There ARE some good things about my job...

It's good that I can get outside every once in a while. You know, away from my desk, my computer, my office without a window...

Today I got to hike around Lake Calavera in reviewing the City's trails program. It was such a nice day out - sunny, not too hot, a nice breeze. There were about ten of us on the hike and about eight of us walked over this poor little guy without realizing that he was even there (and to tell you the truth, there were so many dog and coyote turds all over the trail, my eye probably dismissed this baby rattler as a dog dump. But don't tell him that!).

Hhhiiiisssssssssssssssss!!! (Translation: don't tread on me!)

It's a good thing Teddy Bear is so cute...

...or else he'd probably be living in Tijuana as a dog scrounging around for scraps of crack or whatever he could find. Yes, TB is very cute. These pictures were taken by a friend of my mom's during a recent visit to the dog park. Aside from being cute, TB can be pretty annoying - but I've been told that it's probably because of his breed and not simply a personality defect that makes him incredibly needy, whiney, insistent, and demanding, not to mention having bad breath.

I'm just joking around (kind of!). I love the little guy, personality defects and all. He's loyal, a great watch dog, and does a great job of cleaning up any little bits of food that might fall on the floor, saving me the trouble from having to do it myself.

Labor Day (Under the Tucson Sun)

Wow - you're probably thinking to yourself, incredible! Two new blogs from Marci??? Amazing! Well, don't get too used to it. Like I said earlier, I'm busy! Now bug off and continue reading about my fabulous weekend trip to Tucson.

I planned a four-day weekend so that Mark (the new boy in my life, in case you were wondering) and I could drive back to Tucson - I wanted to see his house, meet his mom, and experience the insanity of Tucson drivers for myself. It's only a 6.5 hour trip if you average about 85 mph - it was a long trip going out Thursday after work, but nice that I could spend Friday just relaxing instead of driving. Most of Friday and Saturday Mark and I just hung out at his house - a very nice house indeed - watching movies and not doing too much. On Sunday, his mom drove out from Pierce and we went to the Sonora Desert Museum, which is kind of like a little Wild Animal Park full of all sorts of desert animals. Did you know that Javalinas are little pigs that run around the desert and snort and rub each others' butts to mark their territories? And actually, they're not pigs at all, but collared peccaries. The museum was really amazing - I had fun tracking down all these stamp stations that you got to stamp in a little book about animal tracks. Woo hoo! After that we drove back into town for dinner at P.F. Chang's (I'd never been there before), and then a private viewing of Ronin back at Mark's house. Today we drove back to San Diego, and well, there you have it. It was a good weekend!

Ah Portland - the Sister City I Never Had...

I know it has been a very long time since I've posted anything on my blog. Well, I've been busy, ok??? I mean, I've got a real job now, an apartment, two cats and a dog to feed, you know - actual responsibilities. So, blogging, sadly, has gotten moved down on my priority list. But don't worry - I haven't completely forgotten that all you folks out there need a little Marci fix every once in a while. So, here's the latest.

Mom and I flew up to Portland, Oregon, during the weekend of my brother Paul's birthday - he turned 31 (shoot - I thought he was turning 15) on August 19. Anne is a power-house crafting dynamo, sewing and baking and being fit and all that crazy stuff that I can only dream of. Their cats are insane, but cute. And their house...ok, I must say I am a bit jealous. Well, sniff, I used to own a house, sniff, and maybe, sniff, if I work real hard, sniff sniff, some day I'll, sniff, own one again. We went into Portland a couple of times for shopping dinner, and good times, good times. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Tje also stopped in - Paul and Anne's one bathroom was working overtime, but managed the job well considering the circumstances. I had a great time - Portland is a cool little town, and it had been too long since seeing the bro. I'd like to get up there again soon (hee hee - look out, Bosco, watch your back!).