i always forget that people who aren't vegan sometimes find the whole concept really muddy and confusing. tonight someone asked me in all seriousness, "can you eat cake?!" and then as i jokey-joked my way through that and explained that yes, i could indeed eat cake, someone else was super-surprised that i can eat chocolate. sometimes i feel like a lot of my conversations revolve around ingredients-education and pointing out what a total junk food junkie i am. heh.
okay, so i know this couple in my department extremely well. i've blogged about them before (separately, usually). they were my professors before they were my colleagues, and they're very good to me. they're also unabashed meat-eaters and they enjoy teasing me (husband) or worrying about me (wife) when it comes to my veganism. i know this about them, i'm very used to it, and although i bitch about it sometimes (usually here!), i generally let it roll off and just realize that it's part of who they are and they don't mean any harm.
last week we were over at their house, socializing with another one of our colleagues, celebrating the end to a particularly grueling semester (it has been the Year of the Meeting, i swear to you). they had put out hummus and fresh bread, which made me extremely happy, and we were just sitting around having drinks and snacking on hummus and stuff, when the wife suddenly said to me, "i'm thinking about going vegan for the summer." i didn't know how to respond to that; i thought maybe she was kidding around, but she looked pretty serious. i said something like, "oh really?! how come?" and she said something about just to try it, to see if she'd like it, for a change, that kind of thing. i didn't push, and i just said something like, "well let me know if you need any help with anything!" and we maybe went back and forth about a couple of tiny things, but then i kind of blew it off.
the next day i saw her at our departmental baseball game outing, and she ate two hot dogs. i wasn't surprised in the least.
but then today, she went out of her way to tell me that she had tried some tofu "egg" salad, and that it was DELICIOUS. so i guess she must be at least halfway serious about this vegan experiment thing. i decided to take her more seriously this time, and i suggested we go out for lunch to a vegan-friendly place and i give her some tutorials. she said she totally wanted to do that.
i'm flabbergasted, really. i'm not sure what her deal is, and i'm relatively certain this will be a passing fad for her, but if she's genuinely interested for even five minutes, i'll be happy to help her learn whatever she wants to learn. weird, hey?
today we went out for early lunch and then ran errands all afternoon. here are the things i bought:
lunch:
moroccan pea soup (omg this was DELICIOUS!)
tofu burger with lettuce, vegenaise, ketchup, & avocado
chocolate banana smoothie
errands:
sam's yams dog chews
just vegg'n treats
a stuffed animal (sea turtle) for the doggie
5 small glitter balls for the cats
an awesome new birdbath for the yard
at home, online:
a ginormous slumber ball (think beanbag for dogs)
...and pretty soon, a crate
it's been a big day. the moroccan pea soup was the highlight, though. it was soooo good, and kind of weird, but in a good way. i joked that it tasted like split pea or lentil soup, with a hint of cinnamon applesauce. i know that probably sounds revolting, but it wasn't.
things we almost bought or considered buying today: a cat tree (still working on that project!!), biodegradable poop bags, an elevated feeder, and a crate pad. and probably a bunch of other things i'm forgetting.
i mentioned this before, but today was the day: my TAs took me out as a 'thank you' for this year, which is so sweet and totally uncalled for, because i need to seriously be thanking them. anyhow, they took me to one of my very favorite restaurants, and we had a blast. i got one of them hooked on the chocolate banana smoothies i love so much, and another one had a totally vegan meal, although i'm not sure if that was by accident or on purpose (hee).
on friday we're having our final exam, and i'm planning to bake for them that day, but i'd also like to get them some small gifties. i'm having a tough time because two of them are boys. it's a lot easier to buy "girly things," at least for me, being a girl. anyone have cool ideas for not-wildly-expensive-but-still-thoughtful-and/or-cool thank you gifts?
we're supposed to be narrowing the list and instead i keep coming up with more ideas! i suck. also, i'm slightly frustrated because i don't know her yet, and she doesn't even live here yet, and that's not usually how i name my babies. with avery and finley, we tried a few things out during our first few days together, and then settled on the name that "felt right."
i guess there's not an absolute NEED to get the name hammered out right now, but i felt like if we could, it might be nice, because then her foster family could start using it right away to cut down on potential confusion. and also i'd like to cross something off my "omg we're going to have a dog next week holy crap seriously" list.
some of the names i'm kicking around right now... my top three favorites at the moment are (in alphabetical order): cordelia, elliott, and fiona. i also came up with sparrow the other day, and i think it's kind of cute. and an hour ago i was thinking about how the very tippy-tip of her tail is white, and that led me to firefly. so i started the day with a top three, and now suddenly i'm up to five again. oh, and we also like maia, although my husband likes it more than i do. well, i love it as a name, but somehow it doesn't seem to fit her as well as the others (in my mind). anyway, the point is, i broadened the list instead of narrowing it. whoops.
we hosted our first mother's day celebration today. in years past it has always been at my great-aunt's house (because she was "the non-mother" of the group), and then a few years ago my sister took it over (the year my great-aunt was ill) and she hung onto it. now my sister has two babes of her own, so we took it over so that she can enjoy her mother's day too. we had 8 adults, 1 kiddo (almost 4), and 1 baby in attendance. for snacks we did easy dips and hummus, and then for dinner we went with super-simple: pasta with vegan meatballs, fresh yummy bread, and a green salad with vegetables. i was a little nervous about springing vegan meatballs on everyone, but we went for it anyway.
when it came time for dinner, we just passed the salad and bread, and i took plates into the kitchen to fill them with pasta and meatballs. i garnished each one with a sprinkling of parma! and brought them back in without a word about veganity. well, not only did everyone eat it without even asking about the meatballs, but they said all kinds of things about how delicious everything was, and everyone wanted seconds. hooray! i was really quite impressed and happy.
i also made chocolate chip bars for dessert, and those were gobbled up. my family has more practice with vegan desserts, though, because that's what i typically contribute. anyhow, i would consider it a huge success and i'm weirdly proud of my family right now. yay!
today we went to a baseball game with a bunch of faculty and grad students from our department. we tailgated for over two hours before the game, which i prepared for by: (a) eating a pb&j before leaving the house, ha ha, and (b) bringing a bunch of hummus, chips, tings, and cookies so i could nosh all afternoon if i felt like it. i also was pleasantly surprised that a couple of people had kept me in mind and purposely brought vegan things (and let me know about them)--i thought that was really sweet.
anyhow, when we finally started wandering from the parking lot to the stadium for game-time, we noticed people frantically handing out small cards and then little parcels that they would pull out from a canvas tote-bag they were wearing. of course we were all wondering about what exciting freebie was within our reach, until i overheard one of the bag-wearers proudly proclaim, "they're brats!"
i was speechless for a moment. random strangers carrying around a bag of meat and handing out bratwurst to anyone who wanted one. the idea just sounds so absurd to me. and perhaps the weirdest part of all? it was a promotion for some national bank i'd never even heard of. i mean, seriously. what will people think of next?
welp, it looks like the rescue has lined up a foster home for our girl, and coincidentally it will be with the couple who did our home visit. they live only about 20 minutes away from us, which is great. they have two greys and two kitties, so there should be plenty of opportunity for her to practice being around cats, not to mention learn good manners from her foster siblings. she'll probably go to their house on monday, and then if all goes well, she'll be coming to us on the 21st (which is my birthday). we are planning to change her name, so right now we're working on narrowing down the list so we can decide (so that her foster family knows it when they get her). it's hard work!
so, i got a myspace page forever ago, and i used it for awhile, but eventually got bored and now i mostly forget about it. i've toyed with deleting it a few times, but was always too lazy to bother--plus, i'm one of those "just in case" people. anyhow, those of you who also have myspace pages probably have been spammed by bands asking to be your friend. i pretty much always ignore them. i just delete the friend requests before even checking the profile. i'm a jerk.
but tonight i got a message (not a friend request) from an artist, which i thought was kind of weird and interesting. i had never heard of him before, and in fact didn't realize he was an artist (rather than a random joe) at first... but when i read his message, it was relatively personal, friendly, on-topic, and not at all misguided. he pointed out something we had in common, told me to check out a cover version of a song he'd done (a song i love), and let me know that he'd be in town tomorrow night for a show. i clicked on his profile, and as soon as his songs started playing i was all, how have i never heard of this guy? he's awesome! seriously right up my alley of music-lovin'. i listened to all the songs on his profile, then went over to iTunes and listened to a bunch of samples, and within a couple of hours i had bought a [mumble mumble] amount of his music. and i'm really bummed that i'm already double-booked for tomorrow evening, because i honestly would have tried to rope my husband into going with me to the show.
well done, gregory douglass!
today was a good day to be at school (for me, anyway). i learned that i've got $1000 extra money to spend in departmental funds, which is awesome because i want to go to a conference this summer (well, i kind of have to because they accepted my paper) and it's reDONKulously expensive. the registration is $300, the hotel is $200/night, and then there's the airfare. so, yay found money!
in the same meeting that i learned about the money, i learned that i'm going to get a shiny new iMac!!! (i'll spare you the obnoxious exclamation points and just leave it at three.) it's tOtally not my turn to get a new computer (i just got one last year at this time--a dell), but i jokingly offered my barely-touched year-old dell to someone who gets a new computer this year so that i could switch to a mac, and he said fine with him (by the way, this generous individual is the same person i was talking about yesterday. i told you he was nice!). i laughed it off because i really was screwing around, but i found out during the meeting today that he was serious and now it looks like i'm going to be an all-mac girl very soon. woo hoo!
and now i'm capping off my evening by reading a thesis proposal about companion animal bereavement. i love that this is a legitimate topic and that i get to be on the committee. i've already sent the grad student a link to IDA's guardian campaign so she'll understand why i'm removing all mention of the word "owner" from her manuscript, and i'm looking forward to helping with such an animal-friendly project.
okay, i know i've talked about this before, many times, but it never ceases to amaze me. why is it that some people just can't restrain themselves when they're around me?
tonight i left my office to go to the restroom at the end of the hall. while washing my hands, i heard one of my colleagues (who had just arrived) talking to another colleague (whose office is across the hall from me). as i came out of the bathroom and started walking toward them, i realized that hallway guy was telling office guy about how he had been dealing with some mice in his basement(?), and i also realized that it would be best for me to get back into my office and close the door as soon as possible, because hallway guy has a problem with blurting out inappropriate things just to irritate me. i quickly but quietly got within a foot of my office door before hallway guy noticed me, at which point he said loudly and with gusto, "but thank god i killed all the damn things! i killed them all!"
w. t. f?
he managed to (almost maniacally) blurt these sentences out just as i was getting into my office, at which point i was so frustrated at his obvious goading that i just yelled, "fantastic timing!" and let the door shut behind me. once i was inside my office, i heard him return to his conversation with office guy, wherein he explained the lovely and humane (by which i mean torturous and cruel) method he used to kill the mice: glue traps.
HATERY.
okay, but back to my original question: why does he do this?! he's like a third-grader. this is the same person who likes to tell me how he prepares lamb on holidays, and who used to joke about eating my pet rabbit. and the weirdest part about it all? seriously, i kid you not, he likes me. he cares about my well-being, he has been helpful and generous to me, and he has been a big advocate for me. so what the flipping hell?
i'm so close to the end of the semester, and so close to sabbatical, that i think i have senioritis. all i want to do is sit on the couch and help clean off my DVR, seriously. that pretty much describes the majority of my past two days. yikes. good thing i have to go to school tomorrow!
thanks for all of the congrats and well-wishing, everyone. i'm still pretty overwhelmed and a lot nervous and a little freaked out, but since i didn't give any details about her last night, i thought i'd better give some now. heidi (we will probably change her name, but haven't decided to what) is two years old, and her birthday was in march (two days after avery's). she only ran two races, both in february of this year, and she placed pretty badly in both. here's hoping that means she has a terrible prey drive! heh. she's pretty small, about 60 pounds, and she's very sweet. she's really well-behaved on a leash, and when we took her to the big fenced area to run, she took off like a goofy crazy galloping silly. she's extremely cute. she definitely seems like an amazing dog and a great match for us, and yet i'm terrified. so that's probably all i'll be saying for a little while, until i start feeling less insane.
i'm still too overwhelmed to say anything else! today was an emotional roller coaster and i feel a bit like a crazy person. well maybe a LOT like a crazy person. but this is heidi, tuckered out after a LONG day and ready to go to sleep in her kennel. look at her face! she's got a great face. this face is going to be living with us in a few weeks.
we got a phone call this morning asking if we'd be interested in/able to come to kennel day earlier than planned. our original appointment was supposed to be tomorrow at 1pm, but evidently the 10am family has chosen a dog who's currently in a foster home, so they no longer need to go to kennel day tomorrow. we were offered their spot (which is the first appointment of the day), so we took it! i had made my peace with being the last appointment of the day, and now it's all topsy-turvy. i'm kind of excited because it means we get "first picks," but like i said the other day, i believe that if there's a dog who's meant to be with us, we'll meet him or her regardless of when we show up.
i also found out who will be there showing us dogs (i.e., which volunteers from the rescue organization), and they both seem extremely nice and helpful, so that makes me happy. the only thing that's bumming me out is the weather. it's totally crappy today, rainy and gross, and it's looking like tomorrow won't be much better. i was really hoping for a mild, sunny day. oh wells, you can't have everything!
wish me luck, and i'll report back tomorrow!
let it be known: i love jenny brown (longtime readers may recall that i once propositioned her, heh) and i love the woodstock farm animal sanctuary, but this article made my heart even more mushy for everyone involved. what a pile of awesome people, for serious. and hooray for albie!
if you'd like to read more about albie, or find out how you can help support him and the farm, you can do so here. enjoy!
clay aiken: on my way here
i know. i can't help it.
lee livingood: retired racing greyhounds for dummies
still working through this one!
david pogue: mac os x leopard: the missing manual
this book was recommended by a friend, and is proving extremely useful to me, as a newbie to the mac world.
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