what's in your pool?

A fkn dinosaur was in mine.  But a tiny one.  Or a GIANT curly-tailed lizard, the largest one I've ever seen.  Except I read they can get up to 11 inches long.  FUCK!!  That must include the tail, right?  Right??  In that case, maybe not much bigger than the one I rescued yesterday.  Let's hope I don't encounter any larger ones.  Especially when I need to interact with it.

This little guy did NOT want to be rescued.  He fought off that pool net valiantly.  I was scared of crushing a leg or a tail, so I kept approaching him gingerly.  I think I finally wore him down, doing laps down my pool (him, not me).  Plus the water was cool enough that it probably lowered his core temperature way below comfort level.  It was almost too cold for me. 

I forgot that most people (including my pool guy) use way more chlorine than I do (hence my pool always on the verge of green) because the smell of chemicals bothers me.  I hope Mr. Lizard didn't get poisoned.  I hope I didn't get poisoned either.  I could smell the chlorine while I was in the pool.  Yuck.

I didn't stay in long.  Once I noticed the bee hanging on my floaty, I was done.  He might have been dead already, but I wasn't taking chances.  That was enough nature for me.  :)  Yes, I potentially rescued him, too.

curly-tail clinging to the side for dear life

drying out and warming up in the sun

oh no, there goes Tokyo, go go Godzilla!

Here I am, minding my own business, working at my office desk, when I hear the telltale screeches of an iguana's claws walking across my window outside.  Sure enough, Kitten wakes up from her nap in her box on my desk, and stalks over to the window to investigate.  I expected to find the baby iguanas from a few weeks ago.  I was unprepared for the three and a half foot monster out there.  HOLY FUCK!

It's a mature male, with the orange dewlap and orange ridges across his back.  I was outside right there a few short hours ago, messing with the bushes.  OMG, I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BY GODZILLA!  Or at least bitten or scratched.  They are vegetarian, but they tend to be highly aggressive, which is why I like when Kitten would catch and eat the babies.  I guess she missed this one.

He's either pissed at her for committing genocide on his kind or he sees his reflection in the window and wants to fight it.  I took many photos and videos, but most of my videos were not family friendly because I couldn't stop swearing.  This video seems okay.  For some reason, the sound effects play in the Vine app on my phone but not on the web.  The screeching of his claws is really eerie and scary.  Maybe it's better if you don't hear it.  [UPDATE: There is a small hidden mute icon in the upper left of the video window which shows only if you hover over it with your mouse.]

Kitten finally ran upstairs and is peeking out from the balcony.  I don't blame her one bit.  Part of me wanted to go outside and get better photos without the window in the way, and part of me wanted to hide under my desk.

I suck at theme parks

And somehow, I forgot that I suck at them.  I went to Universal Studios to see Harry Potter land.  It started off fine.  I enjoyed the little shops and exploring Diagon Alley, especially Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.  The butterbeer was fkn scrumptious (I'll spare you the goofy butterbeer mustache pic).   I escaped from Gringotts bank.  I went through platform 9 ¾ to ride the Hogwarts Express, which was pretty fkn brilliant.

Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes

Butterbeer

But I fucked myself when after dining in Hogsmeade, I went flying in Hogwarts.  Fortunately I didn't disgrace myself and yack up my fish and chips.  But I really wanted to.  Because I had vertigo so bad.  

I immediately sat down and tried to recover, but listening to the screams from the nearby roller coaster was deleterious to my health.  I ended up back in the Three Broomsticks for about twenty minutes until the world stopped spinning.  Dumbass.  What part of that did I think was a good idea?  Family-friendly, my ass.

Fortunately, it was toward the end of my day, so I didn't feel as guilty when I left a little early.  And my path out took me through Jurassic World.  Twice.  Maybe three times.  Where's the fkn exit?  S'ok, I enjoyed visiting the dinos each time.

How often do you change your phone wallpaper?

I recently changed my smartphone wallpaper and am still getting adjusted to it.  Yeah, yeah, first world problems.  (I'd rather focus on my harder to read icons than my wet, squishy kitchen tiles.)  So how often do most people change theirs?  I'd had my previous one for months.  But the whim struck me.  I really loved my old one, not because of sentimental value but rather, it made all of my icons pop out and easy to read.  Plus it was roses.  Who doesn't like flowers?  Assholes, that's who.

In honor of the wendiceratops, I changed mine to a cartoon dinosaur that a friend drew for me.  It's fkn awesome.  I'd show you, but then I don't really know you, do I?  And phone backgrounds are so personal.  So you'll just have to take my word for it.

And Pluto just gave me my new lock screen photo.  /swoon

Wendiceratops

How cool is it that there's a Wendy dinosaur who is adorable and badass looking??  Look at the cute little bangs in the back that they call frill.  This sexy beast was discovered by Wendy Sloboda, a renowned fossil hunter, when she was out walking her German shepherds.

Wendiceratops pinhornensis

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

If you ever get depressed about your own problems, and want to be voyeuristic about other people's problems, click here: group hug // anonymous online confessions  

Ha, who am I kidding?  Of course you're voyeuristic.  You wouldn't read blogs if you weren't.  :p  Careful.  This site is addictive, and in the end, you'll get even more depressed over how fucked up some people are.

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

I saw the coolest lizard fight last night.  These two big macho males were battling it out on my back porch, dominating & rolling over each other.  They rolled down two steps in their desire to best one another.  I ran to get my camera to try to get pics but I couldn't get close enough --- no zoom on my camera.  They weren't an indigenous breed to Florida.  They kind of looked like mini dinosaurs, dark-colored with a big ridge down their backs.  After they stopped fighting, they stood a few lengths apart and postured about, doing lizard push-ups and flapping their dewlaps.  Hehe, I love watching the male of almost any species (including humans) when they try to out macho each other in seemingly meaningless harmless actions.

Why can't people do that more?  Harmless macho actions.

This Iraqi thing is making me crazy cuz I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I haven't commented so far because I haven't solidified my opinion yet.  I think it's more complicated than 99% of the world knows.  So, it's kinda hard to have an uninformed opinion.  Well, I guess it's not difficult, it just seems pointless to me.  I don't know Bush's motivations entirely.  Yes, the oil must play into it to some extent but that can't be all of it.  Yes, the humanitarian reasons are there, but we don't usually get involved just for that.  Yes, the extremist terrorists may be there, but it seems Saudi Arabia would be a better place to start.  And, of course, I can't forget the ego thing started by his father.  Still, it doesn't seem to add up to war.  Or maybe like everything else in my life, I am over-analyzing.

I keep thinking about how scared our soldiers (and their loved ones) must be.  I know that whether or not I agree with this whole thing, I still am proud of them for putting their lives on the line.

Hugs To Kuwait -- Adopt A Soldier

Operation Military Pride, supporting deployed military members worldwide

Sunday, March 9, 2003

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday but more pool and less movies.  We are having splendiferous weather.  And, the pool is warm enough for me to go in now.  Plus one of my orchid plants is in full bloom with gorgeous purple flowers bursting out of it.

Heaven is spending the afternoon floating in the pool under blue skies, chatting with my Galahad about nothing, having him rub me down with Papaya spread, while gazing at the orchids and watching the lizards play like little dinosaurs.


AuraColors

Friday, November 30, 2001

   Santa's Website

Thursday, November 8, 2001

Galahad & I left for Orlando last night for his super,  Park-hopper spectacular, spectro-magical, illumination, adopted raptor, Cirque du Soleil, perfect Happy Birthday weekend in circle vision.

Day One:
Early start for Animal Kingdom.  The weather couldn't have been any better with a note from Mother Nature.  

However, I've been fighting a migraine since yesterday.  Today, I took lots of medication with me to the park.  It turns out I needed it all!  Maybe the exotic flora & fauna contributed to my demise.
I especially liked the fruit bat exhibit.  Fascinating creatures.  And the Dinosaur ride was lots of fun.  We were warned that the Kali River Rapids would get us soaked, but Galahad's good joss kept us nice & dry.  Everyone else in our raft was drenched.

Dinner at Bongo's.

Then, the late show of Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba, which was stupendous.

Saturday, October 6, 2001

Bad Science
How Stuff Works
Visual Quantum Mechanics
Folding@Home - helping to map the genome
Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements
Lost Dinosaurs rediscovered in Egypt

Thursday, April 12, 2001

We had such a great time last night!  The concert pianist was unable to attend, so a substitute one was procured.  He was just phenomenal and incredibly animated.  Since we were in the fifth row center, we were able to see every dramatic gesture, which maybe wasn't such a good thing.  Several times, Galahad & I used every self-restraint we could think of to stop laughing.  I got that silent, shoulder-shaking laughter which set him off, which made me laugh even harder somehow.  At one point, I was afraid that I was going to embarrass a whole lot of people, most especially myself.  The pianist was really into his music & had amazing facial expressions & body language.  During parts of the symphony (which was Haydn's London - No.104, in case anyone is interested) when he wasn't playing, he would just slump there with his arms swinging freely & his face up to the ceiling.  It was truly a fascinating experience.  I can't wait to thank my father.  Maybe I'll call him in California.

What a busy day today!  One of my clients kept me running all day.  I did manage to sneak out for a few minutes to buy a new headset telephone.  Yay!  My arms, my ears, & my neck will be so happy from now on.  I know, I know, " You talk too much, homegirl you never shut up!"  Believe me it's for work, mostly.  Mostly.