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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Saturday, May 10th, 2008 |
lysandra
|
8:28p |
Summer Plans
Conference at June's end
Liberty, Society
at Bryn Mawr College |
das_jojoba
|
8:51p |
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das_jojoba
|
8:49p |
holy carp!
I experienced my first "real" weather down here last night. I was walking to downtown CH (with my umbrella), when it began to hail! Shortly after that, there was a downpour of rain and blustery wind. Eee! Perhaps it's that it's novel for me still, but it was quite exciting! Then as quickly as it had come, it stopped. The hail stopped and the rain slackened, then stopped.
Current Mood: delighted |
rightkindofme
|
4:05p |
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| Friday, May 9th, 2008 |
lysandra
|
6:24p |
I'm already paying things forward to someone, otherwise I wouldn't need these flowers. However, I am confused that you listed these for $0.20 cents for a set of three, yet raised the price 17-fold when I requested a quantity. That doesn't seem to follow the path of nice things to do.
Unless you can honor your listed price, I will not be needing your items.
Betsy Thomason
The response I want to send:
I am sorry for the confusion and will honor what I have listed in the numbers I have listed, but never promised to have the same price when mass produced on short notice. Consider this: It's nice to visit a friend and be able to stay the night but not reasonable to insist on staying two months on short notice because it's "nice" for you. Offering one to be nice does not grant you the right to assume 60x is also agreeable. I don't make much here as it is, and can not afford to operate at a loss simply because it's the "nice thing to do" for you.
Again, I listed that below cost, and 20 cents doesn't even cover the cost of listing and selling it, let alone materials, packaging, and my time. I'm losing money just by offering this and you need to be considerate of that. Requesting that I spend my whole weekend making 180 flowers for you and at a loss 60 times greater is simply unreasonable. I also have a life and family to attend to. I gave you what I thought would be a reasonable price based on what I normally sell them for, plus shipping. The shipping boxes need to be specially constructed to ensure that this many flowers do not get crushed in transport, and I didn't even factor in the time required to make that.
Unless you can respect the fact that I am a human being trying to offer something nicely in face of hardship, I will not be needing your "business." I suggest trying to make some yourself and seeing how much work folding 180 flowers and tying them into bouquets takes. |
rightkindofme
|
3:06p |
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michan
|
12:15p |
So... last night I took my freestyle dance test for Bronze 2 Tango and West Coast Swing. Our visiting judge/coach for this event is Bill Jacobsen. He's pretty intimidating. When I first came into the studio and saw him, I was scared already. Not to dance... but just look at him made me nervous. He has a very strong presence – despite a bit of a hobbit look -_-
After exam dancing - which went well, I thought – I talked to David about scheduling another lesson. I had asked Kristina about 2 weeks ago to cancel my next 2 lessons (since that's all I have left) but she didn't. She said she wanted me to discuss it with David. So when I talked with him he had scheduled a time with me but I went to Kristina immediately after and said I wanted to reschedule it again b/c of scheduling conflicts. My excuses... Then I just stopped and said "You know what... just cancel it. I don't want to take the lesson. Not at all. I have no enthusiasm for it. So it'll be like a waste of time." She said "Well, what if you take a lesson with Juan?" Normally at the mention of dancing with Juan, I’d be overjoyed. But I'm so jaded now because of what’s happened in the last 6 months in that studio – I just could care less.
What's happened to me? I find very few things enjoyable lately. I feel like I have fewer and fewer reasons to stay at that studio. Besides, the environment is NOT good compared to when I started. It doesn’t help that my current teacher's gf is constantly watching me and making snide comments. She has so little respect for me, it's disgusting – and it annoys me. Don't fucking pretend to like me, bitch. I'm not sure why, but I do know you don't, so stop the act. It makes me want to vomit all over your dance shoes.
So moving on, I had Kristina schedule my 2nd to last lesson with Juan.. I mentioned it to him later – my ambivalence towards dancing/the studio and how his lesson will somewhat influence my decision to stay or really just take a break – which might be what I need. He said "Michelle, I guarantee I will rekindle your flame and passion for dance in our next lesson. I'll bring it out in you!" I laughed with him about it but I don’t have much hope for it.
A few minutes later, Bill Jacobsen walked up to me with Cari Jo in tow (holding all of the exam papers) and said "You really did very well tonight. You’re a wonderful dancer." My initial feeling was that he’s trying to butter me up for whatever reasons (b/c that’s what dance people do) and but I said "You’re so nice. Thank you!" which I genuinely meant. He said "Actually, I’m really not [nice]." Cari Jo chimed in "Yeah, he’s really not." And we all chuckled. I said thank you again and he thanked me for dancing. (Odd…)
*sigh* I talked with Marla for a bit last night. She’s feeling the same way as I am. Caring less and less... In fact, so much so that we both felt like we could leave the studio without worry / guilt / bother. I couldn’t believe she was saying it too. She mentioned how it happens in intervals. At 2, 5, and 7 yrs, people tend to reconsider their dancing and think about quitting entirely or at least taking a long hiatus. I’m at 2 years and she’s at 7.
I’m just not sure what to do next...
Current Music: Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me |
rightkindofme
|
10:00a |
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| Thursday, May 8th, 2008 |
bayareajenn
|
6:27p |
Oakland Zoo: Friday I started out helping the giraffe string. My back was finally better. Not 100%, but I could lift and bend and twist again. I cut bananas and spread them around again. I also carried out the seed bins and refilled them, and took down some browse. I forgot to write this, but I think this happened on Tuesday, not on Friday: Somebody threw a ball into the giraffe enclosure and hit one of them on the neck, and then this guy climbed the fence to the enclosure. You should have heard Amy holler at him. She caught him as he was halfway over it. It turned out he was a former employee of the zoo coming for his last check. He wasn't a keeper, though. He claimed that some kid threw the ball. Amy didn't believe him, but I found it plausible; perhaps he didn't realize there were keepers so close by, and was going to retrieve the ball to save the giraffes from ingesting it or something. Still, if he worked for the zoo, he should have known better and contacted security instead. After helping out at giraffes, Kristen and I went to see the hyenas. This trainer was not quite as savvy as I'd hoped. She had a male and a female hyena. The male was frightened of the female, so the female would be brought in first, then the male. The male and female were housed separately indoors, but in adjoining cages, and they could see each other. They would then waste a bunch of the keeper's time cage-fighting, and she couldn't spend much time with the male or else the female would get aggressive. I suggested putting in a visual barrier, but was given some excuse about how it wouldn't work because they could still see each other from the back end of the cage. I declined to suggest putting a visual barrier there, too, because it seemed obvious that the keeper didn't want to put up a visual barrier. The female knew more behaviors than the male, but still only about four, including a side tactile, stand on hind feet, and sit. I found this indicative of the obstacles the keeper had, since our hyena can do over 100 behaviors. They're smart enough to do more, but the trainer either didn't have enough time to train, or the lack of a visual barrier was an issue, or the trainer maybe just didn't realize how limitless her training options truly were. The keeper also mentioned how the hyena, because of how it's built (front-heavy) didn't like to stand on her back legs, but it was necessary to get a visual inspection of her front paws. Since she didn't like to do the behavior, however, it didn't last long, barely long enough to get a glance. Given the cold reception toward my previous suggestion, I didn't tell her how we do a paw inspection on our hyena: we ask him to lie down first, then put his paws against the fence. I found it to be yet another example of how narrow this keeper's thinking really was. I wondered if this was a prevalent problem among zoos, and I looked forward to going to ABMA to see how true it was. I also worry about falling into that trap myself. After visiting the hyena, we went to visit the vervets. We were shown how they station: they each have individual colored and shaped plastic toys clipped to various parts of the enclosure that they go to. They stationing is still in the beginning phases, however. They had a lot of difficulties with hierarchical issues among the troop coupled with few escape options for the ones lower down in the hierarchy thanks to a poorly designed interior exhibit. There was also an issue with a mother-daughter pair with mental issues and needing to be medicated. Recently they removed the mother, who was at the bottom of the hierarchy. The daughter was at the top of the hierarchy. The mother's life was in danger from the daughter, despite both of them being on Prozac. The woman running the vervet training was a Moorparker. It was interesting to see such a complicated behavior in-progress. After the vervets, we went to see the elephants. We saw the hoof care, the enclosures, the squeeze cage, and some behaviors. What made the biggest impression, however, was that we were allowed to feed one of the elephants! It would reach its trunk over and take the piece of bread from my hand. It was so totally awesome! I'm sure I'll never get the opportunity again. I thought the ends of their trunks would be all wet, slick, even snotty, but it was surprisingly dry and smooth. It was funny to watch Kristen. She's completely untrained with dangerous animals, and she went first. She walked right up to the elephant, well within trunk reach. The squeeze cage wasn't so small that one swift grab with the trunk couldn't have dragged her completely in. I kept my distance of course, trunk length plus arm's length. I'm sure if she was in any real danger, the keeper would have said something, but I was still kinda proud that I was able to demonstrate the safety lessons I learned at Moorpark. I headed back to the Education department. Chris wasn't there, but Jessica and one of the new Zoomobile educators was, though. The new girl mentioned how she wasn't in any hurry to get certified on the cockroaches because they gross her out, and Jessica agreed. I was kinda shocked because, well, you'd think that people who like to educate and handle animals wouldn't have a problem with Madagascar hissing cockroaches. I sure don't. Well, I did in the beginning, but I got over it pretty quick, and I think they're cool, and furthermore, kids love 'em. I was disappointed that their Zoomobile team only liked to take the "cute" animals. Not very educational, if you ask me. Chris came back, I helped out some more, and she let me out early. Yay, Oakland Week was done, and it ended on a super high note! Wooo elephants! Current Mood:  cheerful |
bayareajenn
|
5:18p |
Oakland Zoo: Thursday Oh dear, I've waited so long to write this, I've forgotten the details of what I did. I worked some more with Chris Allen in the Education department in the morning. Then I went to the goat yard and met Elizabeth, and she showed me some of the goat training she had done, and she showed me how to clip a goat's hooves and dew claws, at my request. Elizabeth was a decent trainer, better than I'd seen so far, but seemed a little to eager to reward for incomplete behaviors. My time there ran long, so I didn't get to go watch Lisa and the bat trainers train the fruit bats. Apparently they station so they can take meds. I really would have liked to see that. After that, Elizabeth and I met up with Lisa and Kristen and we watched Lisa and Elizabeth train their ring-tailed lemurs. They all knew a station behavior, but it looked like for the most part they were working on desensitizing them to trainer contact. This turned out to be a theme of training at the Oakland Zoo, because they had spent so many years not having contact with their animals (excepting elephants), and because they still hold to the idea that it's best to keep wild animals wild by not interacting with them, even if they're not going to ever be released into the wild. After training, I went back and helped Chris some more until lunch, and then again until the Zoomobile appointment. At one point, some of the groundskeepers knocked on the door and told us there was a snake where they were working. Chris and I went out to have a look. It was a nice sized kingsnake. Chris was looking for another kingsnake to add to their collection, and thought this one might do. I went and grabbed a pillow case and a snake hook. When she pulled it out of hiding, however, she noticed it had a prolapse, so instead of keeping it, she let it go into the flora. I accompanied Jessica to her outreach at a Head Start facility for kids aged 4-10, it seemed. She was much better with this crowd than she was with the middle schoolers. Also, the kids got to touch all of the animals. It wasn't a very entertaining show, though. There were a lot of analogies and some facts, but no humor. Due to that I think Gabe Kerschner reaches kids a lot more. I came back from Zoomobile and couldn't find Chris, so I went and looked at the old scrapbooks Chris told me about. I saw how they used to, a long time ago, take their elephants on walks through the zoo and let the public, including children, walk right up to them. I also read the story about their little boy elephant's birth, with plenty of pictures. Sadly, several days later, the mother accidentally stepped on her baby and killed him. Chris eventually found me, and I went back to work for her doing basic tasks like sweeping, dishes, cutting paper for the bird cages, etc. And then I went home. Current Mood: cheerful |
rightkindofme
|
1:39p |
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| Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 |
rightkindofme
|
7:14p |
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rightkindofme
|
11:41a |
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| Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 |
rightkindofme
|
10:11a |
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| Monday, May 5th, 2008 |
fuzzyturtle
|
12:43p |
wedding attire I'm considering getting a kilt for myself to wear to Scott's wedding on Memorial Day. Due to my lack of planning ahead, and my financial constraints, it would have to be an 'in-stock' item and relatively cheap. I found this yesterday: http://www.thefrugalcorner.com/mens.htmI figure I'd get the 16oz kilt in Scottish National. If I really go bonkers, I'd get one of the less expensive sporrans, some hose, and a belt buckle, which on that site would add up to about That's a price I can afford. However, there's also the assorted accessories that go along with a kilt, like sporrans, belts, hose, the cost goes up pretty quickly. Do any of you have thoughts on what accessories are or aren't necessary, or what suppliers you recommend? Eventually I'd like to get one in my clan colors, which I really quite like: http://www.clanlockhartsociety.com/But the only online price I can find is $75 a yard, so that'll have to wait. |
rightkindofme
|
9:05a |
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cfox74
|
8:38a |
Au Natural
[Cross-posted from my
MovableType Blog]
Yesterday was my favorite kind of Sunday. The kind where I don't leave the house. I putter around the house, cooking, tidying, playing on the 'puter, and snuggling with the cats.
However, I am in desperate need of a pedicure. And since I didn't leave the house, it meant that I had to take my feet into my own hands. The problem with that is that I can't paint polish on my nails to save my life. You'd think after 34 years, and a Girl Scout badge in "Fashion, Fitness and Make-up," I would have figured it out, but no. My nails end up looking like a coked up 4-year old did them.
So, my toenails are now nice and short and in the buff. I keep glancing at my feet and wondering who's feet they are -- I'm so used to seeing color there. I also find that I'm walking softer in the house, padding around like one of the cats instead of striding to and from rooms. Funny the difference some color -- or lack there of -- can have.
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| Sunday, May 4th, 2008 |
rightkindofme
|
9:31p |
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rightkindofme
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11:17a |
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| Friday, May 2nd, 2008 |
rightkindofme
|
8:23p |
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rightkindofme
|
12:46p |
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cfox74
|
10:28a |
It's a Migraine Kind of Sky
[Cross-posted from my
MovableType Blog]
Okay, that title really shouldn't make me smile the way it does. (And extra bonus points to anyone who gets the reference. No, you aren't eligible, E.)
I take two different meds for migraines. One to prevent them from happening. Another to stop a migraine cold in its tracks if I do get one. I put in for the renewal on the prophylactic *snicker* one two weeks ago. I ran out of them on Tuesday. They still haven't arrived.
Today... today I don't think the pain I feel is being tired. I think the migraine monster is rising from the deep. Curse you Kaiser! I'm off to battle your pharmacy department. But maybe after my head stops wanting to explode.
Current Mood: In pain |
| Thursday, May 1st, 2008 |
rightkindofme
|
12:55p |
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rightkindofme
|
9:30a |
|
lysandra
|
12:45a |
an end to road trip bathroom stops
I think humans need another kidney-like organ attached to the bladder, the large intestine (possibly the rectum section), and some blood vessels. This would reduce the number of bathroom stops on a road trip (and other times) by taking in urine from the bladder, filtering the water and possibly any other useful things in urine out, returning them via attached blood vessels, and shunting the rest into the large intestine to be passed out with the regular solid wastes. This way, we'll have to drink less water and also pee less. I'm not sure how good this idea really is, considering my last physiology/anatomy class ended about 8 years ago (and not even at a university level), but I'm sure anyone who travels regularly would appreciate something like this. Then again, most people don't appreciate what their organs do for them. Ah, the poor livers in Milwaukee... |
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frskychik's Friends Page
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