Dienstag 29 Juni, 2004

Book 6

Ooh! Ooh!

The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series has a title - 'Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince'.

Sadly, no news as to when the book will be released. Hurry up with that writing JK Rowling!

P.S. Rowling says that neither Harry nor Voldemort are the Half Blood Prince.

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Inappropriate Advertising

It's all very well to laugh about this now Rosie pup is healthy again, but I didn't think it was very funny at the time when Ask Jeeves tried to entice me to shop for 'puppy vomit' as I scoured the interweb for more information about what could be making her sick.

ask Jeeves

Rosie was producing enough puke that I certainly didn't need to buy any. And who would purchase that sort of thing anyway? Wait, on second thoughts, I'd rather not know.

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24

In the space of the past 4 days, Mark and I have watched 8 episodes of the first season of 24.

I didn't watch the show when it was originally on tv, but now, thanks to my friend Netflix, I'm receiving a steady supply of DVDs direct to my door. I'm glad I can watch the episodes back to back - the tension of having to wait a week for the next installment might have done me some serious damage.

In a way, though, I know the tension is unwarranted. The series is called '24' for a reason, right? The main characters aren't going to get bumped off until somewhere around hour 21 or 22, if at all. And I already know there is a season 2 of 24, so Jack Bauer and his family must make it through season 1 somehow.

Of course, this still doesn't stop me from sitting curled up in a ball on the sofa, nervously waiting for the next loose trigger finger or twisted character betrayal.

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Montag 28 Juni, 2004

Looped

My sporting achievement for the weekend was biking 34 miles around the Dam Loop. It's a hilly route with a few rough spots where the road doesn't have much of a shoulder, but I made it the whole way round, and I enjoyed it immensely.

We stopped a few times along the way at convenience stores to top up our water bottles, have a snack and re-group our little peleton. We also had to stop for a while and seek shelter from a passing thunderstorm. Fortunately, we found a park with a covered barbecue area where we could hide from the pouring rain and, more importantly, the lightening.

The whole thing took almost almost 4 hours, of which we spent about 2hrs 40min in the saddle. With better weather and a better idea of where I am going, I anticipate that I could knock a good chunk of time off next time I ride the Dam Loop.

Yes, I will definitely be riding it again.

[article on riding the Dam Loop from the Austin American Statesman here]

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Sonntag 27 Juni, 2004

Baseball, Wakeboarding and More Pictures of the Puppy

Round Rock Express vs the Midland Rockhouds, an afternoon on Lake Austin and photos of Rosie pup at 11 weeks old. Photos here.

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Freitag 25 Juni, 2004

Helpless

My puppy is sick.

She vomited and had bad diarrhea and she didn't want to eat or drink. Then, when she finally did drink, she puked it all back up again.

So we took her to the vet. She was so still and looked so mournful that I thought my heart might shatter there and then as she nuzzled her little furry face into my chest while sitting on the examination table. She barely flinched when the nurse took her temperature, and stood quietly while the vet poked at her belly.

The vet decided to keep her in for observation to do some blood tests and stool tests, and also to give her some electrolytes to address dehydration. The vet thinks she probably has some sort of gastroenteritus, possibly picked up from eating something she shouldn't have, but also tested for parvo. Thankfully, the parvo test results came back negative.

I feel so sad without my Rosie pup, and I want her to come home very soon. I miss my baby.

Update: The vet called to say that Rosie ate a little bit, and then vomited again, so they are going to shave her paw and put a catheter in to give her IV fluids. Mark and I can pick her up later this afternoon and take care of her overnight, but we'll probably need to take her back to the vet for more treatment tomorrow. The vet doesn't know what's causing Rosie to be ill.

I feel awful, like I'm the worst puppy mumma ever for letting my Rosie get sick.

Update#2: We brought Rosie home last night, and she was excited to see us when we went to pick her up. She vomited again as soon as we got her home, so we figured we were in for a rough night. Fortunately, she was OK after that initial incident.

She was dopey looking and quiet, but she slept until 4am without whining. She woke me at 4am, so I got up with her and took her outside. She was pretty lively, but still not interested in food or water.

At 8am, we took her back to the vet for more IV fluids. By 9.30am, we had a call from the vet to say she was looking a lot more lively and had eaten some food without spitting it back up. We collected Rosie from the vet at noon, and she just about went into orbit with excitement when we picked her up. She was like a super-energized version of the puppy we dropped off, all full of wags and happiness. It was so great to watch!

Rosie's been doing well today, alternately racing around the house like a mad thing and then suddenly falling into a deep sleep and snoring like a train. She's eating special bland puppy food, drinking water and most importantly, keeping it down.

Thanks for all your well wishes. We still don't really know what caused her to get sick, but whatever it was, she's definitely on the mend. For that, I am extremely very thankful.

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Donnerstag 24 Juni, 2004

The Agony

Well, that was 130mins of sheer agony.

England are out of Euro2004, thanks to a disallowed goal followed by quite possibly the worst penalty kick ever taken. The English press are going to have a field day over Beckham's miss for months to come.

[Aside: did anyone else think the referee looked like a young David Bowie? No? Just me then. Fine.]

This link might cheer you up - it's the bio page for a professor at Singapore's National Institue of Education. I snorted Dr. Pepper out my nose when I first saw it.

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Mittwoch 23 Juni, 2004

Where Were You When...

The Questions:
1. Where were you when you heard that Ronald Reagan died?
2. Where were you on September 11, 2001?
3. Where were you when you heard that Princess Diana died?
4. Do you remember where you were when you heard Kurt Cobain had died?
5. Take one for The Gipper: What’s your favorite flavor of jelly bean?
6. Where were you when Magic Johnson announced he was retiring from the NBA due to AIDS?
7. Where were you when Reagan was shot?
8.Where were you when the Challenger exploded?
9. Where were you when the 0J verdict was announced?

My Answers:
1. Where were you when you heard that Ronald Reagan died?
I read it in the morning newspaper. I was sitting outside the back of the house with a cup of tea.

2. Where were you on September 11, 2001?
I was messing about on the computer in my flat in Singapore, with the evening news on the tv in the background, when I heard that a light aircraft had hit the World Trade Center. At first, I thought the plane had hit the World Trade Center in Singapore, because there's one there too. But then, as I was reading MetaFilter, I started seeing all the reports come flooding in about planes hitting the Two Towers in New York. MetaFilter was our best source of news that evening.

3. Where were you when you heard that Princess Diana died?
I was in my flat in Edinburgh. It was either a Saturday or a Sunday morning, and I heard about it on the television, as I sat curled up with a cup of tea and some toast nursing a hangover. Then, in the afternoon, I went to Habitat and bought a new rug for my room, and everywhere I went, all day, complete strangers were discussing her death, on the bus, in the shops, in the line for the ATM, at the checkout counter, in the pub. It was bizarre.

4. Do you remember where you were when you heard Kurt Cobain had died?
Not really. I must have been living in Geneva at the time, but I don't think this was important to me.

5. Take one for The Gipper: What’s your favorite flavor of jelly bean?
Don't know. I like those Jelly Belly beans though, that you can combine different flavours together in little recipes.

6. Where were you when Magic Johnson announced he was retiring from the NBA due to AIDS?
I have no idea. I would have been living in Geneva at the time, but I don't remember reading about it or hearing about it on the news.

7. Where were you when Reagan was shot?
I have no idea. 1981, right? I was only 5.

8. Where were you when the Challenger exploded?
At home, in Glasgow. Again, I don't really remember much about it from when it happened. I remember we talked about it at school afterwards, and that there were a lot of bad/sick jokes being circulated around the school bus and swim team. For example:
Q: How do you know the Challenger astronauts had dandruff?
A: They found the head and shoulders on the beach.
Q: What was the last thing the astronauts said on the Challenger?
A: I wonder what this little red button does?

9. Where were you when the 0J verdict was announced?
At a friend's house in Glasgow. I was lying on the floor in the living room, watching the verdict announcement. We were all pretty shocked by the not-guilty verdict, and talked about it for all of a minute before switching channels to see what else was on. It seemed so patently ridiculous.

[questions via tricia]

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