Sorry...Again

Wow. Sorry, you guys. I'm totally neglecting this blog. I guess I just haven't wanted to talk about me lately. The party is really on my LJ blog. However, I don't do daily life stuff over there, so...

Went to an Oscar party last night. Had a lot of fun. I suck at picking Oscar winners, though.

Work is better, but still in a state of flux. With winter hours, there's a lot of bitching and whining. The real problem is that some people are basically being given new jobs without those "new jobs" being posted so anyone else can have a chance. I mean, thank goodness some people are being guaranteed hours while educators, who actually teach the programs, are just scraping by. That's all I should really say about that.

Some of you know that our most recent baby elephant died. Her mother had some serious complications from labor and couldn't really nurse the baby. We couldn't get the baby adjusted to formula and she got weaker and weaker. In her compromised state, she picked up a drug-resistant Staph infection, among other medical problems. Poor baby.

On the other hand, we have 7 healthy baby lion cubs right now and they are so cute all on exhibit together. In education, we also got a new pygmy falcon, named Maximus (haha). He's still getting used to everything, but he is sweet and friendly and I can't wait to snuggle him. Right now I'm snuggling Opossums. I recently finished training with a Great Horned Owl.

I hope some of you are still checking this every now and again. Really, feel free to comment or send me an e-mail. Love you all.

Near Brush With Fame

Argh! I don't really like the thought of doing celebrity tours, but I wouldn't mind some of them. I had the chance to take a VIP for a coworker on Saturday or to stay home and have another day off. Well, my selfishness came back to bite me in the ass. The tour (L didn't know when she offered it or she might not have) was for Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez. Damn. Instead, unknowingly, I watched Desperado. Oh the humanity (and the irony)!

Hello from Sicksville, Part II

Let's see. What other horribly boring things can I tell you about. Last month we went to LA for the weekend to hang out with some friends. We went to the Florida Tech Alumni Picnic (LA Chapter) there and had a blast. We also learned to play Pirate's Dice (aka Liar's Dice), which was awesome. And C, B, F, and I played a nerd game: Scene It - Marvel Comics. Hardest Question: Name the five original members of Alpha Flight. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't ask. You don't want to know. I posed this question to my D&D boys. Put aside the fact that most made snide comments about Alpha Flight, as I did when I heard the question. S just began rattling off names...so he wins...something.

F and I also had the opportunity to take a tour of the Warner Bros. Studio lot. Not the regular hop-on-a-cart kind, but the personal tour of one of his acquaintances. It was very cool. We saw all kinds of Gilmore Girls sets (F and our guide are both huge fans of that show), some ER sets, and the FBI headquarters set for Without a Trace. We also went to the props building...very, very cool. Here are some shots from our trip:

Here we are, just walking around the studio on a beautiful day.

Stars Hollow. Gilmore Girls takes up a huge amount of space on the lot, but turn the corner and you're at the ER ambulance bay. Freaky. Go through any building and the other side may be another building you know if you watch the show. For example, down the street on the right is Suki's house. If you go in, it's Suki's house. The back exterior is Lorelai's house. That interior is on a sound stage.

So, of course most of the hospital on ER is on a sound stage. However, the ambulance bay has an entrance that leads to a fake room. So, we are in that fake room, standing behind the counter, just past the receptionist station. Behind is is a painted wall...I mean right behind us.

Here's a set they were finished with and about to tear down. It's for Oceans 13. Looked cool. WB basically rents out their lot for anyone to shoot on, unlike most other studios, who only allow their own shows/movies.

Props everywhere. Most rooms were filled with furniture. Furniture was labeled to tell which show would be using them and when. The amazing thing was that no one really cared that we were there. Our guide had her badge on. She would just ask if we could walk in and see what was going on. We didn't see any tapings, but ER, Studio 60, and Gilmore Girls were all filming while we were there and we saw some minor actors.

Speaking of which, I recently did my first "celebrity tour" at work for Tracy Tweed. If you don't recognize the name, don't worry. Neither did I. But, watch the Gene Simmons reality show. I also thought the stars were aligning for me to do a tour for Laura Dern, but it was not to be.

Our other huge announcement at work...which is old now...is that we have another elephant baby. He has yet to be named, but was born March 11. Cute, cute, cute!!

I'm sure there are other random things I was thinking about writing, but I can't remember them right now. I'm sure as soon as I post this they will all pop back in my brain.

Hello from Sicksville

So I never got back to writing on here because I came down with the death flu on Sunday. I've been home all week, horribly ill. One time, I coughed so hard I threw up in my own nose! I know, TMI, but that is some serious pain, and I don't recommend it. Anyway, I'm on antibiotics for the deep chest cough, so I hope that either the meds or my own immune system will clear everything up soon. Which would be great, cause I'm sick of soup and just about ODed on water.

Anyway, lets see if I can't catch you up. I would have been working 44 hours this week if I hadn't been flattened by illness. I pretty much see 6-day weeks looming off to the horizon. I've started working with Luna, our tamandua (lesser anteater). She's awesome and has a huge personality. Here she is crawling over a log and checking out all the nooks and crannies for something to eat. You can't see that she has a long prehensile tail on the other side.



My parents just got back from an awesome trip. They spent a week in and around Cairo, a week on a Nile cruise, and a week in Jordan. They had a great time and felt very welcome. When I get some pictures, I'll post a couple. I'm a bit jealous. I would love to see all of the Egyptian sites, as well as Petra, in Jordan. However, I am very happy for my parents. They have a great time on all of their trips and meet all kinds of interesting people. I think the hardest thing for me is not talking to my Mom for weeks on end.

I recently read Total Recall, the novelization that combines the movie (which I just bought on DVD) and ideas from the original short story that inspired the movie (We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick). The basic script from the movie is in there, often scene for scene and word for word, until the second half where it deviates dramatically. Well, okay, the basic story is still intact, but a whole second story about the Mars ruins and Doug Hauser really adds a great deal of background and tension that I really enjoyed. Except, I think that this stuff would have bogged down the movie and decreased the tension. I think that visually, saving the red light district (since you have people dying right there on screen) has more personal impact than saving the whole solar system. It's just human nature...a disaster too big is too much to handle and we become distanced. On another note, F pointed out something funny while we were watching the movie. Arnold is the perfect choice for a movie where facial prosthetics are used because his face already looks like it is made of plastic!

Now I'm reading a book I started but never finished in high school called Daggerspell (Katherine Kerr). It's kind of a tale of Karma with a Celtic cultural base. Interesting so far, though I'm not racing through it. I've got two more James Bond books in the wings and recently did a quick reread of The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

Okay, I'm going to take a quick lunch break now and come back with the rest of this entry.

New Blog Craziness

So, I've gone mad and started another blog at livejournal...cause why not, right? Anway, that's where I'll put any reviews, philosophical writings, poems, and the like.

Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

As of 2/2/07, this review has been moved to a new site.

Movie Reviews: Children of Men and Frailty

I thought I'd start amusing myself by reviewing movies that I like. In other words, I won't bore you with reviews of mediocre or bad films, though I might warn you off of them. The only other movie I think I would have reviewed earlier, had I thought of it, would have been Casino Royale. Anyway, I will try not to spoil these movies for you, but here goes.

As of 2/2/07, these reviews have been moved to a new site.

Quick Post

So, today's the big game. I'm at work, wearing a non-regulation (for work) Saints scrunchy. I will be at work until about halftime, so I will have to watch the game on Tivo.

Also, had a good tour yesterday. One guest said it's the best tour she's had in 20 years! Now there's a compliment!

I'm going to get on later and tell you guys about a couple of movies I've watched in the last few days. Children of Men in the theater and Frailty on DVD.