Name Dropping

This blog post was inspired by Charles, a person whom I adore while having never met. I guess I should also say that he inspired it with something he mentioned in his most recent blog post (see the link to the right to check it out), but I in no way am attempting to ridicule or poke fun at him. Stop laughing.
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I know a man. This man is about 10 years older than I am and has had a lot of intense and spectacular life experiences. He also is a first class name-dropper. And no, I'm not going to mention his name.

This man was in a position where he met authors, celebrities, sports stars, and political figures on a regular basis...and he told us this constantly. Conversation with this person was always peppered with Deepak Chopra this, and Price Albert that. The funny part is that this man actually had met or was firm acquaintances with all the people he mentioned. One could even say he was a friend of a couple of them.

But none of this diluted the effect his name-dropping had on me and my peers. One day Mr. X told me he had eaten dinner with Dr. Phil. Big whoop. I've hosted Dr. Phil at 2 different book signings in two different stores. But I learned later that he had eaten dinner in the same restaurant at the same time as Dr. Phil, and thusly a running joke was born.

Then the unfortunate behind-the-back comments began. When Prince Rainier of Monaco passed away, we began to joke amongst ourselves that Mr. X could possibly be called upon to be a pallbearer. After all, Mr. X had Prince Albert's cell phone number programmed into his own cell...he showed me!

I could go on and on and on...and on. But the interesting thing is I really like Mr. X. He's smart and funny, and I also like his fiance. I'm always very happy to see them both. If name-dropping is the worst thing to be said about a person, I suppose he's doing well in the grand karmic scheme. And he did get me a free signed and personalized Peter Max print a few years ago.

Still...I think it's really really funny.

Some day I'll post my name-drop list.
Who is on your list?

Goldfish-a-rama

I've posted this pic before. Here you can see Salieri fishy and Rimsky-Korsakov fishy swimming in front of a Worf action figure. I don't remember how I got ahold of Worf, but I enjoy the unique contribution he makes to the tank at work.

Today I picked up the remains of my Gracie kitty. I thought I was done with crying over her, but I guess not. Her ashes are enclosed in a plastic bag which is placed inside a small cedar box. Her name is engraved on a nameplate on the lid. I also was given a round clay pawprint of her feetsies, which I am baking in the oven right now to harden it.

I should have cleaned house today, but I'm afraid my slothishness won over cleanliness.

That is all.

Smatterings

I like this picture of an elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. Apparently when I fiddle with photos on my computer, they are saved in a different folder called 'modified', and I didn't notice until recently that this was happening. Anyway, the sepia tone works nicely with the scene.

I finished HP7 last night. I've been discussing it at work with a couple of people on my staff who have also finished it. I like being able to do that. I'm still extremely exhausted from the weekend, but will be able to sleep in Wednesday. Excellent.

After work today (and today was my 7th anniversary with Borders) I went to the local big petstore to pet the kitties up for adoption. There was a beautiful DMH tabby kitty with green eyes and a bright pink tongue. Her name card said Cissy, but she looked like a Chloe to me. And then there was a ginger tabby kitty named Lonnie, but he looked more like an Oliver. He really wanted some lovin', so I scritched him for a long time. I'm not ready to get a kitty again, but it was nice to visit some.

The 10th season of Stargate SG-1 came out today, so I bought my copy and have watched a few episodes. I'll go back and watch the eps with commentary next, as that is always a hoot.

I am very tired, so off to bed go I.

More Harry Potter Pictures

Well, I got a full 90 minutes of sleep early Saturday morning before returning to work. We continued to sell books so quickly that we had to hustle to fill up the table. The energy was great, and people were very excited to get their copy. I've been trying to read my copy, but am making slow headway, as I am physically exhausted, though I actually feel great, all things considered.

I'm still so wired over all the excitement and jazzed at how well the entire weekend has progressed. My staff was fabulous, and I count myself lucky to work with each of them.

Above are pictures of various costumed customers, some of my cafe staff, and others.

Harry Potter Grand Hallows Ball

It is 3am Saturday morning, and I've just returned home from my store to catch a nap before going back to work in a couple of hours. The Harry Potter 7 book release was a GINORMOUS success, with 1,000+ happy people, and only one inappropriately behaving, disgruntled person. I figure a 99.9% happy rate is pretty darn tootin' good.

Two trolleys were running as the Hogwarts Express, and we had an absolutely huge assortment of activities, games, etc., occurring all evening.

I am so proud of my staff that I cannot adequately express it in written words. I've posted a few pics, as you can see. The first one being part of my staff that was still in the store at 2am.

I received so many compliments from customers about how we ran the entire evening. The customers were ready and willing to help make the event a success, and so I give them a big shout out!

We have plenty of books left, so I am looking forward to making even more people happy tomorrow and throughout the weekend.

I'm a bit exhausted, as I went to work at 8am Friday morning, and I will probably be at work until mid-afternoon Saturday, but it's all worth it. I was a part of making history tonight. It's not every day that a person can say that.

Go books!

Goodnight, Gracie, and Goodbye

My precious Gracie kitty passed away this morning. She died in my arms. I loved Gracie dearly...I still do and will forever.

It had been a terrible past 10 days for her. She had a host of compounding health issues during this time with a very grim prognosis and a painful future. So, while I am grieved beyond anything I can truly relate, I also am choosing to actively remember all the gifts she gave me in the 7 years I called her mine.

Gracie taught me love and patience.
Gracie listened to me when I talked, and talked to me in return.
Gracie reminded me that keeping the apartment clean is important (especially the litter box).
Gracie showed me the excitement of a great catnip toy, the pleasure of a good belly rub, and the bliss of a kitty brushing.
Gracie knew that a comfy place to nap is a top priority, and that ice cream is a delicious treat.
Gracie was a sweet, pretty, good girl, and I will miss her.

I love you, Gracie.

Gracie Very Ill--No Posts for a While

Glacier National Park---One Year Gone

It has been one year since I visited Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. The beauty I saw was overwhelming, and I remember it to this day.

I've posted the first picture above many times. It is still my favorite of any photo I've taken. The second picture is evidence of what the power of a mac can produce in conjunction with the iPhoto program. I've placed a piece of white paper to cover the my name and my friend's name, though you know 2/3 of my name already. And the 3rd pic displays the high quality of the photo reproduction. In essence, it is a photograph of a book of photographs. Enjoy. And if you don't have a mac, you're missing out on great things.

If All of the Raindrops Were Lemondrops and Gumdrops

Imagine a young woman...yes, 34 is still young!...who knows full well it has been raining and flooding every day for the past 6 weeks...and this young woman leaves the house (ok, nice 3rd floor apartment on the edge of ghetto-ville because she refuses to pay $1,800 for a one bedroom across the highway) without her simple little black umbrella.

Imagine this young lady running errands on the first dreary Monday of her vacation week. Imagine her listening to Wicked in her Honda Element's CD player as the rain falls in a torrential dance from the sky and washes up over the street curbs because the storm drains are not able to sweep it away quickly enough. Imagine her delight at knowing her seats and floors are waterproof and her 4 wheel drive will keep her safe.

Now...imagine this young woman needing to run one more errand...to the grocery store...and deciding that she is young enough and quick enough to dodge the raindrops. Now imagine the looks she received from the people huddled near the grocery store entrance when she approached them with a sopping wet head, shirt, and jeans.

And lastly...imagine her not really caring, because after all, it is her vacation, and what those huddlers haven't yet learned is that young women glow when touched by raindrops.

Red Clawed Crab Is Alive

I was adding more water to my 29-gallon aquarium a while ago when I spotted my red clawed crab perched on a bit of fake rock that juts up out of the water. This is only the second time I've seen him since I added him to the aquarium about 3 months ago.

He must spend most of his time holed up inside this particular ornament. I have a clown loach (orange and black wide stripes) who also hides in the ornament most of the time. I originally got him to help eradicate the tiny snail problem last year. He made quick work of that and now spends his days hiding or running from me.

A couple of weeks ago I lost my most favorite balloon bellied molly.

The current inhabitants of the tank include: 1 red clawed crab, 2 plecos, 1 clown loach, 2 neon tetras, 4 black skirt tetras, 2 lemon fin tetras, 2 gold micky mouse platys, and 2 balloon bellied mollies.

Aquariums reduce World Suck.

I Think I Almost Killed My Kitty

I must be the worst kitty mommy in history. Gracie has been drinking too much water lately, and using her litter box too much, which means that she needs a little bit extra insulin to help her balance things out and get her blood sugar back on track.

So last night I gave her a little bit extra. This morning I woke up around 10am (I'm on vacation), and she was acting oddly. I put down her breakfast which she ate a bit of, then I picked her up and took her into this room where I noticed she had been ill. I cleaned up that (hooray for the SpotBot), and I put her in front of the computer keyboard. She was almost totally limp, but purring and breathing fine.

Then her poor little kitty head started to move almost like she was going to have a seizure due to extreme low blood sugar. I ran to get her treats and anything I thought would have sugar in it. Within a few minutes, she was fine, and she drank some milk (has sugar) and ate more treats. I must have given her too much insulin last night, as she is a bit tired now, but otherwise behaving mostly normally. I haven't given her insulin yet today and will give her a smaller dose tonight.

My poor poor kitty.