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.

And One Makes Five

Another new baby elephant, this one born Wednesday. Then we get a break. We might have another one pregnant, but as she is not far enough along for them to actually tell us, it's on the DL. So, for those of you keeping track:

Vus'Musi (m) 2/23/04
Khosi (f) 9/11/06
Impunga (m) 3/11/07
Kamile (f) 9/19/07
?????? (f) 11/28/07

That means the herd of 7 that came in 2003 has almost doubled already. This is why they came to us. Swaziland had an elephant overpopulation. Give the newest ones around 10 years and they will have at least 2 more siblings each and will be at the very beginning of possibly being able to breed themselves. That's a lot of elephants.

Current Kiki Events - Part II

My vacation was, however, cut a bit short when F called me Monday morning to tell me there were fires all over the place near our apartment. This was on top of a fairly sleepless night, thanks to a tornado siren that went off by accident for over an hour (starting at 3am). I guess a lot of you have been following at least some of the fire news. The Witch Creek fire threatened our home and both of our places of work. I thought F's workplace would be bad because it was across a major street from a burning neighborhood. His building is fine, though. It turns out the Park was even closer to danger. Most of the eastern half of the property (the undeveloped half) is burned. The fire went right up to (and once over) animal areas and around the northern end of the Park to catch the property to the West of us. More information is available here. The reason the Park was around to open yesterday is that the fire management programs are well-planned and the Park was ready to deal with any fire right after finding out the Santa Ana winds would be so bad.

As to our personal story, our apartment never came under mandatory evacuation orders, but the evacuation zone was about half a mile away and the fire came within 2 miles on Tuesday. F evacuated on Monday with my kitty. I flew back into town Tuesday night. The flight over the mountains with fires on either side of the plane was amazing, but the flight right over the Harris fire was awesome. Fires in the distance looked like lava in the darkness. It was indescribably beautiful... Back in reality, I stayed with a friend in North Park for the night, then drove up to meet up with F in the LA area Wednesday. Then, I got up at 3:30am to move my cat back to my apartment and go to our department meeting and help with Park clean-up. Thank goodness for my fitted face mask; the air is still awful here, though generally getting better.

Already, it's mostly back to work as usual (though with much lower attendance numbers). Savanna Safari was amazing Friday because it goes right through one of the areas that burned. I also handled our Great Horned Owl for the first time. So cool! Yesterday I dressed up for a Halloween Weekend shift...and, oh yeah, I dyed my hair black...

On the gaming front, we finally are going to play again. Mutants and Masterminds this time. I'm still trying to come up with all my character stuff but I'm having a hard time. I like superheroes, but it's not as much my thing. I'd love to get back to D&D but I'll really play anything, since I just enjoy the company of my fellow nerds. D (the main GM for this adventure) wanted to help me better understand the tone of the setting and give me character-development ideas, so I now have homework: five trade paperbacks to read by Wednesday evening. It will be especially tough since I also have to rewatch all of Eva by November 7th (it goes back to my brother then), in preparation for watching the movies (or at least the 2nd movie).

I think that catches you all up on my life. Thanks for hanging in there for two long posts. I'll try to get back on top of it, now that I have a computer again (my parents' ran slow, mine was in LA until today, and updates at work can be difficult).

Current Kiki Events - Part I

Wow. It's been so long since my last post and I have tons to talk about. Before I go any further, I should mention that we are fine, our apartment is fine, and our respective workplaces (though both were imperiled) are fine. After that, it's hard to even know where to begin.

First, work is going much better in many respects. I'd rather not get into this too much but I will say that our interim director has been doing a great job of getting our "management team" to come up with more consistent policies and procedures. I think we, the peons, know more of what's going on and feel more involved. There, of course, have been bumps and things we don't like. My current least favorite change so far has been the new day-off-request policy...or at least the part that may keep me from going to Comic Con next year. We'll see how that plays out.

Speaking of days off, I just had some vacation. I went to visit my parents about two weeks ago. We went to the KC Zoo. I got to see their African hunting dog puppies (5 of them) play with the adults. The male black footed cat was out (they also have a mom with kittens) and active. I got this great picture of the meerkats.

[Picture coming soon]

Other highlights included some great scimitar horned oryx, a very visible pride of lions, active Sumatran tigers and orangutans, and a beautiful day.

It was very windy and rainy about half my time in KC. We planned accordingly. One rainy day, we went to see Across the Universe [review coming soon]. Another day, we took a trip to the Nelson Art Gallery and took a tour of the new Bloch Building. It's not my favorite style, but I thought it was a nice addiction to the grounds (I also love the giant badminton birdy sculptures, so I'm the pro side of both of the most controversial additions) and it's a very fitting surrounding for the modern art. We also ran through the European art in the old building and found all our old favorites. My only regret is that, because of the downpours, we couldn't tour the grounds. I don't think I've been through the sculpture garden since high school.

On another beautiful (though still windy) day, we went out to Liberty Memorial and toured the new World War I Museum there. We thought we'd be there half a day...we stayed from open to close. it is a wonderful museum. There is way too much stuff to read for a single visit. There are lots of videos, great recreations of the trenches and a mortar shell crater, interactive displays, quiet booths where you can listen to speeches, music, poetry, and prose of and about that time, and an absolutely fabulous set of various wartime posters. We didn't make it to the side galleries and barley made it up to the top of the memorial, before it closed, for a fantastic view of downtown KC. If you are ever in the area and are the least bit interested you have to go. Another reason: it's the only WWI museum in the whole country.

I didn't do much else, really. I went back to the Zoo to meet up with ed. folks to share program ideas. Hung out with D and some of his friends (and his cute, cute kitties). Did a teeny bit of cleaning of my stuff in the attic. Went shopping - bought: a new pair of shoes, Alien 3 for the SNES, an Ace of Base CD (ya'll can all just shut up), 3 Dragonlance books, Demon City Shinjuku (DVD), and a trade paperback with Batman and Tarzan for F (and to help support my theory that Batman will eventually fight with or against every other character ever created). All of these were bought on the cheap...and I totally needed none of them! Of course, I visited some of my favorite eateries, including Genghis Khan (awesome Mongolian BBQ joint in Westport) and Fiorella's Jack Stack (KC BBQ at its finest). We also went to a cute little new Japanese place called One Bite...so...good...

Elephants and Other Stuff

Yet another baby elephant born at the Park. You'd think we'd be getting tired of them by now, but baby elephants are one of the most adorable things ever on this earth. It's a girl and she was in the oven a little extra long and came out around 230 lbs. Khosi (the 1-year-old) was in with Umoya (new mom) and Umngani (her mom) during the birth. Moya is her very favorite auntie. I think she likes her better than her own mother. So, I guess Khosi was nursing off of Moya during labor or at least that night. But, now Moya spends all her time with her new baby. I wonder if Khosi is a little sad. Saw Khosi and Punga (the six-month-old) during a VIP tour yesterday. They came right up to us (so we were in the lower yard, only 15' from them in the main yard)...helps that their trainers were cleaning the yard at the time. They really don't care about visiting the visitors. We barely saw the new baby, though. Moya had her very carefully tucked away. Of course, I actually saw here closer before the Park opened the other day. She is hairy! I think they substituted a little mammoth baby.

If you are wondering about the names, they are all Siswazi. The adults came over from Swaziland about 4 years ago. They were scheduled to be culled (read killed) there because there were too many elephants. Swaziland is not a big country and, although the African elephant is a threatened species, there are local overpopulations of them. Actually, they were rescued twice. They ended up in Swaziland as a rescue from a culling at Kruger National Park in South Africa. We try to name our animals in the native language of the regions from which they come, hence Siswazi. Actually, the originals were named by the King of Swaziland.

Anyway, our elephants are about 17-years-old now and they are on their first babies. Mabhulane is our bull and dad to 3 of 4 calves. Swazi is the dominant female and the only one who has not given birth nor is currently pregnant. Umoya is the new mom. Litsemba is Impunga's mom. Umngani is Khosi's mom. Ndulamitsi was pregnant when she arrived. She is mom to Vus'Musi, who is now 3 1/2. Lungile is the smallest and least dominant female. Probably more info than you really wanted, but hey, I love the elephants.

Anyway, in other news, we are going to a Padres game today. I am not the biggest fan of baseball, but I plan to enjoy myself and try not to be too sickly. Actually, I'm feeling much better, but I (as always) have a lingering cough.

Also, figured out last night that my tolerance for alcohol is pretty much nil now. Games and fun were had by all.

And, finally, in the it-could-have-been-worse category, the same night my car was broken into, J's car was stolen...same lot. I didn't even lose my stereo.

Sick Again!!

I think I need to keep blogging whenever I get sick because I think I just need to document it. Since my "sicksville" posts, I have been well (except for when Bayou - 4.5 foot alligator - hurt my shoulder). It must be because I work with children. I mean, is it any coincidence that I just did my first kinder programs since...well, at least June? Maybe. I remember when I would get one really good bout of bronchitis a year. Now, it's usually two. Currently, I'm not to that coughing-my-brains-out stage, so maybe I can still fight it off...

In other crappy news: it has totally hit the fan at work. I will post more on this later, but suffice it to say we have such a dysfunctional work environment that HR has stepped in and our education director has resigned. Fun is being had by all. If only I could just do my job...you know the one I like to do.

To top it all off, when I was at my game session that didn't happen (since I'm the only one really showing up for the last month...damnitall) someone broke into my car. Luckily they didn't have to smash my window as I left a tiny crack they could use to unlock my door. Also, they couldn't take my radio, since that requires taking off practically the whole dashboard console. So they made off with the tools in my center cubby. Funny part of it all: they left all my tapes sitting right on my seat...can't understand why they wouldn't want Tiffany or Paula Abdul...

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)!

A Disclaimer

Well, the Zoological Society of San Diego has issued a new policy to its employees. They know we are all writing about work on our blogs and want to make sure we know not to write anything that could be deemed "defamatory, obscene, proprietary or libelous" as it may be construed as the official opinion of a ZSSD representative. I am supposed to make it clear to all of you (though I'm sure you are adults and could figure this out) that the opinions expressed on this page are mine alone, etc., etc. The following is the suggested method, and I print it verbatim:

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent the Zoological Society of San Diego’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programs.

Baby Panda

I almost forgot. Bai Yun, one of the Giant Pandas at the Zoo, had her fourth baby on Friday. See the live cam (most likely, you'll see sleeping mama, but I caught a glimpse in only a couple minutes of watching).

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.

You Gotta be Frackin' Kidding Me

I have finally crawled out from the rock I've been under for over a month. The rock's name is work, and, actually, I'll be crawling right back under after this. I guess I've also been very blah about being on the computer, so that contributed to the whole me-not-posting thing. Anyway, not much has really happened. Of course, there were all kinds of little things I was going to post about that I have totally forgotten now, but whatever.

Okay, one thing. Last Battlestar Galactica (what, two, three weeks ago now) they start showing previewesque pictures, only they are from this last season, and then they say stay tuned for new episodes in...get this...2008! I blinked a couple of times, my mouth agape, and said, "I'm sorry, what now? I could be dead by then!" Well, I guess that's one more show that won't be taking up precious Tivo space for a while.

Gotta remember to tell you guys about our WB Studio Tour, baby elephant, work stuff, alumni picnic, books I'm reading, and my parent's trip. But, that will have to wait until at least tomorrow. Night all.

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.

Third Post This Night

Okay, animal news.

I finally named my dragon (went with Tatsu, cause it's cute like him) and now he's not eating well! I took him to the vet last night and Dr. B couldn't find anything really wrong. So now I'm trying to administer some antibiotics and dewormer just in case but it's a bit traumatizing for both of us. I'm hoping I can inject the stuff into a waxworm. Trying to keep the ambiant temp a little warmer in here as well. So much for a low gas bill!

We had another animal die at the Park. Radar, our Fennec Fox, was geriatric and had a large mass on his liver. I didn't work with him, but it is sad, nonetheless.

I am finally finished working with the Kookaburra. According to J, our lead trainer, Zeke and I have a "working relationship." I keep him out as long as his attention span holds and he doesn't rip me apart. As long as we have an understanding, I'm fine. My first presentation with him was short but went well. Now I'm working with Akisa, a 7.5 ft Madagascar Ground Boa, and I'm way more comfortable with her, even when she's cranky. I know, I'm weird. Hopefully, I'll have a picture with her soon.

Warning: TMI

Wow, it's been, like, a week or something since I was on here last. See, this is what I was talking about with the flush of enthusiasm ebbing and all.

Anyway, on Sunday, I went (with L from work) to Battle Day at San Pasqual Battlefield/State Park. It's their reinacment day. Had some fun watching dancing and watching kids throw tomahawks and going to the museum and seeing the battle. Of course, no one could "die" because they were all on horseback and didn't want the horses to run amok. In fact, a rider was unseated, and his horse ran right into the road and accross back to its trailer. Fun.

I learned a lot, too. The battle took place in December, 1846, near the end of the Mexican-American War. Pointless battle, though at least it didn't come after the war, like the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812...go find the song...Johnny Horton?...*rolls eyes*...you people:). Supposed to be the bloodiest battle in California history, which says a lot about CA history since less than 200 people were even involved in the battle.

Tomorrow, I am going to take animals out for animal therapy at a nursing home. We do this often, but tomorrow the photographer will be coming along. So, good time for me to have chapped lips from hell (read herpes...eew, no, cold sore herpes...you guys are nasty!) and be walking around like I belong in the nursing home. I had shots in my feet today. No really, don't ask. I'm sorry I wrote this...but you can see why I dread the photographer!

So...you can probably figure out why I haven't posted in a few days. Nothing much to say causes me to tell you all waaay too much about me. You're welcome. Goodnight!

Sad News

Norman (the aforementioned pygmy falcon) died yesterday during surgery. He went into respiratory arrest and the vets tried to resuscitate him for half an hour (!!). It was a very sad day at work. We will miss him...

The Ride

It's been a roller coaster emotional day so far. I got to work and was told that Norman had gone back to the hospital. Then, they decided they would euthanize him but gave us a while to go down and say goodbye. We cuddled him and loved on him the best we could. One of the hardest parts was how spry he still acted, but part of that came from the fact he was in the oxygen tent. So, after we came back to Education, we learned that one of the vets wanted to try exploratory surgery because this time there was blood in the fluid in his abdomen and that would be pretty rare with heart disease. So, today they just drained fluid and are keeping him as healthy as possible. Tomorrow, they will see if they can find anything. There is very little chance of survival still, even if they find a tumor or some other problem, because he is just a very small bird after all. But they felt they really didn't have anything to lose. Anyway, it's been up and down here today, and I wanted to share.

News from the Wild

I thought I'd give some of the latest work news.

Many of you have heard of and even seen little Norman, the pygmy falcon I work with. Only some of you have heard that he has been very ill lately. A little over a month ago, he became very lethargic and was taken to our vet hospital where he began to crash. He had a large amount of fluid drained from his abdomen and the vets diagnosed heart disease. After a few days in the hospital, he began to perk up and eat. He even came back home. However, in the last two weeks, he has been to the hospital twice for fluid removal. To tell you the truth, I don't know how long he will be able to hold on. One great thing for all of us is that we are able to say goodbye like we all would want. When he is feeling well, we are able to take him out and bond with him and he is close to his old, feisty self. Here is a picture with him a year ago.


But it is very sad to know it is only a matter of time before we truly say goodbye. He is the most wonderful animal to work with. He is all personality. Where most animals we work with work for food or tolerate us, Norman craves attention, like a dog or cat. He hops out of his nest box when he hears us and cuddles with us when we are bonding. I have pet his back until he fell asleep right on my hand. I have only worked with him for a little over a year, but I fell madly in love with this bird and I know it's the same for everyone who works with him.

The truly amazing thing about this whole situation is our veterinary staff. We already know they are awesome but we gain a whole new appreciation when it is one of our own. They could have euthanized him that first day, but fought to find a treatment option. Let me stress that heart disease has barely been studied in birds and has never been treated in a little guy like ours. The vets prescribed a mammalian heart medication and we have been trying to get the dosage right (and hoping it will work at all). Obviously we have only met with limited success. His meds make him drowsy, so he has never gotten that bright, fierce look back in his eyes, and that is hard to see. But he still comes out to see us and still cuddles, though he sleeps a lot more readily. Right now, we think that his quality of life is still high. But he has reached the ripe old age of 15 and the trainers and vets will do what is best for him. I trust their judgment completely.

On a happier note, we have babies everywhere right now. We have five lion cubs, an okapi calf that recently went on exhibit for the first time, baby flamingos and pelicans, baby antelope (we seem to always have some baby antelope!), two Indian rhinos, a black rhino, and, of course, our baby African elephant. Her name is...well, I will try to spell this but it will be wrong...Inkletkilyainkhozikhota (I wish her name had been added to the website already!!). We call her Khozi (Cosi) for short. She is two months old now, but here are a couple of pictures from when she was two days old.


Finally, new (relatively) animals in education are Koa (pygmy African hedgehog), Sunny (Cuban iguana), Mad Max (wallaroo), Ruby Roo (red kangaroo), and Bubba (warthog). I am currently training on Zeke, our Kookaburra. It is slow going as we did not start off on the best foot (which means I was getting bitten...ouch!!), but we are slowly building a repoire in short sessions.

I think that is all. If you have questions about an animal I didn't talk about or about my place of work, let me know! I will talk your ears off.

Stuck at Work

Here I am on a long split shift at work. By that I mean I had a tour shift that started at 8:15 and lasted til almost 1:00. Now I am off the clock and fiddling around until my next shift from 6:00 to 9:45. When you are a bit down the totem pole, you get stuck with the splits. I had a pretty rough tour this morning, too, so I need a break. However, today is my Friday, so I will have some relaxation time.

Stumpy (really, this is not his name...) ate like mad last night and is really reacting positively to feeding time. I have figured out that the way to disturb him the least with other duties is to wait until about an hour before I turn off the basking light. By this time he is usually on the log and will stay there for the night. I can just remove the log and he will stay right on top of it while I clean and remove any crickets that got away from him during feeding time. And I have seen no more weird and/or disturbing behavior.

Let's see, what else. I have been playing more FFXII. Still not totally thrilled, but I have been enjoying some of the street characters and the bestiary. Hilarious. Plus, I actually am kind of taken with the licensing system. F and I have also been playing Justice League Heroes and LOVE it! I hope the Marvel game is just as good. You just cannot beat playing Superman or Wonder Woman. Pick up a car, fly with it, and then beat down some robots! Awesome!

I also get out of the house once a week (aside from work, which doesn't count) to do some role playing. A female friend from work got me into this group last year. Now she has moved so I am the only girl there. Anyway, we alternate games. We were playing D&D (Eberron) but we have been taking a break from that for a while now. So, we are playing Star Wars (d20) and a game called Found! The latter uses the Unknown Armies system and is loosely based on Lost. Well, as long as a story where something really messed up happens to a group of people and they are trying to figure out what's going on and there are weird coincidences, etc., and there are flashbacks that help flesh out the characters is like Lost, then it is.

Well, I've blown, what, 30 minutes? Yay me. You watch, I'll be back in an hour...