Fred the Blog

By popular demand...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:45:00 +0000

The living room with some of the furniture.

The living room with no furniture.

The hall

Although it has been a couple of weeks since the floors has been finished, I haven't really put the place back together yet. I'm now interviewing painters, and when they come, I'll have to move everything again anyway.

The walls have needed paint since I moved in - oh four years ago - but I haven't been able to figure out what colors I want. Now I have no choice. The floors are so beautiful now that the walls look ridiculous. So I'm looking for painters who also do color consulting.

Ah, the joys of home ownership!

Culture!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:42:00 +0000

If You Forget Me

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

Pablo Neruda

Floors!!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:04:00 +0000

My on-line presence might be pretty sketchy for the next week, as I'll be living in a very posh hotel as my NEW FLOORS are being installed.

I've been moving stuff out of the rooms with the warped hardwood floors to the kitchen and guest room, and I should have everything completed by the time the crew comes on Friday morning. I imagine I'll come home to all kinds of dust and nastiness, but beneath it all will be beautiful, shiny, freshly stained oak.

In other news, I'd like to thank the House, the Senate, and Drinky McDumbass for finally passing the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008!

Sure, there are some annoying provisions in there, but on the whole, I really believe this thing will create a more organized regulatory structure. It will force banks to assist homeowners in need, which will in turn bolster the work of banks, thrifts, and the bond market.

Oh, and it sort of saves my job for the time being.

"Bless his heart, president of the United States, a total failure..."

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Nancy, I knew you'd make me love you. Thank you for being a Democrat. Thank you for calling a spade "a spade." Now will you please use your considerable wisdom and wit to pass a reasonable GSE bill? Fannie and Freddie, who control half of the residential mortgage market, are flailing and our two largest private housing finance institutions (Countrywide and IndyMac) are hemorrhaging money right and left.

And you know what this means, Nancy my dear? It means that ordinary taxpayers with ordinary mortgages, and ordinary salaries are going to pay for the speculation, the shady deals, and the absence of credit checks and counseling for people who should have never been given an unsubsidized home loan in the first place. And you know what? We simply can't afford that.

Because certainly you've noticed that a gallon of milk is over $5? Have you noticed that gasoline is $4.50 a gallon? Inflation is a dirty word, and it is only going to get worse if our incomes are further stressed by foreclosure, continued money printing, and loans from foreign governments to the tune of $3 trillion a pop.

Remember the S&L Crisis Nancy. Don't let Henry forget it either.

But I digress. You made me smile, and for that I thank you. But how's about getting some real work done?

PS. When you see Barack around, if you do see him, will you kick him in the pants for me and remind him that he has a job in Illinois?

Akin to getting food poisoning from your mother

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:56:00 +0000

From the Chicago Tribune today:

Mice, supermarkets and food safety

Posted by Renee Enna at 10:00 a.m. CDT

The discovery of mouse droppings that closed Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park offers a sage reminder to cityfolk that we're not the only ones who like food-centered businesses.

The store, at 1000 W. North Ave, was closed Wednesday by the Chicago Department of Public Health after inspectors found mouse feces throughout the premises, including more than 100 droppings in one walk-in cooler alone, according to the department. Also found was a dead mouse on a glueboard trap.

Wednesday's visit was a follow-up to an inspection on June 27, when inspectors ordered management to eliminate the infestation and warned that there would be a re-inspection, according to Tim Hadac, the department's spokesman.

On Wednesday, inspectors found "no compliance," which automatically raises the violation from �serious� to �critical,� which prompted the closing, Hadac said.

___________

This is the second time I've heard of Whole Foods stores in the area being shut down by public health inspectors. While I prefer independent stores and the farmer's market, I don't often have the time to do all that running around, and find myself wandering into Whole Foods on a semi-regular basis. And now I just feel ill.

Kirche am Steinhof

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Click on any of the photos to get a larger view. If you click twice, you'll get a zoom.

Below are unfortunately unstunning pictures of the spectacular Kirche am Steinhof in Vienna. It was built in the Art Nouveau/Art Deco style by Otto Wagner between 1903- 1907. As we arrived, the sun started to set, making it difficult to photograph, because the golden dome was reflecting the sunset, causing an awful glare.

I'd never seen a church in this style - the ones I am most familiar with are Gothic or neo-gothic, or Baroque.

Because the interior of the church is being renovated, we couldn't go inside. This is a shame, because there are fantastic looking mosaics inside. I peered through a window to see what I could, but the glare from the glass rendered photography impossible with my tiny Cannon digital. Rumor has it, there is work by Klimt inside.

The bust you see below is a bronze of Leopold Steiner, a major figure in lower-Austria politics after the first world war. He is credited here as the "creator" of the church.

This church is located on the complex that holds the Lower Austrian State Healing and Care Institution for the Neurologically and Mentally Sick. Between 1940/45, this institute was used for the "euthanization" of the handicapped and mentally ill. . It is estimated that 3200 Germans were experimented on and murdered at the institute. 200 of these were children.

Romeo took a lot of pictures of this church, but I haven't gotten a copy of his CD yet. I'll post any good pictures he took too. Click on any of the photos for a larger view.

To lighten up the mood, here's a picture of a building I like to call "The Phallus of Vienna" I think it is the exhaust tower of a factory of sorts. The body of water in question is the Danube.

Czeski-Krumlov

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:29:00 +0000

The vacation picture posting has begun! For fun, I'm doing them in reverse. This is my last day in the Czech Republic. Click on the pictures and they will get larger. I recommend doing that with the mural below.

Touched, and Not Just In The Head

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:33:00 +0000

For all of you who forced me into acknowledging the inevitable, thank you!

Particularly:

Betster - For the Eddie Izzard DVD. And by the way, thank you for introducing me to him in the first place.
Bev - For the strudel, dinner, the "theater," a day of just being stupid, free and old.
GeeZee - For the milk frother that not only matches the French press, but works like a charm, the angel/devil duckies, and for putting up with me the night before.
Josh and Lauren - For my new favorite necklace. So beautiful, so generous!
Lilster - For David Sedaris' latest, and the George Harrison biography.
Mikey - For the entire ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT series. How do I love you? I'm still counting the ways.
Stenns - For the Very Serious Reading Material and the Coldplay CD.

And to all the friends and family who called, sent cards and condolences: Aunt Ruth, Barbara & Ev, Bari, Chantal, G�nter, Jodie & Tony, Kallenberg, Karl & Steph, Little Guy, Sqwali, Marise, Rebbecca, and Romeo.

I am truly blessed to have all of you!

When the Party's Over

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:12:00 +0000

That's right - 7 hours 43 minutes since departure, 445 miles left to go. Right around the time I want to get off the plane THIS INSTANT, no matter where we are. Leave it to United Airlines to take the long way through Canada.

I've downloaded the pictures from Austria, Hungry, and the Czech Republic and have spent tonight sorting through and editing them. There are over 250 to go through, so it might be a little while longer before I start posting.

But I'll leave you with this shot of me and the boys:

And one of my dear friend and host Romeo in probably the most apropos photo I have ever taken of him:

Lookit Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:38:00 +0000

Since I know you won't all understand this, I've used the Google translating tool to translate an article from German. The result is pretty funny. The original text is here.

But I wasn't posting to be funny, I was posting to express extreme joy!

My favorite author in the whole wide world, Christa Wolf, is being considered by the leftist party in German as their candidate. This bit of excitement is helping to lift me from the doldrums after watching Austria get defeated in soccer against the Germans.

I won't lie to you, my dear Christa is missing a few screws. She's brilliant though, and has such a way with words.

In other news: I've had emails asking for my vacation photos. They are coming, I promise. I took over 300 and I need to go through them all. I would expect at least pictures of Vienna to start showing up late this week, early next week.

Vienna and Beyond

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:17:00 +0000

Now where was I? Ah yes, Friday evening! Fun, Fun.

Romeo met me at the train with his bike, and we went over to one of the rental bike kiosks that are scattered all over the city. You stick your debit card in, you rent a bike, you return it at any of the other rental locations, you pay a small fee. I wish we had this in Chicago.

We rode around the Mariahilferstrasse a bit so I could get my bearings, and went out for dinner at Nice Rice, a vegetarian restaurant with outdoor seating. I got a dish of spicy lentils with 'soya fleisch' and paired it with a Gr�ner Veltiner. As we called the waitress over to get the bill, the cell phones started ringing. Friends of ours I hadn't seen yet were hanging out at pub around the corner, so of course we met up with them.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this evening. We ordered some drinks, sat around on some really posh couches and after catching up, we had the conversation I was fearing: 'Who do you think is going to win? Obama? Clinton? Oh, and What the HELL are you people doing to Iraq?' It is amazing how quickly I forget how to speak German when topics that annoy me come up.

It was an early night for Romeo and me, because we had to get up early the next day and drive to Budapest. The ride home was fantastic- I love biking in the city. The bike paths are really well marked (and full of pedestrians to ring your bell at) We zoomed past the downtown area with all the lights and sounds and smells.

Then it was early to bed and up at 7 on Saturday. We were on the M1 before 8 and had a very pleasant drive. It is interesting to see what has become of the boarder that once created 10-mile traffic jams in the days of Communism. The customs booth is still there, but it is full of ads for oil companies and places to exchange money. Just across the boarder you buy your toll sticker for the Hungarian highway system, change money if you like, and zoom. You are on your way through flat, green, amazingly unpopulated Budapest. Suddenly, all of the signs and advertising on the highway are in Hungarian, including the warning signs. I mean, what is the non-Hungarian speaker supposed to do when confronted with an urgent-looking computerised message over the highway that says:

!!!!!RTZU sdflib gsdlkfl�k�lkgh JJL*��L��!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as I know, it was just telling us rather emphatically to have a good day, because we saw no cause for alarm.

We got to the city, car parked and all by 11 and started our long trek through both sides of the city. Parking is FREE on Saturdays, and that is awesome. Because the rest of Budapest? Definately not free. In fact, it was about 3x more expensive than I thought it would be. The wine I was asked to bring back from Hungary was never purchased. It cost $60.

It was a day of food and lots of delicious coffee. We ate lots of spicy eggplant spread on crispy bread, a few strudels (apple, cherry, and cheese)and had dinner at one of the few and hard to find non-touristy Hungarian restaurants. If we had wanted Wienerwald (schnitzel place) or Burger King, it would have been less of an adventure. All kinds of American and Austrian chain restaurants all over the city have taken over. We went into the cathedral, window shopped all around Vaci street in Pest, and then crossed the bridge into Buda to look at the palace and churches there. We didn't go into any of the museums because it was so beautiful outside. I took many pictures of Parliament and the bridges over the Danube. No discription of the city would do it justice without the pictures.

Exhausted and thirsty, we filled our water bottles at a fountain, and left Budapest at 8 and were home, in bed, by midnight. Well, I guess I would be remiss if I didn't add here that we stopped at a gas station on the way home and bought a couple of half-liter cans of G�sser beer to drink before bedtime. I mean, you've got to have something to drink while you hash over the day's events.

Beginning of Week II

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:55:00 +0000

The last few days have reminded me that 'busy' can exist without 'hectic'.

On Wednesday I did more touristy things, and surpise, surprise, it was another rainy day. I walked back into the First District and stopped at the St. Peter's Church, a baroque number that is as beautiful as many as I've seen around Europe. Lots of gold and marble. Then I wandered off into the shopping area where I bought postcards. I haven't addressed them or written them or anything, but be on the lookout: part of my plan for today is to work on that.

Then it was off to the Naschmarkt, which as the name suggests, is all about food. It is a 1.5 km stretch between the Linke and Rechteweinzeilen with vendors selling food of all kinds. Fresh vegetables and fruits, some of them really exotic, share center stage with the cut flowers. There are stores with health food products and several chinese groceries. Prevalent are the Turkish stands selling cherry tomatoes and peppers stuffed with feta cheese, olives, kebabs and other meat-on-a-stick type products. To get your attention, they yell, 'MY LADY' in as many languages as you can before you pass their stall.

There were stalls with alcoholic wares and sweets that I was tempted to try out, but it was so crowded despite the rain that the idea of opening my wallet seemed like a bad one.

I finally ended up in a cafe house for lunch, where I decadently ordered a Topefenstrudel (sweet cheese strudel) and a melange. And yes, that was my lunch. I mean, why should I suck down a big salad or something, when really all I want is a strudel?

Then I walked on over to the Museums Quarter and into the Leopold Museum for more art. On permanent display is the largest collection of works by Austrian artist Egon Schiele, an expressionist and cubist, plus other Austrians of the same period; Richard Gerstil, Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka. The few Klimt items on display were not the huge Jugendstil informed paintings expected of him, with highly detailed, gilded dresses. He did some surprisingly realistic work, including portraits and landscapes.

The main exhibition hall featured work by Albin Egger-Lienz. The display takes up nearly an entire floor, and was for the most part so gruesome, I sort of ran through it. He did some very realistic work as a field painter during WWI, apparently on-site, of battles and fallen soldiers. Some of the portraits were clearly meant to show how war as anti-humanistic and and anti-heroic, but I couldn't deal with it.

Then I walked my way back home and cooked dinner for my host and his friend. Several bottles of Burgenl�ndishe Sauvignon Blanc were ingested, life was good, if not somewhat fuzzy.

Thursday was a holiday here, and I used the time to hop a train and visit friends from grad school in Salzburg, Paul and Doris. They have two beautiful little ones and a new house in the middle of nowhere in a part of upper-Austria known as the M�hlviertel. We did some walking around in his little town, I saw where he worked, where he lived, and his local hangout. Then we toured around Linz, ventured up to the closed castle, tried to climb the Pests�ule and sampled some local beer. (Wieselburger).

The next day found us up early, courtesy of his two children. We drank some green tea and dashed off to the playground to play soccer. The boy, Niklas, is 4, and already has a pretty good idea of how the game is played. The little girl, Anna, 2, pretty much just wanted to dance around and sing, which she did. She was on my team, and an excellent morale builder.

After a wonderful lunch of ratatouille and a nice, long chat with Doris, I caught the train back to Vienna, where I was greeted by Romeo and his bicycle.

Whew! I could go on and on, and I will for sure, but not now. It is 9 am GMT+1, and it is time for me to get dressed and find a place to write out those postcards!

For those of you playing along, ordering a shit scratcher in Switzerland will get you some chicken.

Arme Schlampe

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Wow. I can read about it in the papers and follow exchange rates, but I didn't really understand how weak the dollar is until today, when I paid $7 for a cup of coffee.

Now don't get me wrong, it was a fancy coffee and probably the best I have had in years (melange) but this is kind of silly.

No, it is completely ridiculous.

However, theater tickets on opening day at the Volkstheater were only $12 yesterday. We went to go see Eine Heikle Sache, Die Seele by Dimitr� Dinev. (A Tricky Thing, the Soul) enjoyable, completely macabre, and very funny at the same time. It is a farce about a wake that plays heavy with existentialism and living in exile.

Today is an excellent museum day; it is cold and rainy. I went to see the Paul Klee exhibit at the Albertina, and had to skip a few activities I had planned because I spent three hours on just that part of the HUGE gallery. Raise your hands if you knew that Klee was so fascinating. In fact, I found myself breezing through the Oskar Kokoschka exhibit at the same place because I had had enough culture for one day. At this point I should probably mention that I had gone to the museum because of Kokoschka in the first place. (Kokoschka is Austrian, while Klee is just Swiss.)

I did learn one new word in dialect from a friend who ha drecently been to Bern. Apparently in Switzerland, it is not unusual to see "Mistkratzer" on the menu. This translates to "shit scratcher" Can you figure out what dish this refers to?

Speaking German again has resulted in broken gears in my head. I've forgotten a lot. However, after three days I'm already at the language crisis phase where I also can't remember how to express myself to say in English, either. This is a good sign. After a couple of days of this, I generally speak much more fluently.

I wish I'd thought to bring my camera software. It would be fun to actually post the pictures on the day they were taken rather than two weeks later.

This = More Like It

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:27:00 +0000

I hit the ground running when I finally got to Vienna on Saturday afternoon - dinner and drinks and drinks and drinks after a much needed shower with R and his friend. I finally went to bed at about 1 and slept solid as a rock until 8.

We spent most of Sunday in the Czech Republic looking at old palaces in Mikulov and Brno. We visited a beautiful, working, but sort of museumized synagogue and listened in as a chamber orchestra held practice. I don't know the piece that was being played, but it heavily relied on the cello and I enjoyed it very much.

After it became clear that the rain that had started in the early afternoon was not about to let up, we made our way back to the Stammersdorf neighborhood of Vienna, where we sat in a Heurigen drinking our red wine (Philosoph, 2007). We actually did discuss politics, but we also swapped stories of odd travel experiences. (Hands-down winner- G spent December alone in Finland eating odd fatty animals and getting lost in a blizard brrrrrr)

R and I spent the rest of the evening eating more of his wonderful cooking and making big plans.

This morning I am left to my own devices while R is at work. The first item on the agenda is to figure out where we can stay in Hungary for a reasonable price over a holiday weekend. Then I'm off to explore Vienna as a tourist. I'll start with the whole Jewish quarter, museums, temples and all, then make my way over to the northwest part of the city to explore a market or two, before coming back to change clothes and go to the theater. We're seeing Eine heikle Sache, die Seele by Bulgarian playwright Dimitr� Dinev.

So far, I'm an extremely happy camper. I might have to change my return plans to three weeks from never.

Feh.. eh?!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Or whatever.

So I posted the link about the CD mix, I started a list of songs for the CD mix, and then didn't do it. I don't think anyone reading has ever been inspired by my little advertisements, but someday - SOME DAY someone might do the mix because they read about it here. And it just wouldn't be right to not do the mix.

By way of explanation for my general silence, I'll admit that I dropped a few of life's curve balls. They've been coming fast and furious this year, so I guess this was bound to happen.

I'll get a reprieve from normal life a week from today though - I'm going to Europe for two whole weeks.

Here's the plan so far:

Fly into Munich- spend the day, night and next day with Betti. Eat chocolate, drink wine.
Travel by train to Vienna where I will be staying with Romeo and hanging out with several certifiable Bulgarians. Drink coffee and wine; eat Topfentaschen by the pound.
Meet with friends for actual Sachertorte at the Hotel Sacher. I've been experimenting with this confection for about a year now, and I no longer remember what the real torte tastes like. Time for a refresher.
Then, in no particular order: Bike day in Bratislava, some weekend with Paul and Doris in BFE Linz Land, Trip with Romeo to Budapest, actual culture of sorts will happen in Vienna.

So don't cry for me Argentina. Things may suck a bit today, but tomorrow's looking kind of awesome.

CD Music Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Stennie has put up another round of the great CD Music Mix Challenge. Go read the rules and get in the game. Come on - you know you want to.

!@#$%^&*()_+

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:12:00 +0000

This will be the final doggie update for a while.

I phoned the animal shelter this morning as soon as they opened to make sure that Hudson would be dressed and ready when I got out of work.

And the volunteer who answered the phone replied that Hudson was adopted by someone else on Friday. But they have a lot of other cute dogs I could come and choose from.

Heartless bitch.

It's FATE!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:56:00 +0000

Today I got a call from the animal shelter. Hudson is back!! Such crappy timing, as I am leaving town tomorrow. While they won't hold him for me over the weekend, if he's still there on Monday, he's MINE!

The guy I talked to today couldn't explain to me what all the secrecy about his location was, but I don't care. He's back!

How I'm going to find time between now and then to buy him a bed, food and water bowls, a leash, a gate, and something to eat, I'm not sure. But I suppose I can always get those things from the chain pet supply store conveniently located across the street from the shelter before I go to get him.

He apparently did very well at school, and he accepts other doggies now as a fact of life. They said he's learned his name, and how to sit and lay down, heal and walk on a leash, and not jump on people to get attention.

Fingers crossed that nobody else adopts him!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:04:00 +0000

Finally available on FredtheWebsite.com: Picture of Steven's Bar Mitzvah.

This landmark event took place last month. I don't have any pictures of the service, but there are plenty of shots from the luncheon, as well as from breakfast at the Chester Diner in New Jersey the next day.

All in all, it was a lovely event, and the Bar Mitzvah ~~boy~~ man did a fantastic job during a very long service. Here he is (left) with his cousin Ben the morning after.

One of my personal highlights from this trip - and I do mean ONE of the highlights, was the 2008 Mustang Pony I cruised around in for the price of a tiny economy-sized car. No - I'm not planning on buying a car, but it was fun for a weekend, on Route 80, where zooming is just expected.

Some of you have asked about the status of Project Dog. I had decided on Hudson the day he went to Study Abroad. Although I gave the shelter my contact information, it turns out that Hudson isn't coming back to the shelter, and they can't/won't tell me where he is. Since this is a no-kill shelter, I'm not afraid for his welfare, but I am sad I hesitated on adopting him the day we met.

You're so vain...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:14:00 +0000

To the buddy who asked if I ever blogged about him:

I don't know. Have a look around and see if you recognize yourself. But if I haven't before, here you go. This is not only a blog about you: it is a blog TO you.

Howdy!

Site Stats

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:40:00 +0000

Ok - fess-up time. Who is searching the web for "yogurt poodle ears" and "Fred pic with girl getting milk poured on her"?

How disappointed were you when you landed here?

How about those three people who asked Jeeves simply for "help"? Did you find what you were looking for?

Warning: Not for the Squeemish

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:37:00 +0000

And so, ladies, gentlemen, and others, I am miraculously still alive.

The whole procedure of retrieving the late-sprouting wisdom tooth from deep under the gum line took 3 1/2 hours. I'm always one for getting my money's worth, you know. The time and effort it took to get that baby out surprised even the arrogant surgeon.

Although frightening, the procedure was relatively painless. The shot of whatever-it-was worked almost instantly. I also had a ready supply of NO2, but I guarantee you that no laughing took place during this procedure. I'm not the gas had any effect on me at all. It smelled like rotting flowers, and the mask was too large for my face and kept poking me in the eye. The prying, the sawing, the drilling, the pulling, and the packing were all painless. The clamps were unfortunately not.

The missing tooth produced a "gaping deficit," which in plain English means, "a big hole." To fix this, I wound up with a bone graft made from ground up, sterilized cadaver (human). I cannot describe to you how disgusting I feel to have part of a dead person growing into my own bone. Perhaps I don't have to.

I left the office with a "good job" from the doctor, applause from the staff, antibiotics, steroids, anti-bacterial rinse, and a prescription for Darvocet. My good friend and pediatrician Dr. B took me home, administered drugs, and only left me when I entered my drug-induced haze.

Thursday evening is bit of a blur - A few good friends phoned or texted their much-appreciated support. The narcotics gave me a wicked case of the munchies. (Try feeding that beast when you can hardly open your mouth!) I participated, more or less, in Thursday night chat with the #squeeze buddies, but guys, I'm sorry - I don't remember much. I didn't fall asleep until 2 a.m. or so, but when I did, it was bliss. I slept until 11:45, and even then, I only woke up because the phone was ringing.

Now I'm recuperating, watching movies, going out of my mind from forced relaxation, and hoping the grapefruit-sized swelling on the right side of my face goes back to normal before Monday.

Thanks to those of you who left comments and wished me luck!

You know it's time to find a new job when ....

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:40:00 +0000

for even a brief moment, your impending oral surgery sounds like a great way to get out of work. More blogging on the other side of butchering and narcotics.

More about Doggies

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:43:00 +0000

First things first - I still haven't adopted anybody.

I went back to the shelter last week to visit Hudson, and I'm completely in love with him. He's such a sweet baby. I chatted with one of the shelter volunteers about possible barking and howling, and she told me she's never heard him utter a peep unless he's outside and another dog gets too close. It would seem that Hudson is not a fan of other dogs. In fact, he hates 'em.

Before going to the shelter I invited two other friends to come along and check him out before I made a decision (I'm in love, I can't be expected to behave rationally.) Both of them canceled at the last minute, and so I decided to leave the adoption for another day.

And I did return on Wednesday with reinforcements and found that Hudson was gone! The shelter was too worried about his aggression towards other dogs, and so they sent him for a three week study-abroad to the Southside to attend K9 University. Crushed, I left my business card and asked them to call me when he gets back from his trip.

Lauren, my partner in many crimes, has her reservations about Hudson because as a Hound, he is predisposed to certain traits that might make him less than the best condo dog. And how did she try to help the situation? She took me to the Chicago Dog Show last weekend!

It was a great day, although somewhat overwhelming. So many wonderful dogs - none of them available for adoption. I spoke to people from various rescue programs, loved on lots of dogs, and watched the puppy best of breeds/best-in-show. (Can I tell you how ridiculously cute the puppy toy representatives are??)

Below are a few of my favorite pictures of the day. If you want to see the rest, click the link at the top of the page to see all the pictures I posted to my website. If you want to see larger images and are using Internet Explorer, you can click on the photos and you'll get just that.

I think this little guy is a Cairn Terrier. He's a volunteer dog who visits young children in hospitals.

This guy is a representative from the Bulldog rescue. A few of his colleagues were with him, dressed up in other costumes, but it being so close to St. Patrick's Day, here's a cute little leprechaun:
I think Lauren knows what kind of puppy is - (comment Lauren?) Look at how cute he is! He was going to town on his little toy, flipping out and just being adorable. It was hard to get a picture of him that wasn't blurry.

File this one under "pity". Look what they've done to this Poodle?! He's been shaven and styled, and his ears are in elastic bands!

Love, Love Love. I hugged this dog for a long time and didn't want to let her go. Say what you will about Doberman Pinchers - they are sweet dogs! I was so excited at the prospect of having another Doby (had two as a teen) that I actually called the Doby rescue. Yeah - unless I want the toy version, and I don't, these guys are just too big to live without a yard.

Pre-grooming bad hair day. Although, this could be a picture of me, come July.

So stay tuned - it will be three weeks before I can have Hudson, but in the spirit of trying to find the right dog, I'm still looking. I'm looking with half a heart, but I'm looking.

Don't Worry -- Be happy?

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Tired. Busy. No time to give the doggie update all week because I have a million pictures to upload, but the weekend should be calmer. In the meantime, I'll share my weekend horoscope with you:

Life, they say, is too short to drink bad wine. Different people, though, have different tastes. Much to the horror of the wine snobs, some folk genuinely prefer cheap plonk. And how short is life? Well, it's long enough to get bored or disillusioned or depressed within. If you reach any of those states, it's too long. That's why the really crucial statement to make is not about wine; it's about wisdom. Life is too short to take anything seriously. Let go of what upsets you this weekend, and everything will get better.

I'm not sure how this letting go thing is supposed to work, but you know, life truly IS to cheap to drink cheap wine.