A Day in the Life of Our Pets: Part 2

Gus did not like that Teddy went first (see Part One).  And he definitely didn't want THE CAT [Zorro] to get any attention, so here it is.  


We don't have a consistent voice we use for Gus.  It's usually an excited boy voice.  Make up your own.  


A Day in the Life of our Pets: Gus's Story

Wake up at 6:15am.  Look at Sean.  Go back to sleep.  Sometimes sleep is more important than pets.


Wake up at 8:05am to alarm.  Ready to get up.  Sarah does not.  Need Sarah to let me out of my cabin [crate] so I can start my day.  Bark at Sarah.  She ignores me.  Bark at Sarah again.  She ignores me.  Bark at Sarah again.  She ignores me.  Alarm goes off at 8:15am.  She gets up.  


Run out of crate.  No time for pets.  Scratch at dog door.  Sarah opens dog door.  Hurl myself out of dog door.  I think a herd of wild animals came through the yard last night.  I must identify all of them by their scent. 


I smell things.  I smell more things.  Sometime when I smell things that are really good, I bark.  Most days there are lots of really good smells.  I re-smell all the good smells, and bark again.


See THE CAT jump over the fence.  Good riddance.  No more THE CAT.


Faintly hear Sarah blabbering.  Decide unimportant.  Ignore Sarah.  Go into house for breakfast.  Look for Sarah.  No Sarah.  More importantly, no breakfast.  Wish instead of blabbering, Sarah had told me it was breakfast time.  See bowl on top of fridge.  Too high to get with jumping.  Must practice more.  Drink water.


Teddy stands beside door.  He stole my spot.  Push him out of the way.  Decide door unexciting.


Sleep on couch.  Wait for sun to hit backyard. 


Once sun in backyard, go outside and sleep in sun.  Must recharge.  Beagles are solar-powered.  


Sniff things.  Bark.  Go inside.  Sleep on couch.


Sniff things.  Bark.  Go back outside.  Sleep in sun.  


Sniff things.   Bark.  Look for escape routes.  There are none.  Will check tomorrow.  Bark.  Go inside.  Sleep on couch.


Sean comes home.  He didn't pet me right away.  Barked at Sean.  Got pets.  Sean sat on couch.  Jumped in his lap.  Got pets.  Sean got out computer.  Shoved it with my feet.  Got pets.  


Sarah comes home.  Ran to edge of couch.  Jump on Sarah.  Get pets.  Sarah sits on couch.  Jumped in her lap.  Got pets.  Sarah got out computer.  Shoved it with my feet.  Got laughed at and shoved to floor.


Sarah and Sean put on running clothes.  Get really excited!  Run around their feet to encourage them to go faster.  Try to steal a sock.  No luck.  Push them to the front door.  Sean puts on harness.  Try to make him put it on wrong by moving a lot.  Doesn't work.  


Teddy gets to go out door first.  No fair.  Barked at Sarah and Sean to let them know I'm unhappy.  Teddy gets to smell things on the driveway first.  No fair.  Barked at Sarah and Sean to let them know I'm unhappy.  Teddy gets to pee in the gravel first.  No fair.  Barked at Sarah and Sean to let them know I'm unhappy.  Pee in gravel too.  


Start running.  Yay!  Keep running.  Yay!  Smell things while running.  Yay!  Wait, we're done running?  Thought we had only begun, but Sarah and Sean drag me back into house.  I wasn't done running.  


Drink water.  Get pets from Sean while Sarah showers.


Start barking for food.  Sarah ignores me.  Shove both feet into my empty bowl to indicate no food.  Sarah ignores me.  Turn bowl upside down to indicate no food.  She doesn't understand.  Bang on bowl like drum to indicate no food.  She ignores me.  Go outside in frustration.


Faintly hear Sarah blabbering.  Decide to go inside.  Food time!  Put butt on floor for food.  Run to food.  Eat food as fast as I can.  Check to see if Teddy left anything behind.  He didn't.  Drink water.


Follow Sean around kitchen.  Wait for him to leave something by the edge of the counter.  He does.  Jump once to scout it out.  Jump twice and lunge to grab it.  Run like lightening to dog door and take it outside.  Hear Sean blabbering.  Unimportant.  Butter is good.


Look adorable while Sarah and Sean eat dinner.  Even balance on back two feet.  Sarah and Sean are not properly appreciative.  Don't want pets.  Want food.


THE CAT comes in.  Wait!  I thought THE CAT knew not to come back.  Bark at THE CAT.  Will attack THE CAT if Sarah and Sean want.  Sarah picks up THE CAT.  She must not know that THE CAT is not for petting.  Bark at THE CAT.  Jump at THE CAT.  Get yelled at.  


Go outside.  Bark at neighbor's dogs.  Continue barking.  Go inside.  Check to make sure THE CAT isn't being pet.


Once no food is on counter or table, go to Gus-Chair with Gus-Blanket.  Circle around on blanket several times.  It always gets folded funny.  Make into good bed.  Lay in bed.  


Hear doorbell.  Run to door.  Bark loudly!  Turns out we don't have a doorbell.  Get into Gus-Chair with Gus-Blanket.  


Hear knock on door.  Run to door.  Bark loudly!  Turns out nobody is at the door.  Get into Gus-Chair with Gus-Blanket.  


Sleep.  Check to make sure THE CAT is not being pet.  Continue sleeping.  


Go outside on leash.   Use bathroom.  Go inside and run to my cabin [crate].  Get bedtime snacks.


Lay down.  Bark at neighbor dogs from my cabin [crate] to assert dominance.


Sleep.  Snore.

Good day!

A Day in the Life of Our Pets: Part One

As you might know, Sean and I have three fuzzy mammals (besides ourselves) running around our house.  Teddy is a five year old cocker spaniel whose favorite activities are....well, you'll see.  Gus is a four year old miniature beagle (meaning he will always look like a puppy).  He's an adorable handful.  Last, but certainly not least, is Zorro, our four year old, rather large cat.  He's a cat.  He behaves cat-like.

Obviously, we know that our animals can't talk, but that doesn't stop us from giving them voices or trying to guess what each of them is thinking on a daily basis.  

Today Teddy volunteered to share his story.

Teddy's voice is usually a cross between Dug (from Pixar's Up) and Mr. Narwhale in Elf.  

A Day In The Life of our Pets: Teddy's Story

Wake up at 4am.  Pooped in the bathroom.  Itched myself to sleep.

Woke up again at 6:15am with Sean when he went to shower.  Stared at the wall outside the bathroom.  Checked to see if I would get any dog food.  I didn't.  Went back to bed.

Woke up at 8:05am with Sarah.  Hoped she would snooze the alarm.  She did.  Woke up at 8:25am with Sarah.  Stared at her until she pet me.  

Followed Gus to the dog door.  Didn't realize he was going outside.  Didn't need to poop.  Made an abrupt U-turn, tripped Sarah.  

Followed Sarah to bathroom.  Whined when Zorro came out of the cat room.  Went into the bathroom.  Stared at wall.  Whined when Zorro came into the bathroom.  Stopped whining when he left.  Followed Sarah to the bedroom.  Followed Sarah to the bathroom.  Followed Sarah to the kitchen.  

Sat down, and got breakfast.  Checked to make sure Gus didn't leave any food behind.  He didn't.

Followed Sarah to the bedroom.  Followed Sarah to the bathroom.  Followed Sarah to the front door.  Watched her leave.  Whined.  Looked sad.

Laid on couch.  

Avoided eye-contact with Gus.  Followed rules of absolutely no touching.

Laid on tile.

Itched.

Laid on wood floor.

Itched.

Laid on couch.

Got up when Sean came home.  Wagged my tail a lot. Tried to get on couch.  Slipped.  Will try again later.

Tried to jump on couch.  Made it.  Stared at Sean.  Got pets.  Laid on couch.

Sarah came home.  Fell off couch in excitement.  Wagged my tail a lot.  Tried to get on couch.  Front legs made it, back legs didn't. Tried again.  Made it.  Stared at Sarah.  Got pets.  Laid on couch.

Got really excited because Gus was really excited.  Got excited to go outside.  Did NOT realize we were going running.  Pooped in the driveway to show displeasure.  We went running anyway.  Barked at a dog.  Have to protect the family.  There are lots of threatening dogs-dangerous dogs.  Barked at another dog.  Barked at a lizard.  Ran really fast.  Then, ran really slow.  Then, Sarah had to pull me.  Did not realize how far we were going.  To get a break, pooped again.  

Laid down on tile in house to cool my belly.  Too tired to get water.

Got up for dinner.  Ate dinner.  Checked to make sure Gus didn't leave any food behind.  He didn't.  Drank some water.  Ears got wet again.

Stood by Sean while he was cooking.  Stared at the floor.  Ate things that fell on floor.

Laid down by table.

Laid down on couch.  Gus stole my spot.  Didn't want to violate no touching rule.  Laid on floor.

Forced to go outside.  Pooped on the sidewalk.  

Got bedtime snacks.  Waited for Sean outside the bathroom.  Stared at wall.

Laid down on dog bed.  Itched.  Decided not comfortable enough.  Grabbed Sarah's clothes from closet floor.  Much better.  

Went to sleep on dog bed/ Sarah's clothes.  Snored.

Good day.

Life Lessons

1.  Do not smash your head on the dryer door.  It will make you cry.

2.  If the TSA officer asks, "Are those shoes?" don't think she is asking because she thinks they are cute [which they are] and respond, "Yes!  They're Tom's!"  She's asking because you went through the metal detector with them on and will make you go back through security.  [Also, your husband will laugh at you for months and months]

3.  When you say, "I hate getting new phones and having to get used to them" it makes you sound like an old person.  Even if they do have all sorts of new fangled buttons, commands, and make it impossible to find your text messages....

4.  If your father-in-law's motto is "the project is not complete until you bleed on it", have band-aids and first aid supplies ready when your husband works on projects.  It turns out that motto can be genetic.  [Stuff on our Etsy site, however, is guaranteed blood-free]

5.  Don't let your husband watch emotionally charged dog food/ insurance commercials on his own.  A lot of dog-cuddling will ensue.

[SIDE NOTE: Here's the top two Sean tear-inducing dog commercials in recent memory.  This excludes ALL animal shelter commercials playing songs about angels.]

1) Play.  It's Good For You.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNUdeXKd6QU&feature=relmfu
2) Travel Insurance.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk2B8988ws0

Gus cuddling post-commercial

Why I Miss Teaching 7th Grade

About a month ago I went to a local San Diego middle school and presented about my job and what I do as a biologist to seventh grade students.  A couple of weeks ago I received a large packet of handwritten thank-you's from the hundreds of the students I presented to (over the course of the entire day, mind you) in the mail.  


First, their teacher needs some serious props for organizing the whole thing and having them so prepared for my visit and taking the time to write me thank-you's afterwards (as a former teacher, I know she had to have read through ALL of them, just to make sure the content was appropriate).


Second, some, nay, make that many, of their letters needed to be shared.  I love 7th graders for their honesty (see the "funny" category),  how easily excited they are (see the "inspiring" category"), and for the random things they are curious about or want to tell you (see the "miscellaneous" category).  Most of all, I love how they remind me of how much I do love my current job, even though I really miss teaching.


The Funny
"It was cool to you that you came and wasted your time on us."
"I liked that we could walk in class and I learned many cool seal facts.  Your friend, E."
"Gracias for the awesome presentation (gracias=thank you)."  
"I hope you get to find the muscles you were looking for."
"Learning that you went to college in Texas made me interested."
"It was amazing like no lie."
"I had much more fun than usual in science."


The Inspiring
"I want to be a biologist like you."
"I very much appreciate you coming and telling us what you do in your life.  It actually made me second guess my career and become one as well!  I've never been so interested in seal in my life!"
"Thank you for coming.  You inspired me to be a marine biologist.  Now I know the difference between seals and sea lions."
"I kind of want to be like you.  It is a very interesting job and it looks like fun."
"I want to work with animals as an adult and you make that dream stronger."
"You are a big inspiration on me because when you came and started to talk to us about what you do, it gave a big impact on me.  When I get older I hope to grow up to be a marine biologist like you and study the elephant seal."
"P.S. I want to be like you when I get older."
"I loved how you seem so interested in all these types of seals.  That's really interesting how someone can love their job for not only what they do but for how you have fun."

The Don't-Fit-In-Another-Category

"I have a question: Do you speak Latin?"

"I personally liked asking questions the best because you answered a lot of the unanswered questions I had in my head."

"P.S. I'm going to SDSU too!"

"It would be cool if we went whale watching."

"Also, I was the kid who was asleep in class.  I'm sure you thought I was bored but I was not.  I was really interested in your knowledge.  I actually decided to go to sleep at 2:00am and then had to get up at 6:00am so it was my fault."

"Thank you, love you!"

The Pictures

I think the picture is of a skull.  Or a ghost.

Underneath the letter, R. wrote
"P.S. I'm from San Antonio, Texas."

Learning To Sew, Project 1

I used to know the basics of sewing with a sewing machine.  They were:

1.      Put fabric under the needle

2.      Push the foot pedal down

3.      Sew in a semi-straight direction

4.      If anything goes wrong, call Mom

These skills were used to create some real sewing gems, including a blanket made of mismatching left-over fabric, a lumpy pillow, and stunning outfits. 

An example of one of my many stunning outfits

However, I have not sewed anything in many years.  This did not seem likely to change until I received a Singer sewing machine this Christmas from my mother-in-law.  Upon learning of my gift, my mom bought me a book to teach me to sew—Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time.  The book is laid out so that you start with easy projects learning the skills you need in order to make the more complicated projects later on in the book.  In theory, I agree with this idea 100%.  In practice, however, I’ve discovered that I first have to make several boring projects before I can make fun things like throw pillows and skirts.

My new sewing machine

In Chapter 1 of the book I learned about the overwhelming number and types of tools that are used in sewing.  I bought with the items listed as essentials (such as a seam ripper, measuring tape, and a pincushion) but have not yet opted to buy the optional, suggested items (such as a cutting mat and acrylic ruler).  I learned that nice sewing scissors are expensive, which is why my sisters and I got in trouble when using them to cut construction paper, doll hair, and cardboard (although in our defense, the scissors did a really nice job on all of these).  Also, to my surprise, pin cushions are still in the shape of a tomato.  I now own a matching one to my mom.  I also picked out a blue and brown checkered flower pattern fabric for my first sewing project.

In Chapter 2 I had to learn how to turn on the machine (check—easy, peasy), thread the machine (check—been there, done that) and wind the bobbin (wait—what?).  Apparently, I had always relied on my mom to do the winding the bobbin thing, so it was a brand new adventure.  After making a huge tangled mess of thread twice, I finally successfully wound my first bobbin and was ready to move on.

In Chapter 3 I learned all about different types of fabric.  I also learned that you have to use an iron a lot in sewing—and I can now distinguish between pressing (lifting the iron up and down) and ironing (moving the iron in a side-to-side direction).  I don’t like either.  Also in Chapter 3 I was instructed to make a sampler of the different stitches my machine can do.  Realizing that my particular machine has 99 different stitches, I decided to sample a few of my personal favorites.  The first sampler had to be thrown away after it got stuck in the sewing machine, and I had to wrestle it out through pulling and hacking with scissors.  The second sampler was much smoother.

My second sampler

Finally, in Chapter 4, I was ready to start my very first sewing project as an adult (drum roll please): “Fancy napkins with mitered corners”.  Now, I know I give off the impression of being very fancy and formal, but I only use cloth napkins at nice restaurants.  Therefore, this project did not capture my imagination.  But, the author insisted that I needed to learn the skills of stitching in a straight line, mitering corners, pivoting, and edge finishing.  So, I stitched in (semi) straight lines, mitered corners, pivoted with ease, and finished the edges, and I am now the proud owner of four very fancy cloth napkins. 

The final product!

The author also assures me that I will never go back to paper napkins again, but since Sean and I rarely use napkins anyway (and when we do they are paper towels), I’m not convinced.

Next project: Picnic place mat with bias-bound edges.  

An Evening at the Opera

Last night Sarah and I went to see the Moby Dick opera at the Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego. Through a very generous donation to SDSU, Sarah was able to get us seats in the Mezzanine for just $5 a ticket. We also attended a short talk before the play about how the opera was created and some of the nuances of the music and the arias.

The speaker mentioned that, since Moby Dick takes place on a ship, all of the songs and accompaniment crest and trough like waves. I feel like this wave metaphor translates nicely to how the evening went.

When Sarah told me that she bought us tickets to the opera, my first thought was “Why me!?” I have to admit that most of my preconceived notions of opera were based on television shows – images of rotund women belting out songs in a foreign language come to mind. As the evening drew closer, I warmed up to the idea of, at the very least, getting dressed up nice and taking my wife out for some culture. I’ll admit, when we were in our fancy clothes, standing in the theatre lobby, I was excited.

The lecture before the show was an added bonus. I know very little about music and even less about opera, so it was nice to have somebody knowledgeable explain the subtleties. I now know that Moby Dick, the opera, is very Puccini-esque. It was also a new experience to see San Diego’s opera going sub-culture (to be a member, you must have white-hair). At this point, I was very excited about the opera, and I distinctly remember telling Sarah that we should go to the opera again sometime.

After the lecture, the same generous donation that paid for the majority of our tickets, hosted a small reception of gourmet appetizers and desserts for the SDSU students and their dates. There were meatballs, cream-cheese filled filo-pastry, peanut chicken, caprese skewers, a lettuce leaf with goat cheese, brownies, and appropriately whale cookies. I was completely sold on the opera – style, culture, and delicious finger food!

The first 15-minutes of the opera were incredible. I was very impressed that these performers were filling this enormous concert hall with no amplification. Then I realized that they were singing when they could have just been talking; saying something as simple as “Raise the sails!” takes 40 seconds.

As it turns out, I can only appreciate great singing for 15-minutes at a time, which is why I like musicals, but not opera. I am sure the rest of the graph is self-explanatory.