Sand Sculpture: Amateur vs. Professional

Wow, and I was impressed by my friends and my ability to create a sand pyramid.  Check out the sand sculpture that recently won top honors in a contest held on the east coast.  A work in progress in this photo and still amazing.

My New Crush

Colin Ferguson of Eureka.  I Netflixed the series and watched the pilot and first episode today before work (when I should have been cleaning, of course).  

I searched him on imdb and it turns out he's only 9 months older than I.  Why is it that I think everyone close to my age looks so much older than I do?  I had this man pegged for almost 40.  I am unforgivable.  Remind me never to enter into a discussion on age with anyone whose feelings I don't want to hurt.  Well now, that sounds all wrong, too.  

I'll just shush myself now and go to sleep.  I have a busy day of vacation-prepping tomorrow!  I leave for Maine in 28 hours.  Ohhh, I can't wait!

...and I'm too old to have crushes.  But at least I don't look like I'm too old to have crushes, hah!

Three-ish Days to go

I have a lot of work to pack into Monday and Tuesday.  Then I'm off Wednesday....and I leave Thursday!

I told my nephew I would send him postcards during my trip, and he ran off to get his mom to write down their address.  Now I just have to remember to actually do it.

I super-cleaned today, and need to do some super-picking-up-and-putting-away of things as well.

So, the 4400 has been dropped by their production company.  Nuts to them.  Though I imagine it's difficult to gain a loyal following when a show only produces 13 episodes per season.  I was interested in seeing how the promicin war played out, and what new things the writers would come up with.  Though, I was getting tired of looking at character Jordan Collier's long oily hair.  And that character's viewpoint of having everyone take the promicin shot and either die of develop an ability...he says it's so the world will be a better place and no one will outnumber or 'keep down' those with abilities.  But my question is:  if everyone has an ability, even if the abilities are different for each person, then we're right back to where we are now.  The character thinks he's leveled the playing field, but all he's done is switched to a new field.  Anyway, it hardly matters now.

At work I have proclaimed that Tuesday is Funky Shoes day.  We'll see what kind of fun shoes people wear to work that day.  I think I'll wear my orange/yellow/lime green KangaRoos.  Sounds nifty, eh?

I Leave in Five Days

And just 3 days of work between now and then.

I think I have purchased almost everything I need for the trip except for stamps and a re-loadable Visa card.

I'm traveling with a friend, and we split the gas and hotel 50/50, but it's such a pain to pay cash from our kitty every time we stop for fuel, so we're each buying a $500 Visa card.  We'll be able to pay for gas at the pump, hotel, and any meals we want to share.  We both have a tendency to think we didn't pay our own share of things (awww, aren't we nice?...), so the cards will also help alleviate that.  And, it's a heckuva lot easier to carry around one card and some cash than a huge amount of cash.

Off to work I go...

I Leave in Seven Days!

Exactly one week from today I leave on my 12-day trip to Maine.  I have been anticipating this trip for over a year and am excited it is almost here.

An update regarding yesterday:  a change of plans regarding certain things career-related.  I speak with someone tomorrow instead of us trying to squeeze it in yesterday.  Great opportunity, and that's all I will say.

Fish update:  there is still ick/ich in the aquarium at work.  I think it is almost gone, as I've been treating the tank for over a week and don't want to overtax the fish with the treatment.  They seem perky and happy as always, though, so I guess they're basically ok.

It has rained here the past 3 days...not all day, just a few showers, and it's wonderful to have that rain to help ensure our water sources don't drop too low during a hot Texas summer.  I cannot believe June is 2/3 finished.  Goodness.

I am off today and have great plans of thoroughly cleaning my apartment, watching The 4400 on DVD, and looking for a jacket to take to Maine...ahhh, relaxing simplicity.

Big Interview

I have a big big store visit on Wed. which includes an interview (or two).  I didn't apply for the opening, but I was sought out.  That makes me feel special and good.  I really want the job, but didn't know it was a possibility for me until I was contacted 4 days ago.  I'm very tired...we all are...wish me luck.  

So LOUD!

My apartment building is being re-shingled, and it is incredibly loud.  I live on the 3rd floor, which is the top floor, and the entire apartment is vibrating from their hammers.  Actually, they've got to be using super-powered nail guns or boulders, actually.

I needed to sleep late, but that's not going to happen.

Geezum petes, it sounds violent!

They were working on it yesterday, removing the old shingles.  It's a fairly simple roof, so maybe they'll be done in a couple of hours.

Salieri Fishie Died on Tuesday

poor poor fishie

Pictures of New Aquarium

Above you can see my pleco, then Tchaikovsky on the left and Salieri on the right.  So cute!
This view shows most of the tank.  See the little fish in with the big boys?  The little darker one by the head of the glass seahorse is named Mart.  He is the one who liked to swim upside down in the corners for a few days, but is a scrappy fellow and is thriving now.
Behold the belching toad!  He's like the buddha of the tank.
The pleco and Salieri forage for food above.
Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, best friends forever.  See the pleco's tail?  He thinks he's hiding.

New Aquarium

When I came to my new store I knew that my fish had to come with me.  A couple days before I took over the store, I went to the pet store in the same shopping center and bought a new 29-gallon aquarium and all the supplies to start another tank.  

The initial setup of a tank can be kind of pricey, but the upkeep is very inexpensive once the tank is established.  I've found that purchasing an aquarium starter kit, which usually includes the filter system, heater (for tropical fish use), some amount of water conditioner and bacteria starter, along with samples of food, is a good way to begin.  So I selected the 29-gallon size, the same size as my tank at home, picked up 30 pounds of colored gravel, a couple ornaments, an air pump and tubing, an air stone, and went about the business of setting up the tank.

It can be a laborious process, rinsing out the tank, rinsing off the gravel thoroughly, setting in ornaments, filling it with water and ensuring the initial balance is ok, and setting up the filter and the aerator system.  

You're supposed to let the tank cycle for at least 24-48 hours before adding any fish, so I let it sit for about 4 days, then I went to get some live plants and some cheap fancy goldfish (4), so start off.  I wanted to be sure the tank was ready before transplanting my big boys from my old store.  I fully expected at least one of the tiny goldfish to die, and the smallest one actually floated belly up in the corner off and on, but persevered.  All 4 were still alive after 4 days, so this past Wednesday I took a small ice chest/cooler to go fetch my 3 big boys and my pleco and move them to their new home.  

The transfer went smoothly.  I also picked up Worf, a glass goldfish, and a large glass seahorse that were decorations in my old tank.  I promised that I would come back to clean out that tank (hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow evening), and now my big boys are comfortably residing in their roomier house.  

I'm having a problem with the light on the aquarium hood.  I've already gotten a replacement bulb from the pet store, but I'm going to go back and ask for a new electrical component.  The light worked for one day, then stopped working, and both the fish and the plants need some direct light for a few hours a day.

So now I have a fresh, new, clean tank with 7 fish and 1 pleco in my office.  As soon as I get the light situation solved, I'll take some pics and post them here.  My big boys look happy, and they don't seem to be bothering the smaller fish.  It's difficult to think that they used to be that tiny when I bought them a couple of years ago.  I understand that goldfish can live to be 20 years old or more.  That's amazing.  

My favorite part of the new aquarium is a fat plastic toad that is hooked up to an air supply, so it looks like he's belching bubbles every 10 seconds.  So cute.  And once the plants grow in, it will really be a lovely home.

My new staff is quite enthralled with the fish.

Happy happy fishies.