's worth a looksee.

~*~

One last picture: Kitten Mitten suffering a bit of an identity crisis. Tery thought I shoved her in there for the purpose of this photo, as if I would ever traumatize my baby just for a picture for my blog.

Is she cat or turtle?
This igloo is zoned for ferrets.


~*~

As an addendum but far from an afterthought, HAPPY BIRTHDAY [livejournal.com profile] kavieshana!!!!!

Date: 2007-05-02 08:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] metatronis.livejournal.com
Poor baby! Lots of love to Xandir.

Date: 2007-05-02 03:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
Thanks Roxie. Ferrets are the ideal pet, except for the heartbreakingly brief lifespan.

Date: 2007-05-03 04:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kavieshana.livejournal.com
Wait, how long do ferrets live?

Date: 2007-05-03 03:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
We've only been able to get 6 years out of them, at best. Ferrets kept in cages their whole lives typically live not even that long.

Date: 2007-05-05 03:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kavieshana.livejournal.com
I don't think I'll get one then. I've been wanting to, but I can barely deal emotionally with the lifespan of a cat.

Date: 2007-05-05 08:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
Probably for the best. I suspect we are masochists of the highest degree to keep putting ourselves through it.

Date: 2007-05-02 05:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velmaneuwirth.livejournal.com
Poor Xandir.. :-(

And England when? Where? 0:-)

Date: 2007-05-02 05:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
My friend is in London. Near as I can make out from his wacky UK address, Acton? Does that mean anything to you? He's a maths teacher so he gets holiday from the middle of July to the beginning of September, so sometime in there. Still waiting for flight prices to come back down to regular working-class schlub range. : )

Xandir's getting the best care possible. Sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas, though. : (

Date: 2007-05-02 05:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velmaneuwirth.livejournal.com
I don't know London dispite having been there a few times. But I CAN get there if I need or want to. So..
Jess is coming over on the 3rd to the 17th of July. I have no idea if I'll be living in Winchester or Yeovil (Home) over the summer. Winchester's closer to London than my home but I can still do it.

Date: 2007-05-02 09:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
Awww, that's sweet of you Jemma. But my plans are really up in the air so I can't commit to anything. Thanks : )

Date: 2007-05-02 11:28 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
1. Must be said - I love the new background. I can read all your text easily. I think for the first time ever!

2. Poor Xandir :( Being stuck with fluids just sucks

3. What is Kitten Mitten Fancypants McStripylegs Desorono wearing?

Date: 2007-05-03 02:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
1. Thank you! What was supposed to be a quick experimental adjustment turned into an hour-long process when I inadvertently reverted everything to the boring default settings. It was a real bitch finding a text color that didn't spear your eyes right out of your head against the red. Glad to know my hard work is appreciated!

2. Poor Xandir, yes. He came off them pretty quickly though when he blew his catheter, since we aren't qualified to replace it. He was happier having his freedom back, even though he feels better on the fluids.

3. Madama Muttonchops is wearing the latest in pet couture -- a plush igloo which, as previously stated, was originally intended for ferrets. You can see it put to proper use here.

ENGLAND?! That's like a whole 'nother country.

Date: 2007-05-03 04:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kavieshana.livejournal.com
THANK YOU [livejournal.com profile] grrgoyl!!!!!

I have to join anonymous beat-me-to-the-point-er friend Beth in saying that this background is tons easier on the eyes. I (heart) it.

Wait, camcorders still exist? It's been so long since I've seen that word, I actually had to scroll up and check for the correct spelling.

I saw someone wearing something like this a few days ago, and I thought 'I want that shirt':



Then I remembered how I used to mock people who wore the "house" scarves, and I refused to allow myself to buy one.
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
Someone might have mentioned to me that my layout was so torturous. Maybe now I'll get the flood of comments I've always been lacking on my posts.

Yes, camcorders still exist! Though the technology has been updated and they no longer weigh 20 pounds.

They have a similar shirt on the site. Dooooo it. Stop resisting. You know you want to.
From: [identity profile] kavieshana.livejournal.com
Most of us only see your posts through our friends page. The troublesome part was replying to comments, because the picture of the waiter always seemed to cover the most important bits of whatever was being said.

I really think you've killed the last one.

That's where I got that picture, from the site. The problem is that if I get the shirt, I know I'll end up getting a Slytherin scarf, and then I'll be one of those people that get made fun of in primetime cartoons.
From: [identity profile] grrgoyl.livejournal.com
I'm sorry to inform you that camcorders soldier onward, just in different sized packages. If you think the Sharp is archaic, you should have seen what it replaced.

Thought it looked familiar. Scarf or no scarf, Slytherins are sexy. Good on you ; )

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