Day 3 - Peanut Buttered Roast Squid

On Tuesday we had the first of our exciting adventures somewhat outside of Seoul. Cindy drove us south to the Korean Folk Village. The KFV was interesting. I was looking forward to seeing some open, green space, but the paths were all well swept earth. In fact, we were able to observe the sweeping process. The sweeper was not willing to pose for photos. While exploring and learning about the past of Korea we made a few discoveries.

1. Korean children travel in large, color coded packs and have a cry remarkably like, "Hello, hello, hello, hi, how are you, hello, hi." Occasionally this is punctuated with a cheerful, "F**k you," as they practice new words.

2. These same children are very bold about crossing rivers on stepping stones, but far more timid about crossing on narrow wooden bridges. If an adult American crosses the narrow wooden bridge the children will fall back in awe and applaud. This actually only happens if the adult American is female.


3. Mushroom pancakes are actually omelets and are very good.

4. Sausage soup contains tasty bits that are best left unidentified just in case they are entrails.

5. Wicker brides were an important part of a Korean man's life and as such could not be passed on to future generations.

6. The best unexpected flavor ever is peanut buttered roast squid. It is crisp and sweet and buttery and chewy and comes out of a cool little machine and you can choose body meat or leg meat and ... They eat it at the movies here instead of popcorn. Seriously. It really is good.

Sadly, our afternoon did not fare nearly so well. We planned on heading to Namdaemun market, but our directions lead us instead to Dogdaemun market. Not so big a deal. We were also short on cash so were hoping to find a money exchange or one of the many ATMs that took American cards (so we were told). We had neglected to bring our passports, so the money exchange didn't happen. We tried 2 ATMs in Dogdaemun and both of us were informed by both of them that our cards no longer worked. Frustrated and huffy, we walked through the wholesale toy market to calm down before heading home. The wholesale toy market was cool. Tony especially liked the Bricks (pirated legos).

On the way home we messed up one subway transfer, but caught it before we were carried too far out of our way. We also tried 2 more ATMs with no results. This was getting to be a problem as we needed 57000 wan each for today's trip to Panmujong. Cash. Not $57 American (the rough equivalent). Ian came to our rescue and Cindy played banker for us as well. As long as we don't go too crazy we should be fine. Just be warned if you're ever in Korea: American debit cards work in the ATM machines, with plain old American ATM cards you're SOL.

We came home to a magnificent pasta dinner courtesy of Cindy. This morning we had to get up and on the subway early to catch our tour. More on that tomorrow.

Korea - Day 2 - Shop smart. Shop EMart.

Took a trip with aunt Cindy to the grocery store in the morning. Yes, we came halfway around the world to partake in Grocery shopping. Honestly. We both enjoy experiencing the differences culture through the everyday experiences of that culture.

But first we went to a small, local (not 50 feet from the apartment), proper market to get some fish and veggies. Not much different from what a fish and produce market set up in a parking garage might be here. A wide variety of fish. And eel, squid, skatefish and other unusual varieties.

When I lived here 20 years ago, the idea of a supermarket was pretty... foreign. You bought your food at the street markets or from the small (like 7-11 size small) local grocers. Now, supermarkets, department stores, and supercenters ala Walmart (and, FYI, they have a Walmart here) are everywhere. One of the more prominent stores, EMart, was our destination.

The EMart was four stories. Each floor carried different items. Houswares on 1. Clothes on 2. Health and beauty on 3. And Grocery on 4. Or something like that. We skipped past 1 and 2.

At first glance, it wasn't that different. Lighting felt a little...whiter. Ailes weren't as tall. Little things. Had a good time looking at all the peculiar products and packaging. Even more intriguing was noticing the ratios of what was available. For example, Canned Vegitables. Cindy was happily surprised to find canned vegetables other than corn. This was the first time they had canned peas and baked beans. A quarter of an aisle of dried squid. Two aisles of rice. And a 2 foot by 2 foot selection of canned vegetables.

Just like home, they have free samples on the ends of aisles. Just like home, most are handed out by quiet, pleasent older women. And then there's the meat and store prepared foods section. They bring the old school open outdoor market feeling indoors - shooting, I assume, "I've got some really good beef over here" and "Kimchee. I'm makin' Kimchee. Come get your Kimchee", loud enough to be heard throught most of the store. And theres several of them, all in the same corner. All trying to out-carnival-barker one another.

Oh, and I don't recommend acorn gelatin. Can't really say it's bad, because it's mostly flavorless. Jello (fine, gelatin) should have some flavor. Without it, it's kinda gross.

Curious foods purchased, sampled and, for your vicarious pleasure, reviewed:

Emotion Chocolates: Standard individually wrapped milk chocolate wafers. With pop rocks mixed in. Brilliant.

Milkus: "New feeling of soda beverage," says the tagline. There were a few varieties of Milkus in the soda aisle. All looked a bit like really watered down milk. Bought the one that, from it's package coloring, suggested it was citrus flavor. I was right. Tasted like the remenants of an ice cream float made with Squirt, but still fizzy and crisp. Pretty good.

Little pink box of cookies with chocolate centers. Predictable. No big.

Sansachus: Sweet, rose flavored wine. "Sansa is a fruit bearing, broad leafed, plant belonging to the rose species. Red and a pleasant scent. Good for treating weak stomachs, backaches, and cut (sic)" Very cheap. Very good. Will be bringing some home.

Sweet Dew Tea: A green tea with an aromatic, sweet finish. Even
I liked it.

A note on the later two. They are considered "Well Being" or as the Koreans pronounce, "well bing". This is the trendy health kick buzz word floating around Korea right now. Pretty much every Korean food ends up being considered well bing, and foreign foods (ei, western culture foods) seem suspiciously to lack this very important status.

Returned to Iteawon in the afternoon. Traveled down the allyway to where I used to live. Things have really changed. There are bulidings where streets used to be and streets where building used to be. What were once quiet streets lined with residences have become cluttered streets lines with mom and pop greasy spoons (chopsticks), cleaners, and the like. Dissapointing.
Our apartment complex was the tall, cream colored buliding in the background, right of center.


Made a few small gift purchases, picked up my pimpin' purple housecoat, and returned home.

And just for kicks, I've started taking pictures of fun, mangled english. Enjoy.

Korea - Day 1 Kimchee and Crowds

Sundays are busy days in Seoul. Most Koreans work 6 days a week and so Sundays are the day to relax. For us it was time to explore with Cindy, Jeff, Ian and Yugi and learn the subway system. We started with a walk through the neighborhood to the subway staton. Everything that is needed can be reached easily by walking, including Steve's vet. (Steve is Ian and Yugi's little terrier cross. He's a cutie!) We enjoyed kimchee mondu, which is basically a kimchee (spicy cabbage) potsticker.

The subway system here is very similar to the Tube in London. It's a little unnerving seeing the signs in a different alphabet, but there are Roman characters beneath so I've no need to panic. We were very fortunate and were able to find seats on both trains to Insadong. Insadong is an artisan/art market street. Ian used to work near it. On the way from the subway station to Insadong we stopped in the park where Korean independence from Japan was declared. Yugi, a lifelong resident of Seoul, had never been there before - "too many old people". I loved Insadong. It was full of pottery and beautifully carved ink stones and brushes. Plus, it has The Old Tea Shop. In the travel guides The Old Tea Shop is said to be home to free flying birds, a chameleon and a resident monkey. Only the finches were present when we stopped in, but they were very beautiful to see and hear. I had five senses tea, a bright pink, chilled concoction that did have elements of sweet, salty, sour and bitter. I must still be sleepy because I can't remember the fifth. Tony had cinnamon punch, which he quite enjoyed. None of us had bird poop in our tea which we all quite enjoyed.

Cindy and Jeff took a bus home and Ian, Yugi, Tony and I grabbed a cab to Itaewon. Itaewon is close to the U.S. military base, so it's "America Town". Tony lived close to Itaewon when he was ten. Things have changed since Tony was ten. At one point he asked Ian, "So, how much farther to Itaewon?" Ian replied, "We've been there for the past two blocks." One thing that has only chaged slightly is the bookstore that Tony visited as a kid. We found it in a new building a few yards from where it had originally been. With Yugi's help, Tony not only confirmed that it was the same bookstore, but that he remembered the owner, Mr. Chu. I took a picture of Tony and Mr. Chu and we got to meet Mr. Chu's daughter, Michelle, who teaches piano lessons. I think it turned Tony's day around to know that something hadn't changed (not much anyway).

We stopped for a snack at Gecko's Garden in Itaewon. While there we ran into Ian's friend William. William is from Ireland and he also teaches English. Interestingly, all of the expatriate English teachers we have met so far are men and all of them are dating (or in Ian's case married to) Korean women. We decided to take the bus home after a good time hanging out with William and his girlfriend.

The subway may be slow, but it is much simpler than the bus system. To start with, it stops where it is supposed to. Both Ian and Yugi asked the busdriver if he stopped at Sunae station. He said yes both times and then drove well past Sunae. So, we had to catch a cab to get the rest of the way home. We did make it home eventually and had a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. Jet lag hasn't been too bad for us. Tony crashed at about eleven, but he was up this morning at four. I was up at five. According to Cindy and Ian, this is very normal. It was odd that I slept through until seven-thirty yesterday.

Ian and Jeff have already left for work. Cindy and Yugi don't work until this afternoon. Today Yugi is going to give us insider tips on where to go and we'll probably explore the neighborhood and maybe some other markets. Hopefully we'll go on a tour of the demilitarized zone tomorrow.

Korea - Day 1/2

We have arrived.

It is Sunday morning here, and we are about to venture out on our first mini-adventure in Seoul - a trip to Insa-Dong (arts/crafts area) and Iteawon (sort of an Americanized version of Korea in Korea - it's near the army base, and where I lived so many years ago.

The flight was smooth and not as trudgerous as we'd expect for its length. We arrived last night at 8-ish local time, talked some and slept like fat babies.

More later.

Anticipation

Just a few more days until we leave for Korea! This time next week we will be there! It's going to be great just to get out of South Bend for a while, but even better to leave the entire continent behind! I dragged our spring clothes out of the basement and we've dusted the cobwebs off of our suitcases. Our flight leaves from O'Hare on Friday afternoon. The plan is to have my car packed and ready to go on Wednesday night. That way we can leave as soon as I'm done with work on Thursday. We'll stay Thursday night at my parents' in Illinois and be off on Friday. Soooooo exciting!! I can't wait to go to the tea room with the chameleon and monkey and birds. Real bibimbop! Cherry blossoms! Hopefully no snow!

Pudding Pops and Brussel Sprouts: a Cullinary Review

Of late I've been bemoaning the abscence of Pudding Pops. Ah Pudding Pops, those creamy frozen treats from our youth and the reference point of every bad Cosby impression. I find it dissapointing that such a unique, brand backed product would shrivel up an dissapear from the market. Everytime we went to the store, every grocery store, I'd search up and down the frozen food aisle. But to no availe. Not even a no-name brand knock-off.

Until last week.

What glorious sight should i see in my grocers freezer but the familiar "Jello Pudding Pops" logo. Now produced not under their own power, but co-branded under the "Popsicle" brand. Popsicle(TM) is one of those brandless brands. They make all those frozen ice-creamy things sold by ice cream trucks. Items that you probably think of as being beholden to no one brand. Like Fudgesicle(TM) and Cremesicle(TM).

Sadly, whether it be me or the recipe, I find the new pudding pops less satisfactory. The shape has changed. Once a flat wedge with rounded top, it is now cyclindrical in shape. i prefered the former. It allowed these wonderful sheets of ice to develop around the pop - sliding off as you licked. Loved that.

They also seem to be softer, not as initially sturdy (though maybe this is a difference in freezer settings).

And finally, the consistance is a little chalky. Especially on the vanilla. The chocolate is creamier, but Amy notes it tastes pretty much like a fudgsicle (which isn't really a bad thing, in my book ).

Onthe topic of more helathy, but still not entirely satisfying food, I made brussel sprouts for Easter Dinner. This was, surprisingly, the first stime either Amy or myself have had brussel sprouts. What we learned from this cullinary expedition into the unknown is that, regardless what the recipe may say, brussel sprouts do not cook well by sauteing. Flavor: not bad. Texture: not even resembling cooked. Next time, I'm a-broilin'

But the roasted pear and walnut salad, carrot and apricot julliene, and cherry pecan stuffed pork loin were mighty tasty indeed.

Spring?

I saw a robin last week.

Two crocuses have popped up in our backyard.

It's spitting snow.

I'm so confused, but hopeful.

Perfunctory

Perfunctory was the favorite word of my high school chemistry teacher. If you have memories of the word being joyfully called out in regards to a series of test results, then you probably attended Batavia High School. Sadly, my voice never had the timbre to utter it with the proper mocking joy. I'd forgotten about perfunctory until this evening. Tony decided that since we have a membership to Netflix we can happily experiment with movies we'd never have payed to see in the theater. We've had Daredevil hanging around for about 6 weeks. This afternoon we decided that it was time to watch it. We had pizza. We were feeling lazy. Some days anything looks good compared to doing the dishes. My first thought was, "All style, no substance." Granted this was because one of the first bits of voiceover was, "My other senses developed a sort of radar sense." My writing is clumsy at times, but nobody pays me. Plus it was primarily hearing that took over and wouldn't that technically be sonar? I know, comic book physics doesn't equal real world physics. Anyway, as Tony was looking up mediocre in the thesaurus perfunctory popped into my head. It is the perfect adjective in this situation (in hindsight it may have also been appropriate to high school chemistry).

Perfunctory - 1. performed merely as a routine duty: hasty and superficial 2. lacking interest or enthusiasm; apathetic.

Thank you Webster's.

Death and Taxes

I learned (or maybe that's relearned) a good lesson this week: the wisdom of Neil Gaiman is not for everyone.

Once a month the clinic has a staff meeting. We rotate through giving inspirational quotes known as "Thought of the Day". Wednesday was my turn. Now I don't find myself inspired by tales of misplaced cheese (though I did read it for a previous meeting - swearing the entire time) or even fish being flung through the air. These type of "inspirations" usually leave me wondering what someone is trying to sell me or turn me into. That being the case, I reached for my own favorite bit of inspiration and appropriated it from The Sandman. Specifically the story arc "Brief Lives" and the comic summarized as, "The dogs of art, The people who remember Atlantis, concerning mammoths and falling walls, truth or consequences and other places, when I dream i sometimes remember how to fly, ancestral voices prophesying, bored, she makes litttle frogs, who controls transportation?" Anyhow, for those of you who don't know the reference, we meet 15000 year-old Bernie Capax who gets squished by a wall and brags to Death, "I mean I got what, fifteen-thousand years. That's pretty good, isn't it? I lived a pretty long time." Death responds, "You lived what anybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more. No less." I squished around a bit for brevity, but I love that, "You get whay anybody gets ... a lifetime. No more. No less." It sends shivers up my spine and my inner voice always adds on something like, "... to bring joy or pain, peace or sorrow," or, "... so make it shine." Unfortunately, I must not have conveyed it well because there was just silence after I finished. Lesson for me: Even in a place where death happens regularly, don't bring it to the meeting table.

On a brighter note our taxes are done! Such a relief. Now all we have to do is not spend our entire refund in Korea. I think we'll be safe on that count.

Bring joy and make it shine :)

Snow

One of the greatest feelings in the world is sneaking a snowball into the freezer and pelting your unsuspecting spouse.

Really.

I recommend this to anyone who has become heartily sick of the snow that continues to fall. I especially recommend this to anyone who finds herself daydreaming about catching innocent, unsuspecting aquaintances with a snowball to the face or back. Yeah, that would be me. Apologies in advance if you cross my path in the next few days. I really want to hit someone with a snowball.

It's all in good fun, like when Colfax bites the laundry I'm folding. I just want to play in this overwhelming abundance of whiteness we've been gifted with.

I won't mind too much if you throw a snowball back at me.

I'm off to make angels now.

We've got Seoul.

The tickets are purchased. So it's official.

April 8th we leave for a week's vacation in Seoul, Korea.

This will be the first time Amy has been to Asia, my second (I lived in Seoul when I was 10 and my step-father was stationed on Yongsan Army base).

It's going to be interesting seeing how much things have changed in 20 years - my understanding is that it has become very westernized. We shall see.

Why Korea? Why now? It's all made possible by convenience of family. I've got family living there (my uncle is an engineer for an auto manufacturer that will remain nameless because, frankly, I forget exactly what he does. But whatever it is he does, it must be important, because they kept shipping him over there for weeks at a time for business trips. Finally, they just bit the bullet and moved.) So since they are there already, we get to wack a bunch of moles with one mallet. Amy gets a new continent knocked off her world travel list, I get to see Korea again, we ge to visit family, and all without having to pay for a place to stay. And with my good fortune on expedia.com, our trip will cost less than if we had, say, flown to Disneyland for a weeks stay.

And now Amy can get off my case about being blog delinquent.

-tp

Like a Lion

A huge, white lion with a roar strong enough to measure in miles per hour, with a mane of frost and a tail of ice, March has entered in. It's reminding us that sunshine does not mean spring and that longer days do not mean a thaw. In fact, we could be up to our knees in snow until Beltane, or at least April Fools Day.

Sadly, I came home at lunch to a frantic pair of doves. February and November are usually rather mellow, even if they don't want to interact with us. They were both bouncing around the cage, eyeing everything in the room and giving warning/distress calls. Oddly enough, they settled when I opened the cage and pulled out the nest bowl. Inside was a partially pipped egg with a dead chick. They've laid many eggs before and none have ever come close to hatching so I just leave them in the cage until they lose interest. I actually thought that they had a pleasant alternative lifestyle. I guess I'm happy that they're fertile, in case we want baby doves someday. I wish that we could have found out with a live hatchling. Both doves seem fine tonight. They are cuddled up, waiting to be covered for the evening.

Four to six more inches of snow are expected by morning. The winds haven't died down yet. I hope that this lion turns into a lamb in a few weeks. I think I might give the doves another try with the next set of eggs and see if life will emerge.

The Sober Review

It's somewhat difficult to follow drunken Tony.

It really was a great party! Megan and Guy were the first guests to arrive. Guy set up and maintained the fire and Megan helped Tony find the recipe for Sunday breakfast. And Guy had this hat. Very few people can wear a fried egg, bacon and mushy peas on their heads without looking foolish. Thanks to Megan, Guy did a beautiful job. You can see this for yourself at toaster.albeterlli.com:85/weblog/ (I haven't figured out how to do links yet, but it's worth the typing). Jessica and Anthony arrived from Kentucky next. This set up the dynamic of veterinarians and their non-vet partners quite nicely. Megan is in a lab animal residency/PhD program and Jessica will be finishing her PhD and starting a pathology residency this fall. Guy also has a Masters. Lots of education floating around the room.

I don't remember the order of everyone else's arrival (sorry), but at 7:30 the party was officially kicked off by throwing a wooden dragon head in the fire. We figure that about 20 people made it to the party including Carrie and James from Chicago, Bridgitt from Lansing, Jen from Lima, David, Karen, Brooke, Katie, Ann and Bill from RAH, Brian, Darrin, Jessica, Ken, Chris, Corrie, Greg (if I'm forgetting anyone please forgive me). A lot of people for our little house.

There was a lot of food, too. I made mushroom stuffed mushrooms, black forest icebox cookies, miscellaneous premade treats and Aztec Elixer Haute Chocolate from Vosges. Tony made tortilla chips, coconut-crab treats and blueberyy/raspberry pecan french toast for breakfast on Sunday. Jessica brought lovely brownies. Chris brought a tex/mex dip. Ann brought Key Lime pie and Bill made spicy chex mix. Guy brought a trunk load of wood to feed our fire. Mmmmm, wood.

There were also a lot of drinks. We'd stocked up on some basics (mmmmmm, Caramel Temptation), but may other lovely beverages were brought along. Anthony made everyone B-52s, Tony made his signature Pink Squirrels. Katie created a lovely treat that she called a Caramel Pajama (I don't remember what 's in it now except for the Caramel Temptation - mmmm),

Surprisingly, not many games were played. A large part of the evening was spent chatting. To be fair, Darrin and Brian did beat Brooke and Katie at eucher with our scary palying cards. I guess that you could call "guess what stage of drunkeness Tony's at " a game, too. He happily announced about 11:30 that he was almost at Stage 6 ("When I talk about my sex life"). Shortly after that people started leaving. Hmmm ... As the evening continued we did break out the PS2 for some rousing rounds of Karaoke Revolution. Most of the remaining guests sang at least once. Carrie is the reigning champion of "One Week". David wins for best performance and Guy without a doubt was the most enthusiastic. I will always enjoy the memory of Guy and Tony singing "You're The One that I Want". There was much laughter until the remaining 8 of us (Guy, Megan, Carrie, James, Anthony, Jessica, Tony and me) straggled our way to bed at 3:30.

I woke up at 9:30 to the happy voices of Tony, Jess, Megan and Anthony. Tony got breakfast started and we enjoyed the special french toast and bacon (the house still smells a little bacony). Sadly, the snow and promised winter mix meant that everyone had to leave early. Jessica and Anthony stayed alittle later to chat, but Kentucky is a long way away. Thus eneded the magnificent Pajama Party of 2005. Those of you who couldn't make it did miss out, but we'll invite you next year.

Guy left his hat behind. I mailed it to him yesterday.
James, I hope that the final went well.

Pajama Party!

For all those how missed it - you missed out!

Those of you who came but are already gone - thanks! but you missed out!

The remaining partiers (at 2:22 AM) are staying the night, and we've been karaoke-ing for...about two hours. This is the joy/curse of being the last dozen or so at the party... when the crowd things, we sp;cethings up with wacky fun.

We have leanred that Guy likes to sing, and we like bearing witness to Guy singing, but not necessarily for the fine quality of his musical stylings. (luv you, guy, but stick to our day job). At least he gets all the words right (which i seem incapble of).

Photots will follow tomorrow (if I get around to it) sharing all the pictorial fun i had the drunnken snese tio capture (which, sadly, isn't enough.)

No apologies forpoor typing, as I'm drunk..

Oh, and maybe later I'll blog about why I've been so abssent from the blog this last week plus. I'd planned on blogin the events of the approaching party, but the last week has kicked my ass. (i really needed a good PJ party.)

-tony

Two More Days

Technically, a few hours less, but the Pajama (and sweats and scrubs) Party is almost here! WooHoo!!! Tomorrow night we're going to the Addies, the local celebration of advertising excellence. So, Friday night we get to be dressy and formal and on Saturday it's all about being comfortable. I've never been to the Addies before. I'm very excited about this whole process of being respectable and presentable and supportive in public. I suspect that this means no talking about scars or prescrotal urethrostomies. I wonder if axolotls are appropriate conversation?

Axolotls are these really amazing little Mexican salamanders. They are actually only from one particular lake in Mexico. They are neotenic so they never actually leave the water and retain these beautifully feathery gills. They seem to be appearing in my journals more frequently. There is a breeding colony at Indiana University. How cool is that? One place on the planet that breeds in captivity critters that are only from one very specific place on the planet! And they're really, really cute little critters. One of my mentors in vet school had one and he was just adorable. Axolotls should be appropriate conversation anywhere.

Somewhere, Mom is thinking that she really should not have bothered with the etiquette classes when I was in junior high.

Axolotls, pajamas, friends - life is good.

Jammies!

Tony was going to do this, but he's slacking on blog duty ...

This weekend is our annual pajama party! We love pajamas, many of our bestest friends live far away and sleep over anyhow, so we decided to open the house and couches to all of our friends near and far. However, they have to wear pajamas. The house is still messy, but we have purchased snacks and "adult beverages". Tony has a brand new set of pajamas and I'm just waiting for mine to arrive (not that the footies in the picture aren't cute and comfy). Even better, we are going to be joined by many of our out-of-town friends: Megan and Guy, Jess and her sweetie Anthony, Carrie and James and the lovely duo of Bridgitt and Jen who have chosen to leave their husbands behind. Hopefully the in town people will all choose to be part of the fun!

OK Tony, time to quit slacking.

Scars

After I finished cyberwhining last night I kept thinking about scars and took a scar inventory. Strictly physical scars, mind you. I don't have a problem with people who choose to reduce or fade their scars, but I think that the folks at Abreva may be cheating people out of some fond memories. So, chronologically (as best as I can remember): 1. I have a smallpox vaccine scar on my left shoulder. When I was a child I spent 2 hours a day at the pool in the summer. The scar would not tan, so I would have a bright starburst area against my skin. I thought that this was pretty cool. 2. I got my ears pierced when I was in the first grade. One day while I was wearing very thick, heart-shaped studs my friend Jeff gave me a hug. The back of the right stud got caught in his sweater and the stud lodged in the hole in my ear. Mom got it out while I was sleeping, but only my left ear was pierced until the seventh grade. My right earlobe still has a very faint, heart -shaped scar. I thought that this was rather cool, too (and still do). 3. When I was 10 or 11 I decided that my cat, Beauty, needed a bath. She handled the bathing part very well, but did not care for the blowdrying. I have a scar roughly the shape of a grain of rice on my right breast that is the result of this adventure. This was not at all cool at the time, but it's my scar and it doesn't bug Tony. 4. At about the same age I wanted to play with my friend Lynn's kitten (not my excellent college friend Lynn, a different Lynn). Lynn's German Shepherd had other ideas and so there is a very tiny scar above my upper lip. That one just hurt and scared me.
I actually have several other scars, from moles removed, various youthful tree-climbing scrapes, Dad's goose, the seagull, a guinea pig and a pair of plastic ice skates, but there really are too many to go into detail about. My point is that I wouldn't feel like myself without most of my scars. Actaully, I wonder what other scars I'll pick up as life draws a map on my skin. I don't have any on my belly, but maybe a caesarian section will change that. My feet are relatively unscathed, but I like to walk around barefoot. I'm OK with scars, internal and external. At least the wounds have healed. By the way, yesterdays scratches are already starting to close.

Ouch!

Small(ish) creatures have sharp nails. When I left for work this morning i had 3 scratches that were about 90% healed. By 12:30 I was bleeding from my right index knuckle, my left thumb region and my left index finger. Even nice macaws have sharp toenails. The bandages made it until 2:00 and then by around 3:30 I had several more scratches across the back of my left hand. Cute, bald, energetic ferrets that do not want their blood drawn also have sharp nails. Sadly, I never did get blood from the ferret and University of Tennesee probably won't want mine. Happily, I could whine and get lots of sympathy except that Tony knows it's really no big deal. He's right. I'm perversely proud of the scar I have from Dad's goose and ashamed that my only Wildlife ward scar is from a seagull. Macaw scar, now that sounds respectable!

Peanut Gallery: Commence

Though there are fewer than half a dozen people who currently know about this blog (soon to change), Comment posting is now available to all. Mock away.

Post-Holiday Feast

This weekend we trekked to Ann Arbor for our annual (post) holiday get-together with friends Megan and Guy. Because I am lazy, I cross-reference you to Megan's blog -- http://toaster.albertelli.com:85/weblog/ -- for an explaination of our happy tradition. Her blog also contains the wonderfully absurd breakfast hat. Worth a peak for your daily allowance of giggles.

At this year's weekend feast, we learned the following things:

1. Tasty ribs + tasty baked beans + tasty coleslaw + tasty orange and chocolate soufle + tasty red wine by Tony's standards, thought not anyone else's + more tasty ribs = worst morning breath ever.

2. Sushi is not for Tony. More specifically, Sushi most generally requires seaweed, which is not for Tony. Sushi makers also seem overly fond of cucumbers and avacado, which doesn't help.

3. The Internet is for Porn. (This is (I believe the title of) a song from the musical production (the name of which I believe is) "Avenue Q". Hilarious at first, this song bores right into your skull and remains hilarious, though annoyingly so.

4. Forget steamy temptresses - the real threat for a man to leave the bed of his wife is a down-filled couch.

5. Guy likes burning stuff. (In this case, not the food, but the 10 DVDs we came home with).

6. Guy won the weekend. (As he observed upon noting that he won every game we played - 3 rounds of Blokus, 1 round of Rumis, (both of which I highly recommend), and 1 round of One False Step for Mankind (which I recommend if you possess a long gaming attention span).

-Tony