Friday, August 31, 2007

Holy Sh*t

Today was crazy.

Thank goodness for alcohol!

And three cheers for the hot programmer boyfriend! Even though his work gave him the last week off, he still got up at 7am to drive me to work... just so I could have the benefits of the carpool lane.

How sweet is that?

He took an extra 1 1/2 out of his day, plus sacrificed his sacred sleep-in time, just to be my carpool companion.

I love this guy.

Last Day of August

Thank goodness this month is over! This one has been an exercise in frustration. Besides stress at home, work has been less than wonderful. We were really, really short on staffing, so customers were even more pissy than usual.

This will be a great day though. It's the Friday before a 3 day weekend, the last day of the month, and a payday. We're also holding a customer appreciation event at our branch. It's going to be hell.

Looks like Julie is getting a larger caramel macchiato than usual.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Interview with a Banker

So what's more fun than working on a Saturday?

Not being able to balance.

What's even MORE fun than being off balance?

Having a root canal immediately afterwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess you can say I have had better weekends. It really wasn't all bad though... The root canal was painless (yes, you heard me right... although my tooth is sensitive now), and Mom made the most amazing apple pie (with fresh apples from the orchard). Tender mouth be damned!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs!

I have frogs coming out of my ears!

I finally have three Cryptophyllobates azureiventris in my hands, as well as some lovely green legged lamasi froglets. I have two more vivaria in progress for the new species, but it has been a slow process. I finally cut enough glass for one tank, and all I'm waiting for is a miraculous windfall of money so I can afford all the lovely plants that are necessary for making a tank worth of putting $50 frogs in.

Some pics of my project:



How awesome does it look to have three tanks neatly in a row? It's froggy feng shui!



This is the current interior of the tank to the right. For the price of a 10 gallon tank ($9.99), polyurethane foam ($6), gorilla glue ($12), and coconut fibers ($3), you too can build yourself a Taj Mahal of froggy bliss.



And this is why I do it. Imagine having a teeny tiny frog (smaller than your thumbnail!) this beautiful in your dining room. Suddenly all the fly cultures you must devotedly make are completely worth it.

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs!

I have frogs coming out of my ears!

I finally have three Cryptophyllobates azureiventris in my hands, as well as some lovely green legged lamasi froglets. I have two more vivaria in progress for the new species, but it has been a slow process. I finally cut enough glass for one tank, and all I'm waiting for is a miraculous windfall of money so I can afford all the lovely plants that are necessary for making a tank worth of putting $50 frogs in.

Some pics of my project:



How awesome does it look to have three tanks neatly in a row? It's froggy feng shui!



This is the current interior of the tank to the right. For the price of a 10 gallon tank ($9.99), polyurethane foam ($6), gorilla glue ($12), and coconut fibers ($3), you too can build yourself a Taj Mahal of froggy bliss.



And this is why I do it. Imagine having a teeny tiny frog (smaller than your thumbnail!) this beautiful in your dining room. Suddenly all the fly cultures you must devotedly make are completely worth it.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

100th Post!

So the last few days have been nothing short of crazy. My father ended up in the hospital on Saturday. His multiple infections started to really act up. At one point, we really thought that this might be his final battle. I rushed home last night after I called him on the phone. He told me "Julie, it hurts to talk... I have to hang up. I love you. I'm so sorry. I love you, I'm so sorry.." and he was crying. It scared the hell out of me, I really didn't know if I would see him again. Turns out he had a bad reaction to some very strong medication. His condition is stabilized right now, and we're all very grateful that he's so delightfully stubborn.

This brings up another area of stress- where should I be living right now? I have a job I can tolerate, working with people I genuinely like. I don't want to toss everything away that I have here. We just bought a place, I have a boyfriend who loves me, and I may eventually move up at work and earn some decent money. On the other hand, I have a wonderful family, who unfortunately happen to be mortal. I'd really like to be there for them.

It wouldn't take all THAT much to move back home.. .I love the area, and it's always easy to find a bank that is hiring. For what I'm paying on my mortgage right now, I can get a decent bit of land and have more room for my dart frog hobby.

Speaking of dart frogs, I'm building 2 more frog tanks. I have 4 green legged lamasi tadpoles that will occupy one tank, and I'll be getting a couple of adult P. azureiventris- essentially ninja dart frogs. They're freaking sweet.

That's enough rambling for now. Hope everyone is well and happy.