Dog Glasses?

I didn't know they made glasses for dogs, but someone does. I'm driving along and I see a bulldog-type dog sticking its head out of the window. Then I do a double take. The dog has some rather stylish, lightly tinted glasses. They're not exactly sunglasses, and they're staying on a bulldog with it's head out of the window, so I can only assume that they are prescription glasses made for dogs. Either some people out there just have too much money, or I just don't have enough.

The Vincent Black Shadow

I can add another one to my concert count now. I recommend The Vincent Black Shadow to anyone. They've got three brothers on drums, guitar, and bass. Then, there's Cassandra Ford on vocals. I've never seen such big sounds come out of such a small person, but she's really what makes the band. I've got the CD, and got it signed by the band. They've got a bit darker sound than most, and for style I'd place them somewhere between early No Doubt, and Garbage. They're still pretty small, but I could see them going somewhere.

I've been working on fire extinguishers for a few weeks now. I really don't like the job some days, but it's going to pay for the honeymoon, Disneyworld, so it can't be all bad. My boss wants me to take an overnight trip some time this week to some of our more distant clients. I can't imagine that they have no better alternative for their extinguisher inspection needs, and I don't understand why he takes jobs that involve four hours of driving before we get there, but he's the boss, and I get paid hourly, so I can't complain too much. I can complain a bit though. Especially when it involves a night away from home in a city I don't know. I'm sure I'll find something to do, but I'd rather be around people who I know.

The plan, professionally, is still to find a job at a hospital as a tech. There are a few snags though. Seems so far that I've got a bit of a knack for starting to study professions which dry up once I've finished getting certified. I think I'll be heading back to school fall semester though. This time with student loans most likely. I can look for medical jobs or volunteer work while I do that to work up some experience. MJ says she's fine working while I'm in school. I'm hoping she can find an alright job, the kind with benefits, good pay, and regular hours. She's currently delivering pizzas, which has none of these.

I think finishing off my bachelors degree should help open a few doors. I'm hoping that once I have a bachelors I'll be able to find one of those programs where a small town pays for you to go to medical school, and then you have to work there for a few years. I know a small town in Nevada that's done this a few times in the past, and there could be otheres. At that point, if I choose to move back to somewhere that has stoplights and more restaurants than I can count on one hand I'll be an experienced doctor.

Tying the Knot

Yes, the title says it. I'm getting married. While this may not be the biggest news for those who know me personally, it's high time I boast about it a bit here. And as for Wudan watching Oprah, I owe you a bit of an apology for giving you a hard time about it. I haven't sunk that low, but I have watched Dr. Phil already, and I've only been engaged for a short while. I'll hold out as long as I can, but when I inevitably start quoting the show, at least I'll have an old friend to talk to about it.

So, bad television programming aside, here's the bragging. She's MJ, from my previous posts. I've known her for a few years, but we've only been dating since mid-November. She says I crock potted her. I didn't know what it meant, but apparently it means that for a long time I've been a friend, hung around her a bit when she was around, dated some of her friends, and then when she least expects it, I move in. I guess so, but that was never really the plan. In real life I was just a bit scared of her. I liked her, but didn't make any really good moves until recently.

So, about her, she's a lot nicer than some of the girls I've dated lately, she's cute, and she makes me rather happy. Her whole family loves me too, which makes things a bit easier around them. My family seems to like her quite a bit too. Especially my mother.

So, that's the big update my mother has been bothering me to put up.

Dancing Cop

So, I saw this cop dancing in the middle of the street the other day. By the other day, I mean yesterday, but honestly the days are a bit blurred together right now. I only slept for a few hours, and what sleep I got was about airplane quality sleep. Still, it was a good Christmas Eve, and a good Christmas.

So, about the cop. I don't know if she was just feeling the Christmas spirit, or if directing traffic around minor accidents is just that boring, or if she had a bomb strapped to her waist, and Santa, with the detonator switch, was playing her like a puppet. Whatever the case, I thought right then that I've got to tell someone about it.

I was up north of here, just south of where all the real houses stop and the farm type houses begin, heading home from church. It wasn't my home, or my church. I was spending Christmas Eve with the girl I did the movie/old chicago/stargazing thing with. We'll call her MJ. Her extended family was over, and I was let in on a couple of odd family traditions. They have a toy police car they keep re-gifting to anyone who has recently gotten a ticket or a licence, or an accident. They have a big pile of boxes, each containing a towel. Everyone picks one. The only surprise with these gifts is what color your towel will be. Mine was yellow. There was a big dinner, and I threw her cousin in the snow, with a bit of help from the other family members he had been throwing things at, and then we watched the RM. I don't recommend it. MJ fell asleep right away, I watched the entire thing. While some Mormon movies are really quite good when you consider the budgets they're working with, this one isn't. Oh well, good night anyway.

Apparently MJ got the third degree from all the old ladies at church when they saw us together. I didn't notice. I was talking with a guy up there who gets together with a bunch of people every Saturday, and plays with fake swords. They have banquets and dress in medieval gear. The best thing about this group though, is that it is not the SCA. I might have to check it out this weekend. If anyone in my area is interested, I'm sure he won't mind a couple more people. He's got a ton of fake swords and shields.

Well, I'm off to bed. I'm still pretty tired, and she'll be coming over for Christmas dinner with my family later today. I guess Berserk and Valkyrie can meet her. I hear they'll be coming over too.

Snowboarding

I've lived in Utah and Colorado all my life, or at least all my life that I actually remember, and I've never gone skiing or snowboarding. Until today. It's strange, but every part of me hurts. Also, I totally sucked. For the whole first third of the mountain I was basically sliding on my butt more than I was standing on the board. I thought I wasn't going to get the hang of it. Thankfully, I went with someone who has had a little experience teaching others to snowboard, and a little more experience snowboarding himself. He had a few pointers, and I was looking like I was snowboarding on purpose before I got too far down the mountain.

Still, it's amazing how much snowboarding hurts. It was mostly in the feet. There was a lot of leaning towards my toes, which they didn't mind at first, but it's kind of like the feeling when your climbing shoes are way too tight, and are cutting off the circulation, or the bizarrely strong muscle fatigue you feel in your feet when ice skating, or rollerblading. I think it's because I unconsciously clench my toes to try to hold on a bit better. It can't just be the shoes, because I once felt the same thing while riding a segway. It's a strange vehicle, one that I recommend trying out if you get a chance, and you stand on it wearing your regular shoes. My feet were killing me by the time I got off, not much more than ten minutes after I got on. Also, the rented boots were plenty comfortable when I was not attached to the snowboard.

Well, that's all that hurt then, but everything hurts now. Maybe it was all the falling and pushing myself up. Maybe it was some unconscious clenching. I don't know.

If anyone is thinking of trying this out, I recommend going with a friend who can tell you what you're doing wrong, grabbing a can of Lysol to kill the mildew stink in your rented boots, and wearing not just snow pants and goggles (and yes, regular clothes), but a coat, and some good gloves. I got snow in the rudest of places, sneaking in down the back of my pants, and you do not want to fall into a big deep bank of powder with nothing good between your long sleeve shirt and your crappy small gloves. The good part is, once your skin gets numb it doesn't hurt anymore.

All that aside, I really didn't get too cold, and it was a blast. I've got to go again some time when I have some more of that green paper stuff in my wallet.

I know a giraffe has to pee too, but...

I finished the last of my tests for the last of my classes for a while. The plan at this point (seeing as I'm an EMT-Basic, and I've got the IV and EKG down, and I've finished all of my paramedic prerequisites) is to actually get a job doing something that I've gone to school and trained to do. This is something I've never actually done. I've applied at one of the big hospitals in town. They're well known for getting a lot of the trauma cases around here. I'm hoping that goes well, but not hoping so hard that I'm not still looking for other places to apply.

Also, I went to the zoo with a bunch of people from church tonight. We went primarily to see the Christmas lights that have been set up, but I saw so much more than that. Until now, my best zoo story has been about the time I went to Anchorage, and saw an elephant poop. They were big, and they made a thud when they hit. And then the elephant peed, and it came out all at once in a torrent of urine. That was my best story. Now, it's the giraffes.

The big draw in the zoo this time of year, and this time of night is the lights they've got set up, but they still have some of the indoor attractions open. This year, the giraffes were included. Now, when a giraffe pees it's not like an elephant. It's more the way I, or any guy, pees. It's just a big stream. Bigger in this case, and certainly higher. People stop and take notice. The good part though, is a second giraffe bent down, and started drinking the pee midstream. It was like a big nasty drinking fountain. I know urine is fairly clean, having just been filtered out of the bloodstream and all, but still, I rarely ever (never) drink urine myself. The second giraffe drank a bit, stood up, drank a bit more. Of course the whole crowd seeing this was totally mature, and didn't erupt in disgust. Or, it did. Either way.

Christmas Parade

Okay, so I went downtown with this girl for a Christmas parade. She was just a bit difficult. For someone with absolutely no sense of direction, who doesn't have a driver's license or learners permit, and who certainly doesn't understand downtown traffic, she sure has a lot of advice on how to drive. I thought I was going to kill someone. I wasn't quite sure who, but there were only two of us to choose from.

Once we got down there it was better. I've noticed advice on driving from her before, but this was nuts. Anyway, it was better once we were out of the car. We had a couple of blocks to walk to get to the parade, and we met some people there. Not people I know, just people. They were pretty cool though, and the parade was not bad. We got there just before the people who fling torches and burning things went by. Anything with fire is obviously the highlight.

We all went out to dinner afterwards. I recommend Buffalo Wild Wings to anyone. I don't recommend the boneless wings, as the breading is to thick, but aside from that, good place. I wasn't sure what this girl was going to eat. She's a bit of a vegan. At least she has been in the past. I'm hoping that was an experiment that's at it's end. She looks like someone who could use a hamburger or two. The whole vegan thing seems to be waning for her though, unless hot wings are allowed. It was good to see her eating a couple though. I've been to enough pot luck dinners where I watched her eat plain salad with no dressing.

Overall, it was a good night. Met some new people who seem alright, hung out with a couple that I knew.

Also, I've decided I like Blogger beta. Getting the little bit of artwork up there helped turn me. I wasn't sure for a while that I could totally get behind this. It seemed a bit too cookie cutter. I love Photoshop and Leonardo da Vinci. Good combination.

Beta

I've done a bit of work on the site here as you may have noticed. I thought it was about time to rework things a bit. That was over three hours ago. I logged in to blogger to have a shot at updating the template, and was pleased to find that the whole Google/Blogger combination thing was coming together a bit more. I can now log in to blogger using my Google login. Also they've done some serious spiffing up of the template making thingey. I used to know bigger words, but they all seem to be escaping me just now.

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot. In case anyone else is using blogger and decides to go for the update, you should know that the new Google login bit seems to work just fine, but the template is still in beta. Fortunately, you can go back to the classic template at any time. You can't go back to the classic login, but I'm not so sure I'll miss that.

The new template thing seems okay as long as you intend to put out a generic run of the mill blog. You can edit colors, or put in a picture somewhere, but if you want to write your own HTML you better stick with classic. The new one uses XML, and gives no shortage of warnings when you try to put in a bit of html code. At least it gives me no shortage of warnings. I don't know much about XML. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to work harmoniously with HTML, but I don't know how to do that.

The most frustrating thing, the thing I spent most of my time trying to fix was the commenting. It set me up with Blogger commenting and I couldn't get Haloscan up and running. I managed to find someone who did though. If anyone wants to get Haloscan commenting running on their New and Improved Blogger, this *http://logicalphilosopher.blogspot.com/2006/09/getting-haloscan-to-work-in-beta.html* is the man to see about it. I assume it's a man. I really don't know. Whatever it is, it's a genius.

I didn't spend the whole three hours working that out of course. I spent the bulk of that chatting with a sister who is in town for the evening. I only spent a bit over an hour working on this site.

Anyway, all that said, I'm going to bed. It's freakin' late.

Choir Boy

So, I failed to show for the choir performance we've been practicing for at church for the past several weeks. Rather, I declined to show. I have nothing against singing in choir, and the songs we've been practicing were coming along quite well despite the best efforts of our choir director. Really, I hadn't been planning on going for a while now, but I went to the choir practices anyway just to support everyone else's efforts. There's this girl who I like who was in town this weekend, and we made plans. I wasn't about to blow off a first date with her to support the choir, I mean I love hymns as much if not more than the next guy, but I think I'd have to have stupid stamped across my forehead before I blew this girl off.

We've talked before, so I already knew we got along well enough. It was cool how we didn't seem to run out of things to talk about. Before heading out to the movie, I told her I needed to stop by my brother's house to let out his dogs, and asked her if she minded. She didn't. I asked her if she was okay with big dogs. She was. She came in with me, and helped me with the dogs. She was pretty good with them. They listened to me much better than they listened to her, but they know me better. Also, after I unlocked and opened her door for her she always tried to reach over and unlock my door. I say try because the lock stuck once, and she had trouble finding it the first time. I know it's a small thing, but it's nice to see someone helping you out where they can. Myex wouldn't unlock the door if I asked. Anyway, this post isn't about her. We headed off to the theater after that.

We saw Stranger than Fiction, which I highly recommend. It was deeper and more moving than anything Will Ferrell has ever been in. I know that's not exactly a big feat, but it was deeper and more moving than several things Will Ferrell has never been in, too. I didn't break down and cry at any of the more moving parts, but I had one picked out where I figured other sappier people might cry. I certainly wasn't choking back anything. I'm tough and all that.

Interesting note about this girl, she jumps/flinches/grabs/etc. at anything slightly gory/tense/frightening/whatever. If any of you have seen this movie, you know how little there is to really jump about. It's a bit weird, but in a date this works out to my advantage. My hand hurt a bit after one of the more tense parts, but all in all, not bad. We hit Old Chicago afterwards, and then headed up to her (her parent's) house, which is way out in nowhere. As it turns out, nowhere is the perfect place to check out the stars, and if it's a cold night that's even better. There were several shooting stars. It was a nice night. After that we watched cartoons and movies that she had on her DVR, and talked a lot. She laughs a lot, which of course goes to my head. I must be a comic genius or something. I think that's what drunk people feel like most of the time. Also, when she laughs she snorts. All the time. I always thought it was awesome. I'm not sure why, but it's just funny, and very her.

So, that was the night. Then I headed over to Berserk's house to let his dogs out to pee again, and reheated the leftover Italian nachos from Old Chicago. I'll likely be a bit late to church today, as I am writing this, but not too late. I'm also on caffeine now, more than I am on sleep. I'll have to take care of that tonight.

Cadaver Lab

Cadaver lab was interesting. Most of the things I saw were things I already knew, but it was cool to see them in three dimensions, and in more detail than any model. The lab itself was interesting. Not much more than a half hour away from my house there is a mall. Just next to the mall there is a smallish shopping center with a couple buildings divided into several suites between them. One suite, nestled between two normal open to the public stores has no front door. If you drive around to the alley in the back, there is a rear entrance. Inside are a few rows of desks, some chalkboards and anatomy charts covering the walls, and in the corner next to the restroom, a number of tables, some with metal covers and some with large zipped up bags. Once class begins the desks are stacked and the tables are spread out to fill the room. There were six cadavers, four male and two female, and each one about eighty some-odd years old. Each one was in a different state of disassembly. The longer they've had a cadaver at the lab, the deeper they cut into it. The chest is big and empty with all of the organs removed.

One of the cadavers, a female, had ovaries the size of small oranges. For any readers not too familiar with ovaries, they are supposed to be about a twentieth of that size. They were full of cysts. I got to hold a cyst. It was about the size and shape of a rather large marble, just a bit more irregular, and not clear, shiny, or sparkly. It was pretty hard and heavy.

Another one, this one male, had most of the digestive organs removed and on display on a separate table. Still in his cavity however, was his esophagus, and the end of his colon. We were looking at the colon, and noticed several small round hard objects embedded in the tissue. They looked like big peppercorns, or like the bullets from a shotgun. I thought maybe he had taken a shot from a shotgun to his abdomen, recovered, and lived with the shot unremoved. That may sound a bit far fetched, but Myex's grandmother went through just that, and she's still kicking around today. Still, I was wrong. Apparently that's what colon cancer looks like. Specifically, those were colon polyps. Remind me not to get that. I don't need peppercorns in my bum.

There was another guy, who had served in WWII. Well, either that or there was another guy who liked tattoos that said he served in WWII. I suspect not the latter. He was likely a smoker, not just because of the fact that he was a young man in the army many many years ago when smoking was seen as less of a hazard than we see it as today. Also, not just because of the hole in his trachea. Also, not just because of the black, although otherwise healthy size and shaped lungs. Mostly it was a combination of all these things.

His lungs/heart/esophagus/diaphragm/tongue were all removed but otherwise in one piece. You could look down the throat, behind the tongue and epiglottis, and see the vocal cords. Last time I had a view like that I was doing an endotracheal intubation on a plastic model. It was the same general thing, but better to see what the real thing looks like.

Last thing I thing I should mention here is the exposed bone. I've always liked the
skeleton, and there was no shortage of it here. On some, with the internal organs removed you could see the bodies of the vertebrae forming the vertebral column, and the inside of the ribcage and pelvis. One had the back of the spine exposed, and much of the vertebrae broken away exposing the spinal cord (from the front, this guy had a cut open heart with a pacemaker). The best bones though were the arm and leg with all skin and muscle cut away leaving nothing but bone and the connective tissue that holds everything in it's shape. It seemed a little odd holding a thigh bone, and sticking my finger in the hole it came out of, but at the same time, you get a better picture of how things fit together, and how things move than you do even with one of those classroom skeletons. Maybe I just need to go to a bigger better college with a bigger better budget, but I have yet to see a classroom skeleton where the bones are actually held right where they should be to articulate with the bone next to them. Things are always kind of wired, or hanging in the approximate place sometimes twisting around, but at the lab parts fit together and moved normally.

Anyway, all that said, I can say with confidence that I do not want this guy's job. Todd, the man who runs the lab, is an odd man, with some odd philosophy he can't help but share. Something about how people aren't sensitive enough to strangers, and how the body parts all know when something is wrong with their neighboring parts. Things like that. Nothing too odd, just odd that he had to share. He seems like a good kind of man though, to have this job. He spends all sorts of crazy hours with his dissections trying to expose nerves and organs without damaging anything. I could see myself running an autopsy where you open them up, solve a puzzle, and call it a day, but spending the kind of hours this guy does on a dissection is another thing entirely. Also, by the end of three hours there I had inhaled enough formaldehyde that I seemed to smell it everywhere. And it wasn't entirely in my head. Even through the latex, my hands had the smell of it, and it wouldn't wash out. Not the sort of life I would want, doing this day in and day out. I wouldn't mind running a dissection or two though, and as for a three hour lab, I'd recommend that to anyone interested in anatomy.