MERCH IN MY MAILBOX TODAY!!!

“And what happens if people stop buying the Merch merch?” (/flip hat inside out)

FLESHREAPER!!

You’re awesome, Doddsy – I pranced around in front of the mirror for a full five minutes admiring my new silly hat. :)

Ahhh, so here I am, eh! To catch up:

October something, 2009: LA County Fair! Pictures here. It was a good time. We ate much oily food and petted many smelly animals.

October something, later, 2009: Las Vegas and Death Valley! Pictures here. In Vegas, we were on budget with gambling, saw cats and dogs perform amazing feats in Popovich’s Pet Comedy Theatre, and ate several buffet meals (including breakfast in the atrium at the Wynn). Death Valley was very windy, but quite lovely. And yes, I did manage to use my portable shower tent. It worked splendidly, except for the part where it was sort of against the rules of the campground and Curt had to keep an eye out for the ranger. ;) I used biodegradable soap, though, so it’s not like I was hurting anything… On the way back to civilization, we stopped by the Mt. Whitney Portal, Manzanar, and Fossil Falls. Great trip!

October 30, 2009: We dressed up as monkeys for the Hoang family Halloween karaoke party. Pictures here and here. Also, we found out my brother Wonk and sister-in-law Powla are expecting a spawnling! :) I’m going to be an auntie!!

There are also some random cute cat-related pictures here and here and here.

Curt accidentally dropped my Blackberry in the cat water bowl about a week ago, but it’s made a full recovery. I couldn’t be too mad, since I did accidentally throw his phone in the dumpster that one time… ;)

I’ve had a sore throat for about a month. Hopefully the doctor can fix it on Tuesday, as it hurts and the gargling has done nothing!

Off on an impromptu trip this weekend – just a tent, an empty cooler, and some clothes, and off to the wild blue yonder! Or, at least, freeways relatively unfamiliar.

We’re going to start looking for a house in the next few months. I’m excited, but also mildly terrified and full of anxiety. Good thing I have this new Merch hat to keep me occupied…

That’s that! Time for bed. /waves

7/11/2009 Yes, but can he moonwalk?

The Vietnamese passage goes okay, my sister forgets her garter and we buy a replacement in a goth store across the street from the restaurant. It is black with a skull-like cameo on it: fitting for the horde. My new brother-in-law performs what is quite possibly the most amazing groom dance EVAR. It’s a great wedding. :) More photos here.

7/12/2009 I can’t has okapi?

(See above!)

Curt, Ai, and I go to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The heat nearly melts our brains. Ai pokes a lion in the butt, I feed some lorikeets, and have a hyrax sit on my shoulder. We rock out to Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon. More photos here!

7/13/2009 The truth is out there

We go to the pet store and buy a cat fountain. Curt puts our money where his mouth is and we buy some dog-biscuit cookies and perform a blind taste test. Curt is only able to tell the difference between the dog-biscuit cookies and the generic Stater Brother’s cookies half the time. The lesson here is that Stater Brothers sells dog-biscuit cookie-a-likes. You’ve been warned.

7/15/2009 Harry Potter and the Filler Plot Between #5 and #7

Ai and I go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I find it lackluster, and Ai is disappointed. Very little sparkle. Hopefully the 7s are better. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs looks fun, though! I start doing my 10-Minute Trainer. Tony Horton is kicking my ass, but he’s surprisingly likeable.

7/16/2009 Go 66ers!

Curt and I go see the Inland Empire 66-ers, the Dodger’s A affiliate. Bernie the mascot beast is a poor man’s Philliy’s Phanatic, but it’s a good time. I learn how to keep score at a baseball game.

7/17/2009 So long, farewell

Clyde goes to his new home and I’m a little sad. I talk Curt into letting me keep Clementine on an outdoor-cat basis. Now only to talk him into letting me keep the other two…

Happy weekend! ;)

Was it 94 degrees outside, or was it just that I was within 30 feet of the Andre? ;)

Yesterday, after the geographical routing I took from a pesky Flash game on the internet, I picked up our two-year old Almanac and started to read with the intention of, obviously, learning everything in the world. I read about Michael Dukakis and the tank thing, which I’d read about before, but had not previously mustered up enough gumption to go looking for the image. I did it this afternoon.

And now I’m sitting at my desk in a state of mild depression, a state most inappropriate to the small work I must do, crossing Ts and dotting Is. This moment is one of many moments when I step out of my comfortable little life of modest decadence and petty struggling, and I see the rest of the world and all the startling reality of lives other than mine. Every time this happens, I am sad. Terribly, gut-wrenchingly sad. Here is the culprit. Or perhaps, you could say the messenger. We are the culprits, really.

Then, I read this, which, though dwarfish in scope compared to the LIFE photos, carries itself with the same kingly deportment. Let this be a lesson to me, then, when my angry cynicism threatens to better me. Bravo, Mr. Len Cassamas, whoever you are.

I weight 186 pounds. In my adult life, I have been a size 2. I’ve also been a size 20. My weight has bounced up and down pretty much ever since puberty. While many of my counterparts chose partying, alcohol, drugs, sex or shopping to dull pains in their lives, I have always used food. When I’m stressed, I eat. When I’m sad, I eat. When Curt and I get in a fight, I eat. When I’m bored, I eat.

It’s time to make a good try to lose this weight. So, using my l33t Excel skills and track my weight every week, and post a weekly chart! Yay, weight loss is fun!

(It’s always all fun and games until my stomach starts to shrink and it feels like an alien is trying to gnaw its way out of my body.)

Anyway, so this last weekend was my sister’s and my grandfather’s birthdays! We went bowling for the sister’s birthday, and out to dinner for grandfather’s.

Curt and me at the bowling alley.

Brother Wonk and his wife, Sister Powla.

Future brother-in-law Jason.

Sister Piggy, Brother Truc, Brother Vuong, and Sister Powla.

Carter, my grandfather’s cat.

My grandfather, blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. He turned 88!

A whole bunch of Hoangs.

So, I gave up setting up an all new site for the honeymoon photos, however I did upload them to Flickr for quick and painless viewing. Have fun! :)