Mom's in the doghouse because...

She's got a new dog! Yesterday, Mom went to Petco to buy her cat some stuff and came home with a new dog (which indeed is not the "cat stuff" she originally intended to buy). His name used to be Poncho, but Mom is renaming him Bailey. He's two years old, some sort of border collie mix (I think maybe with Australian sheep dog or something), and seems to be fairly well trained and obedient. A bit goofy, too.

Of course, Leo (Mom's cat) can't stand him, and Michael (Mom's parrot) has already crafted a handful of plans resulting in Bailey's demise (which mostly involve a lot of pecking and biting). I introduced Teddy Bear to Bailey in neutral territory - the grass island on Fairway Park - and things seemed to go pretty well - Teddy growled, they sniffed each others' butts, and then ignored each other. However, when Mom brought Bailey into my place, Teddy went ballistic and ran out from under the bed, barking, and charged Bailey. Zoe, my cat, puffed out immensely. Ok, so we have some territory issues, but that's ok. Things will work out well between the two of them, I think!

Mom seems to be very excited with her new companion, and I hope it works for her. Her house is now officially a menagerie of animals (all of whom hate each other), and if Teddy and I ever stay with her again it's going to result in some real chaos. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we have to!

Wwwwaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Today I found out that I did not get the Department of Energy's Fishery Biologist position. Boo hoo! I really had gotten my hopes up about that one, but apparently, my application was not among the "most qualified" out of the many that they had received. Bastards!

Oh well - I'll keep applying. My brother told me to not be discouraged, so I'm trying to take his words to heart. At least I have a better idea of what I'd like to do in the next five years (i.e., get a good paying government job in the Pacific Northwest and pay off my debt). So keep your fingers crossed for me - I evidently need all the luck I can muster!

Stumpy's on the move!

I finally received word from MonkeyToes...Stumpy will be sent off to his next stop tomorrow to...(drum roll here)...Olympia, Washington! He's been patiently waiting the journey, stuffed in his box now for a couple of weeks. After Washington he'll finally be sent back home. This little guy certainly has made the rounds, and he deserves a nice homecoming. Way to go Stumpy!!!

That's no woman, that's a MAN, man!

Bet you're wondering what's going on in the above picture, huh? From left-to-right, that's Jessica, Mulva, and me. On Tuesday some friends from work and I went to Lips, a drag club in Hillcrest for dinner and a show. I'd never been to a drag club before but it was pretty fun - we got there entirely too early (we were expecting more traffic), so we had a few drinks before dinner. And drag queens can actually serve up some pretty good chow, let me tell you! There were two shows, which each consisted of a "hostess" and three drag queens who each lip-synched to a song and gave random people in the audiences lap dances. It was a very mixed crowd - people celebrating birthdays, a table of old ladies, and us. Not bad for a Tuesday night, eh?

Teddy Bear's glamorous new look!

Last week I took Teddy Bear in to the groomer's (The Cold Nose), and he looked so cute I just had to post these pictures. He always looks like a new dog after he gets groomed, and with the hot weather, I'm sure he appreciated the shave. It's funny - when I take him for walks now, people ask me how old my puppy is. They're pretty shocked when I tell them he's 12 years old!

In Escondido, cats do grow on trees

Last week I finally purchased a cat tree for Zoe and Jesse. It took them a little while to get used to it, but they now consider it to be the center of their universe. While Jesse (the declawed one, of course) has figured out the "scratching pole" aspect of the tower, Zoe still prefers to claw on cardboard scratchers. Both of them have figured out that they can jump up to the top perch, where they like to spend the greater portion of their day. Zoe prefers to nest in the tube part, while Jesse likes to sit on top (although the pictures I took today are exactly opposite of that). Aren't they cute???