Right...I am terrible. I haven't posted in over a month. I have an infant blog that has been languishing without much attention. Occasionally, I will look at my blog and think "I need to update...I have no witty links or photos to post" and I hang my head in shame...I'm a terrible blogger.
But- I do have interesting news. Sadly...I had to euthanize a fish...and then my goldfish had babies...twice! I am new to the world of amateur aquarium hobbism...but everyone I have told about my goldfish babies have a small aneurism and usually ask "are you sure it isn't guppies?" No! My goldfish are very fertile and frisky!
Here is the story...my favorite Goldfish (Klaus) had a swimbladder problem, which meant she swam upside down all of the time...it was tragically funny, but she was still healthy and eating, and obstensibly enjoying life. Well, then she got an open sore on her belly, and she wasn't eating or enjoying life...so we decided to send her to the big pond and end her suffering. It was pretty heartbreaking to lose her. Klaus was a great fish, named after one of my favorite Wilem Dafoe characters. Well, not 3 days after we lost Klaus...I was looking at the tank and thought I was seeing some floaties...and they turned out to be BABY fish! Crazy. Goldfish Fry? Can they be real? Well, they are. And there are 8.
So, to save the babies, we moved the remaining big fish into a smaller tank. Then we moved the big fish back. And, then, last night...what did I see...but goldfish eggs in the small tank! So...this means that the one male, Steve, has been very prolific...and the ladies (Pabst, Pricilla or Hari) have fallen victim to his lady-fish killer ways.
I will keep you all posted on the fish developments. And by you all I mean perhaps the one or two who might maybe be checking my blog because they've got nothing else to do. Maybe I will put photos up at some point...exciting.
I have stories of Easter and our dogs enjoying Wisconsin, tales of eating my weight in sugar, a deepening of my yoga practice...and how much work sucks. REALLY sucks. But, I'm mostly excited about the baby fish. I know. I'm a geek. It's fine. I'm learning to be content with my inner fish-geek. :)
Monday, April 9, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
Fish Fridays
Happy Friday, everyone. I seem to have just wasted a vacation day just laying on the couch and sleeping. Originally J and I were supposed to travel up to Madison and then on to Rib Lake, WI to take part in the Timm's Hill Trudge. However, we are wimps and when we heard about the potential "blizzards" forecast ed for upper WI...we opted out of adventure and exercise...and decided to stay home. But, a weekend of adventure is still in store as my friend Steffie who was joining us for the snowshoeing will be instead joining us in Chicago for a pedicure/Art Institute/Spanikopita filled weekend. Yea!
J still went up to Madison today (he had an interview...keep fingers crossed), so I stayed here to catch up on life. I should have worked as I have a million change plans to write...but I didn't. Instead, I spent time with the puppies and the fish.
Background: In September of 2005, I set up a 37 gallon aquarium in my apartment. My friend Venus helped me get set up and educated on the art of owning fancy goldfish. I selected 5 baby goldfish for my tank, with plans to bring 2 or 3 more into the tank. These goldfish were tiny. They were the size of a quarter. They were so cute. One looked like Elvis. Two had huge read Brain-heads. One had pom-poms over her eyes. And the smallest, she could only look upwards. And, no one expected them all to survive. At least, that's the feeling I got when they warned me not to name them...yet. (But I did...Lil Elvis, Girl, Steve Zizzou, Klaus and Hari)
Now it is March 2007 and I think it is safe to say all 5 are still living and swimming. They inhabit a total of 92 gallons in the condo after we added a tank so they could spread out...and each goldfish is the size of a small fillet. I remember as a kid, whenever we'd go to a fancy restaurant with an aquarium (I always thought it was fancy if there was an aquarium), invariably there would be an Oscar the size or a dinner plate...bleakly oblivious to his surroundings and the fact that all the jokesters entering the restaurant would point at him and say "Look, it's dinner. Har har." Now I live with 5 of these creatures, and thankfully for them I don't eat fish.
They have been through some harrowing events...first the move to the condo. Then being left alone for 5 days in an unconditioned condo in July. Then the power outage in August. 2 of them actually were upside down... but I brought them back to life. Unfortunately for Lil' Elvis, he lost his sideburns and became Lil' Priscilla.
So, Fish Friday takes on a very different meaning for me than it would my Catholic friends...I've been cleaning the tanks, watching the fish float and bump around the tank, and contemplating why goldfish create such copious amounts of waste. It's been productive and relaxing. As Venus says, it's very meditative to give your tanks a good cleaning. Ok, she may not say it exactly like that...but, however she says it, she's right.
J still went up to Madison today (he had an interview...keep fingers crossed), so I stayed here to catch up on life. I should have worked as I have a million change plans to write...but I didn't. Instead, I spent time with the puppies and the fish.
Background: In September of 2005, I set up a 37 gallon aquarium in my apartment. My friend Venus helped me get set up and educated on the art of owning fancy goldfish. I selected 5 baby goldfish for my tank, with plans to bring 2 or 3 more into the tank. These goldfish were tiny. They were the size of a quarter. They were so cute. One looked like Elvis. Two had huge read Brain-heads. One had pom-poms over her eyes. And the smallest, she could only look upwards. And, no one expected them all to survive. At least, that's the feeling I got when they warned me not to name them...yet. (But I did...Lil Elvis, Girl, Steve Zizzou, Klaus and Hari)
Now it is March 2007 and I think it is safe to say all 5 are still living and swimming. They inhabit a total of 92 gallons in the condo after we added a tank so they could spread out...and each goldfish is the size of a small fillet. I remember as a kid, whenever we'd go to a fancy restaurant with an aquarium (I always thought it was fancy if there was an aquarium), invariably there would be an Oscar the size or a dinner plate...bleakly oblivious to his surroundings and the fact that all the jokesters entering the restaurant would point at him and say "Look, it's dinner. Har har." Now I live with 5 of these creatures, and thankfully for them I don't eat fish.
They have been through some harrowing events...first the move to the condo. Then being left alone for 5 days in an unconditioned condo in July. Then the power outage in August. 2 of them actually were upside down... but I brought them back to life. Unfortunately for Lil' Elvis, he lost his sideburns and became Lil' Priscilla.
So, Fish Friday takes on a very different meaning for me than it would my Catholic friends...I've been cleaning the tanks, watching the fish float and bump around the tank, and contemplating why goldfish create such copious amounts of waste. It's been productive and relaxing. As Venus says, it's very meditative to give your tanks a good cleaning. Ok, she may not say it exactly like that...but, however she says it, she's right.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
February Dreamin'
I've been in a big movie watching mood recently...and have finished off some real gems recently (e.g. The Queen, Elizabeth I, The Departed). Over the course of the weekend, John and I started The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry. Gondry has directed many amazing music videos as well as a coupla my favorite films (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and also Dave Chappelle's Block Party.)
Anyway...The Science of Sleep was not only a beautiful movie, but it really messes with one's dream sequencing. Especially if you fall asleep while watching the movie...it may screw you up for days. And, seriously, when you finish the movie...you have no idea where you are between reality and dreams...John said "Everything seems so dreamlike right now..."
There is something about Gondry films that are so lovely and simple, but with certain devastating heartbreak lurking in the corners. It's that feeling you get when life is so sublime and perfect, and then you realize it's not real but you're in a very realistic dream. That sad in-between moment when you want nothing more than the dream to keep going even though you know it's incredibly fleeting. (Usually that moment occurs for me at 4:45 and I languish in the bittersweet pre-dawn quiet for a couple minutes before the damn alarm goes off.)
The movie has done two things to me. First, I'm already a very active and prolific dreamer...and the movie only intensified my dreamworld for the past couple nights. Second, I've been thinking and rethinking some of my favorite movies that mix dreams and reality...including Waking Life, the aforementioned Eternal Sunshine, Neverending Story, Labrynth (aka David Bowie in hotpants), Akira Kurosawa's Dreams, Eraserhead, Run Lola Run and more recently Pan's Labrynth (AMAZING!). I would recommend any and all of these movies, especially if you're looking for some interesting fodder to dream about.
g'nite.
Anyway...The Science of Sleep was not only a beautiful movie, but it really messes with one's dream sequencing. Especially if you fall asleep while watching the movie...it may screw you up for days. And, seriously, when you finish the movie...you have no idea where you are between reality and dreams...John said "Everything seems so dreamlike right now..."
There is something about Gondry films that are so lovely and simple, but with certain devastating heartbreak lurking in the corners. It's that feeling you get when life is so sublime and perfect, and then you realize it's not real but you're in a very realistic dream. That sad in-between moment when you want nothing more than the dream to keep going even though you know it's incredibly fleeting. (Usually that moment occurs for me at 4:45 and I languish in the bittersweet pre-dawn quiet for a couple minutes before the damn alarm goes off.)
The movie has done two things to me. First, I'm already a very active and prolific dreamer...and the movie only intensified my dreamworld for the past couple nights. Second, I've been thinking and rethinking some of my favorite movies that mix dreams and reality...including Waking Life, the aforementioned Eternal Sunshine, Neverending Story, Labrynth (aka David Bowie in hotpants), Akira Kurosawa's Dreams, Eraserhead, Run Lola Run and more recently Pan's Labrynth (AMAZING!). I would recommend any and all of these movies, especially if you're looking for some interesting fodder to dream about.
g'nite.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Early spring on the tundra?
What a beautiful image of my fair city found on msnbc.com this morning. The groundhog may have predicted an early spring, but personally I predict a lot of weather chaos. Maybe general chaos will be status quo for the next couple years, and that's really what this blog will cover. I am no genius, I'm only moderately clever, I'm opinionated but lazy, and I am not starting this to chronicle a particularly brave or exciting feat. This will be more a journal of chaos made somewhat palatable by pretty pics and occassional witticisms. At least, that is my hope.Today, John and I were going to see Bodyworlds 2 at the Museum of Science and Industry with his cousin Laura and her family...but predicted blizzard activity has postponed our plans. So, instead, we're considering our musuem options here in Rogers Park or Evanston. And...that is how we happened upon this happy place. Not exactly the MSI, but still interesting and in our own back yard.
Tomorrow, if we're snowed in, I might have to relive my New Year's soup extravaganza by making some Tomato Bisque. Nothing better than a complicated soup to make the time pass.
Dog update: Tycho and Ella are both doing great. We took them to a dog park today, had a small incident with a rat dog and his rat owner...but the kids wore themselves out playing and being goofballs. When we returned home after so much activity, fed the kids, settled down...and then Tycho promptly peed on the hall carpet. Joy.
Friday, February 23, 2007
wait for it...
as much for myself as for anyone else...i plan to get el blog soon. until then, just think of this as a big empty apartment with so many possibilities. I'll try to get a futon in soon.
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