This past Saturday was the annual Pound Puppy Rescue reunion get-together and this year it was held in Fremont, at the Niles Community Park. Robert and I kept waffling on whether or not to take Garfunkel because while he is usually good at the dog park with other dogs, he's not so good with people and even less good with rambunctious kids. Plus, since I quit working and his routine has thus been abolished, the Funk has been having a hard time. He doesn't really know what's going on or what's going to happen - am I leaving? am I staying? am I going to abandon him forever? what?!! - and, as such, his behavior of late hasn't been the best. We were still trying to decide what to do about the picnic when Robert took Garfunkel to the dog park Saturday morning. I don't want to get too specific and thus tar and feather poor Funk but let me just say that his outing didn't reassure us that he'd do too well at the PPR function. So we decided to bag it. Then, about and hour-and-a-half into the picnic, my mom called to sort of let me know what was going on (they adopted Quigley from PPR so they took him on over to the shindig to reunite with his family) and to let me know that the one guy from our litter who was supposed to show up hadn't yet done so (great). The phone called stirred up our indecisiveness and Robert and I began hemming and hawing... again... about what to do with the Funk. Ultimately, we decided to run down to the park and catch what little was left of the festivities. We did miss out on a lot of the dogs (and people) but there was still a handful of folks there when we arrived. And while Garfunkel still refused to get into the water, even as he watched other dogs frolic and be merry, I'm happy to report that the rest of his behavior was pretty darn good. (I think hitting the picnic at the end was a wise move on our part.) We didn't get to see Funk's litter mates or foster family but we did get to see Quigley's, and that was nice.
This is Quigley's mama, Gracie
Here's 2 of Quig's 3 brothers, Sammy and Charlie, Gracie and Quigley
Charlie is a big boy - he's about 1 1/2 times as long as Quig or Sammy and about 17 pounds (Quigley weighs about 11 pounds, I think). As you can see, both of Quigley's brothers are all black and Quig is the only puppy who looks like his mom. And, boy, does he! I just love his coloring, especially his little eyebrows. What a cutie. :o)
Gracie with Sammy and Charlie
Here's a 5-week-old litter that was brought to the picnic. SO. CUTE! I love the little pink paws.
I didn't really get any photos of Garfunkel at the picnic because he kept running around like a maniac but here is what he looks like as I sit and type this post:
I am old so I haven't watched the MTV Movie Awards in quite some time. However, my interest in all things gossip gives me a pretty good idea of what happens each year - usually nothing that's very interesting. But! This year, there was a sneak peek of Deathly Hallows! Yay!! I'm a geek! I'm still about 200 pages away from the end of DH and I can tell I'm sort of dragging it out because I don't really want to finish the series. 'Cause then it's done*. :o(
* As much as I love finishing a good book (or, in this case, series) and finding out how the story ends, I'm always sad that the good story is over. I hate starting new books - you just never know how good it's going to be! I'd rather stay in one that I know I'm enjoying. (Sort of perfectly exemplifies my 'no change is good change' credo, doesn't it?)
I took a few photos of the Funk yesterday (so that I could pass them along to the lovely woman who made his new name tag) and since he just looks so gosh darned handsome, I decided to post'em.
Can't make out his tag? Here it is: I was actually looking for a tag for Quigley (I wound up buying him this one from the same seller) but as soon as I saw this, I knew I had to buy it for Garfunkel. It is just TOO true. The woman was really sweet and excited that I bought the tag because no one else had yet to buy one. In fact, in perusing her shop just a minute ago, I think she's since quit making them! :o( What a bummer. Everyone who sees Funk's tag thinks it's perfect for him so I'm glad I snagged one when I had the chance!
Later in the day, Garfunkel was despondent that Robert had the nerve to leave our company and use the restroom so he did what he usually does when he's depressed - he buried his head in something. On this particular occasion it was my backpack. Garfunkel just loooooves to show us how sad his life is by burying his head - in pillows, shoes, whatever - when he's unhappy. He's so dramatic, it's hilarious.
Our good friend Christina and her husband Rob made it to CA for the holiday weekend so Robert and I were invited to a BBQ at the Trouts' on Sunday. I had two papers due on Tuesday so I spent Friday and Saturday rolling around on my office floor trying to bribe anyone and everyone to write them for me. No one went for it so I eventually hunkered down and got the papers written. (Yes, I knew about them at the beginning of the quarter. So? What's your point? Maybe I just work better under pressure, did you ever think of that?!) As such, I was able to frolic about on Sunday unfettered by obligations and it was very nice indeed. :o)
The Kidders brought a croquet set over and I think everyone but Robert, Mrs. Trout and I didn't play. I wasn't really feeling it, to be honest, and I didn't really follow the rules, even though they were explained 256 times. (Though, to be fair, I wasn't really paying attention any of those times. I'm rude, not dumb.) From what I gathered, people enjoyed it.
The spread was huge. There were strip steaks, sausages, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, shrimp, potato and cheese casserole, pasta salad, asparagus salad with avocado, green salad (provided by us - hi yo!), strawberries and watermelon with homemade apple pie for dessert. Even I found lots to eat and you know how picky I am.
Chrissie's brother, Jim, and his girlfriend, Amber, enjoying one of the many heat lamps. They were a lifesaver! For me, anyway. I think everyone else was fine but I was cold the entire night. I'm a wuss. (And I am totally making Robert get some heat lamps when we actually have a real yard.)
Emily's mom, Emily, Robert, me, Mrs. Trout, Jim and Amber enjoying the festivities.
Every year when I see a photo of the three of us, I think "Gee, I really need to lose a few pounds before we next get together!" So does not ever happen. But I always think it!
The Trouts are big game-players, so we busted out Cranium and pitted the guys against the girls. The girls were, unfortunately, trounced the last time all of us got together so it was sweet vin-di-cay-shee-own to win this time around!!! Ha ha! Suck it, fellas.
Here Jim is trying to use Rob to act out a curtsy. The guys actually got this one. Kind of annoying.
I believe Mrs. Trout is trying to act out opening gifts here with Christina. We guessed 'wrapping gifts' so we didn't get it. 'Cause the guys are sticklers. But we didn't need any pity points! We still won! Hoo hoo!! (When it was my turn to get up and perform, I had to do it alone and I had to act out lobster, shrimp cocktail and clam strips. Clam strips!!!!! But all three were guessed correctly, though (sadly) not due to my awesome charade skills. Still, is that not impressive? We were good!)
I'm not entirely sure what Robert is doing here - he had to act out the names of three TV shows and I don't know what this corresponds to.
As per usual, we had a great time and appreciated my parents letting the Funk hang at their abode for 8 hours on their holiday... :o)
I'm so bummed!!! People in New York got to see Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart at Conan's stop at Radio City Music Hall last night. I like Chris Isaak and all but come ON!!! There's no comparison. Boo.
Oh! Entertainment Weekly has more detailed info - and a longer video - on their site. Check it out.
Robert and I saw Nada Surf at the Great American Music Hall (just like we did back in September 2008) last Thursday and, once again, we opted for the geezerific reserved dinner seats. Only, unlike last time when we were one of about 6 people total in the reserved seats, this year the place was packed! We were squished in and seated next to each other like sardines, and then people decided it would be awesome to come stand right behind the seated people so we were trapped on all sides. The pros definitely still outweighed the cons (a seat, a meal [petrified as it may be - this year Robert and I both picked the pork chop and holy bejesus was it overcooked! It was like eating a shoe, I'm not kidding. I could barely choke mine down, so we splurged and ordered a Ghirardelli brownie sundae to follow it up. That was nice!], something to do between acts and a super-close restroom is still A-OK in my book) but I wouldn't have minded a wee bit more space so that I didn't emerge from the venue a hunchback. But, you take what you get, right?
We were seated directly above the band (again) and there was only one opening act (Telekinesis) so things were good. The BEST part was that former chimney/current bassist Daniel Lorca must have given up smoking because he lit nary a cigarette the entire set. It. Was. Fantastic! I was dreading coming home with the inevitable sinus issues that follow Nada Surf concerts in teeny, tiny venues but this time I lucked out. (I was so happy I didn't mention it throughout the night, just in case doing so might jinx me. But as soon as the last song ended, Robert and I turned to each other and went "He must've quit smoking!" We were excited. I'm sorry we're sad.)
We were so directly above the band, in fact, that I could read the set lists for both Telekinesis and Nada Surf. I loooooved knowing how many songs I had to sit through before the opening band went away!!! Fabulous.
The crowd was definitely a mix of older and younger folk so Robert and I didn't feel too, too old this time around. (Plus, sitting so close to the band you can really see how old they look. Kind of a bummer.) But both Robert's and my (and the band - the lead singer chatted the guy up at one point) was this guy:
Who looked like this: And danced and sang during every single song EXACTLY as you'd imagine he would. Except during the Spanish song. But that was pretty much a bathroom/beer run song for the entire audience.
Anyhoo, it was a great show, great venue and probably the last concert we'll partake of for a while. Stupid no job.
I know, I know, I know, I know - I said I was going to post more often and then promptly ditched the blog. But it's not true! I was waiting for something in particular to happen before posting next and just today it happened. And just what is this fabulous thing, you ask?! Well, a-ha updated their site with reviews and photos of the concert Robert and I saw on the 16th. I KNOW! It's almost too awesome for words.
Now, I was a barely casual fan of a-ha going into the concert; I only knew about 5 of their songs off the top of my head. But, after seeing them in concert I am officially goo goo for a-ha. Those of you that have talked to me already know that it's true. They're just so good! And soooo maligned as a One Hit Wonder!!!!!! It really frosts my cookies. In fact, just to rub salt in the wound, I happened to be watching VH1 Classic's '100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s' in the hotel room before heading out to the concert and who should appear at #3 but a-ha and "Take on Me"! The nerve!!!! Now, while part of me was at least happy that they were in the top 5 (if you're going to misrepresent the band with the OHW label they should at LEAST be one of the best ones of all time, right?) the other part of me wanted - and still wants! - some clarification on just what criteria VH1 Classic is using to determine who is a OHW. Because, as I see it, a group that has two Top 20 singles ("Take on Me" and "The Sun Always Shines on TV") as well as the privilege of performing one of the James Bond themes ("The Living Daylights." Okay, so they wrote for one of the Timothy Dalton 007 films - it's not their fault nobody liked the D-man!) is NOT a OHW. "Oh," you say, "VH1C probably is only counting songs that made it into the Top 10 on the Billboard charts." Wrong! Midnight Oil is in the list and their supposed OHW ("Beds Are Burning") only made it to #17! So just what DOES make someone a One Hit Wonder, VH1 Classics?! 'Cause I need to see some continuity here. Hmpf.Needless to say, I was all worked up before heading to the Club Nokia to see the band. And can I just point out (again) that both L.A. shows were sold out? Granted, it wasn't the world's largest venue - it seated about 2,500 - but still! Both shows! SOLD OUT! Because there are some good folk out there who appreciate severely under-appreciated and fabulous music. (Hey - it's pretty much just America that lost interest in a-ha. They're still super huge in Europe. And pretty much everywhere else [especially South America]. I know what you're thinking but no - they're not David Hasselhoff. They're popular and critically acclaimed elsewhere. Sheesh.)
(photos: a photo of the blasphemous segment on VH1C; Robert reading while I watch 4 hours of OHWs)
And it's not just me; Robert, who didn't really know any songs going into the show (except for the ones I made him listen to while driving down I5...) also agreed that it was a great show and that he was surprised at how much he now likes a-ha. I have converted him! Even though he thinks it's annoying Morten is so darn dreamy. (I think the part of the concert Robert liked best was seeing that Morten is [sadly] thinning a bit up top. It's true. Don't get me wrong - he's still hunky (he seems to get better with age, too, oddly enough) but he is losing a bit o' hair at the back. I was a wee bit bummed.) We didn't even have very good seats but with the way the venue was set-up, we still wound up with a pretty good view of the stage. I was a little disappointed with the crowd's level of participation (I was totally the dork waving and clapping and do whatever I was asked. And not just for the next eight-count, either, other loser-y audience people!) and with the fact that the band didn't do a ton to denote that it was their last-ever show in the U.S. but otherwise it was a fantastic show. They didn't even have an opening act - it's like the concert was made just for me! *sigh* I am having a-ha withdrawal. :o( Be sad for me.
If you are interested (and, really, after my rousing endorsement, how could you not be?!), HERE is the link to a bunch of other links for articles, reviews, etc., for all of a-ha's North American dates.
And here are a couple of fan videos from the show:
(Ol' Morty can still hit the high notes - whew! I'd seen some clips of the tour on YouTube and he sounded good but you never know... Back in the day, I went to an 'N Sync concert and JC Chasez could most definitely not hit his high notes. The show was one fontrum moment after another. So glad this was not the case with Morten!)
(The little montage they showed before the first encore.)
And since you can never have enough a-ha, HERE is the link to their Flickr page May 16th concert set of photos.
Robert and I heading into Club Nokia. Don't we (and by "we" I mean Robert, myself and my 4 extra chins) look excited?!
Me wearing my super cool a-ha shirt on the journey home. Robert wore his Nada Surf shirt so we looked like a matching pair... of dorks.
Bye bye, a-ha. I will miss you. But I'm glad I got to see you.
If you buy a pane of these adorable stamps, you'll be helping to feed a shelter animal. And your mail will never have looked better!
You can buy these silicone paw measuring spoons for just $12.95 and help 14 animals have another meal. If you're not into cooking, you can peruse The Animal Rescue Site's store and find something else that will both tickle your fancy and help shelter animals. It's a win-win!
You know you want to! I've had the stamp site bookmarked for a while to remind myself to post about it and when I saw a separate post on the measuring spoons, I took it as a sign to get off my butt and do it. You know how I loves me the puppies...
Indeed I am. I know, it has been many moons since I last posted but there are two perfectly reasonable explanations for that: (1) I have been busy, busy, busy with school and my mother; and (2) when I don't spend 8 hours chained to a desk, I find that I don't wander over to my computer super often. It's not just you that I've neglected - I'm so behind in checking what's new on all of my regular sites that I'm starting to feel a little panicky! So, I decided, now that I have a few minutes of free time, to take things one at a time and see how far I get. Here we go.
I totally blew it and failed to post the recap of the second-to-last and the final episodes of The Amazing Race. Rather than take up oodles of space with both of those, I will direct you to their links --> here's the link to the former recap, here's the link to the latter. I myself have not even read the recaps yet so I don't really have anything to offer you in the way of witty commentary. I can only say that I am most grieved the cowboys weren't able to pull it out in the end (JorDaniel were SUCH douches in the final episodes that I want to punch them in their smug little faces) but I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo relieved that Caite did not win. They would have been able to hear my brain explode in Space had she done so. I hate her with the fire of a thousand suns. Truly. I do.
Last Monday (the 3rd) was my last day of work but I had a midterm the following day so I didn't spend a lot of time dancing for joy at my break from The Bay. (Let me pause here and thank all of you that shared your thoughts and well wishes with me on my new life direction. :o) It really was so nice to get some encouragement in my hair-brained idea.) I didn't tell any of my coworkers that I was leaving until the day that I left - mostly because it all went down so quickly but also because I just didn't want to deal with however many days of questions, questions, questions. You won't believe me but I don't actually like being the center of attention; I like to fade into the background. I was surprised to discover that a handful of my coworkers seemed mildly offended that I hadn't given them an earlier heads-up. I think they took it as a "I don't like you enough to say goodbye to you" as opposed to the "I like you just fine - I just don't want deal with the Spanish Inquisition you are bound to attack me with the moment you hear I'm leaving" it actually was. (And I wasn't wrong in assuming this would be the case; I am not exaggerating when I say that less than 60 seconds after the 'Lauren is leaving' e-mail went out, one of the counselors ran down the hall to my area to ask me what was going on. Less than a minute. I kid you not.) I did agree to a little cake-filled send-off where some people wished me well, some people expressed their envy (loudly) of my Bay break and the ones I really liked were genuinely sad to see me go. It was very strange packing up and heading out but I honestly didn't have a ton of time to dwell on it because...
As I mentioned, I had a midterm the following day. A midterm I, of course, was ill prepared to take so spent the rest of Monday night and Tuesday morning cramming. I wound up doing just fine on the exam (I got it back Tuesday and I got an A so yay!) but I didn't really get any reprieve after it was done because a project... that I had not yet started... was due the following Tuesday (i.e. two days ago). I spent Wednesday filling out applications (for programs and internships) and Thursday doing a few pressing house chores. Friday my mom went in for shoulder surgery so I spent the day watching the dogs and Saturday I had a class at the Humane Society Silicon Valley in the afternoon. (My mom spent an unexpected extra day at the hospital on Saturday so I watched the dogs that day, too.) Sunday was Mother's Day so I, of course, spent the day with my mom, vegging on the couch and helping her out with some post-surgery tasks. Then I had Monday to finish up my project and *poof* it was Tuesday and time for class again. A week had gone by since my last day of work and I barely noticed!
Now it is Thursday and here I am. So there you go. I actually have a few things still on my plate that will keep me busy well into next week but I will make a concerted effort to get on the computer and update! I know I owe a few of you some e-mails, too, so I will get on those next. Thanks again for all the kind words! :o)
This is Quigley's mama, Gracie
Here's 2 of Quig's 3 brothers, Sammy and Charlie, Gracie and Quigley
Gracie with Sammy and Charlie
Here's a 5-week-old litter that was brought to the picnic. SO. CUTE! I love the little pink paws.
