Thread Drift

Nanci - cool video!!

Fish - I did the whole super expensive, extend her life for 2 months business with my rottie back in 2001. I probably would do it again. But it was not fun - basically she needed dialysis several times a week, visits to the doggy ER, blah blah. If they tell you right out of the box that it will be miserable and probably won't do any thing significant it may not be worth it. OH! That just stinks.

Favorite vacation spot? Probably the French Alps and Northern Provence. There's just so much great cycling and hiking there. The food ROCKS. And I know this is weird, but I could spend hours in a French grocery store. Locally (i.e., affordably), the best vacation spot is Yosemite. I'm not typically a beach vacation person. We haven't been on a beachy vacation for at least 7 years! Amazing.

Here he is!!!

My favorite vacation spot is Cozumel, Mexico. I love the diving, love the people, love the climate, love the food. I've been there so many times...If I could go anywhere, I'd probably pick somewhere in South America, or a grand tour of Australia, or New Zealand. I have no interest in Europe, except maybe Spain. No interest in Africa, India, Thailand or Vietnam or any of that, or any of the Orient.

Choco has finally gone to sleep, after a big exploration and swim in his new 20 long. Must be a huge change after a shoe box and paper towel! He went swimming, and couldn't tear himself away, so went again!

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Originally Posted by Kitsune06

Oh, and I agree--the mind just... "goes there".
I'm with you, Knotted & Trek. Tri & biking erotica...
or even moreso, the concept of education or whatnot combined.
(HOW would you work in quantum physics?)

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Sheesh, look what happened just because the female pronoun was used to refer to a bike. And I was only referring to Knotted's bike as she referred to it, not trying to invent anything. But I suppose I could contribute some quantum physics (or stratospheric chemistry at least) and a description of well lubed bearings.

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Choco has finally gone to sleep, after a big exploration and swim in his new 20 long. Must be a huge change after a shoe box and paper towel! He went swimming, and couldn't tear himself away, so went again!

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Isn't it wonderful to know you've done something to make an animal (or a child) happy? Nanci, how is his tank set up? Dry land and a swimming pond? How big is he now, and how big will he get? How old is he? Will he and the other animals interact at all?

MP, your time in Hawaii sounds great. I agree, the PP has quite the deluxe life this fall!

I had dinner with my mom, my sister, BIL, and the two kids. Ted, my 7 year old nephew, had one of those really busy kid weekends--a couple of b-day parties, etc. His mom was telling us about it over dinner, and it sounded almost like a kids' action movie! I asked Ted, "If you had music in the background of the movie of your weekend, what would it be?" He's a smart, creative kid. He thought for awhile, grinned, and said, "I don't know what you mean." So I said, "Your weekend sounds like an action movie!" He grinned and said, "Yeah." Me: "Maybe your movie would have music like..." and then I sang the theme from Mission Impossible. Complete with arm movements and facial expressions. You should have seen the look on his face. He was so amused. It's not easy to crack that kid up, and it makes me very happy when I can! :D

Nanci "Choco has finally gone to sleep, after a big exploration and swim in his new 20 long. Must be a huge change after a shoe box and paper towel! He went swimming, and couldn't tear himself away, so went again!"

awwww, happy Choco! :D

Where. Is. My. Bike?!?!

The shop that is s'posed to be shipping it has had it almost a week now. I called them, said I hadn't heard from them and wanted to know how it was going. Oh, they hadn't got to it yet.

I have visions of my "new" bike in some chop-shop situation, all the Campy being taken off her and yucky components being put on. Campy wheels replaced with Mall-Wart wheels. Even her lugs somehow being stolen! I'll open the box and there will be a disaster. Yeah, hadn't got to it yet....

Or I'll open the box and it won't even be my bike. Some other gold bike.

Or my credit card number being used for wild Michigan parties, as my bike languishes.

I need that bike for so many (perfectly legitimate) reasons! Not least of which is that SKnot somehow outgrew his bike, like he did everything else, this summer. He stood over my Kona this afternoon and it wasn't a bad fit. I need the Waterford so he can have the Kona.

(I can always find something to angst over.)

Choco is HANDSOME. I look forward to seeing him grow up and hearing about his swimming adventures.

MP, my best friend has a mother who is really awful and always has been. Good folks don't always get the parents they deserve. If she was going to drop everything to take care of HER mother, I would probably kidnap her as a sort of defensive/rescue measure, first.

Oddly enough, since I've lived on the Left Coast for 23 years, I have yet to go to Hawaii. I love Provence, and parts of Italy, but my hands-down favorite is still Japan. I spent five weeks traveling there solo in '86, climbed Mt. Fuji, saw so much beauty in the countryside, in temples and shrines, in museums. Just an exquisitely lovely country.

I would love to go to Belize. And there's a Bolivian cafe at about 13,500 feet that a friend emailed me from once--I need to go have coffee there. And I would like to see the Galapagos except I'm afraid it's already getting overrun with people. And Antarctica. And New Zealand. Mr. Salsa, being kind of an adventurer, sailed away for a few years after high school (WAY before we met) to Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, NZ--lived in the latter two places for many months, and absolutely loves NZ.

My vacation loves seem to consist of equal doses of serious nature (we do a lot of mountain and desert rock-hunting) and of museums. Our last London visit to the diplomat brother in law, a few years ago, was an 8-day Christmas-time affair that we dubbed The London Museum Death March. It included the British Museum; the Museum of Natural History (fabulous rock/crystal collection, including specimens collected by a local geologist friend); the National Gallery; the National Portrait Gallery; the Tate; the Tate Modern; the Museum of London; the Courtauld Gallery; the Victoria & Albert (my favorite); the Royal Academy (major Aztec exhibit). My FEET. But we had a great time.

I expect that one of these days we'll do a cycling vacation somewhere.

I loved New Zealand. Was there in 1991. Geez, that was a long time ago!

where. is. my. bike?

Where. Is. KnottedYet's. Bike? I join you in imploring the universe to deliver it to you! I'm guessing that sknot has taken more to cycling lately. That's great that he can step right into the Kona, as soon as you get your Waterford.

I reactivated my profile on match.com. We'll see how this goes. The "Lise's Dates" section of Thread Drift has been quiet for a long time... I'm going to post one on "Fitness Singles", too.

I had some GREAT chips at my mom's tonight: Classy Delites Tweeds Flax Seed & Sesame Seed White Corn Tortilla Chips. Pretty much the perfect chip for me. Mom had bought two bags, and sent one home with me. :D

Vacations...I would love to go to Costa Rica, Belize. I do wish NZ weren't so darned far away. I'd love to see it. Spain, where I'm sure they'd laugh at my Chicago/Mexican/Peruvian accent. Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, my ancestral homelands. California--I had a wonderful romantic trip 16 years ago, when things were still wonderful and romantic with my ex. We landed in SF, drove up to Calistoga, soaked in mud baths and hiked, drove down the coast, enjoyed SF. We stayed at a marvelous hotel called Inn At the Opera. Ah, that was wonderful.

YOu guys could always come down this way & visit meeeee.. If you're in seattle you could fly via japan to perth...

I promise to be a good host & show you the good places to bike...:D

c

Holy Rollin' Hellfires:

I got too many women on my mind
Too many women, too little time...

If you go to http://www.choppersinc.com

then the flash site, then "Media," you can hear a HRH song. I love them!

Unfortunately, they are no longer together.

I'd love to see New Zealand. That would be fantabulous. I saw we all show up on CC doorstep with some wine. We could write that cycling "forum" book.

Knotted - say it with me....serenity now.

MP - That sounds like a fabulous trip. (Jealous)

Did anyone watch Family Guy lastnight?

The episode hit home a little too much for me :D Well, minus the whole prostrate gland. But the butt exam....yeah...I'm due for one in about a week and a half. I even had a dream about it last night. (The whole crohn's thing).

Why can't I dream about lollipops and rainbows and kittens? No, I dream about GI exams.

Lise, I'll try to take a pic of Choco's viv this afternoon. He's 12" right now, and should end up 3-4 feet long. They live 15 years in captivity.

Nanci - I'm scared to death of snakes! Did you love them, even as a kid?

Yes, I loved snakes even as a kid. Maybe because I grew up with cousins and sisters that caught snakes and everything else up at our cabin.

Mickchick, we can do a little exposure therapy and fix that phobia right up :D

Snakes are fascinating creatures. I always wanted one, but never had the nerve to feed it live things.

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Originally Posted by betagirl

Mickchick, we can do a little exposure therapy and fix that phobia right up :D

Snakes are fascinating creatures. I always wanted one, but never had the nerve to feed it live things.

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Take it back, Beta! I would freak out if you put me anywhere near a snake.

That's the whole point of exposure therapy for phobias :) It's intense, scary, but highly effective.

Ok I'll take my psychologist hat off. Sorry :)

Since this is TD..i think i can post this here.

Just wanted to pass on my thoughts and wishes to anyone that lost friends, loved ones, work mates, etc 5yrs ago today.:( I won't say much more except that it's hard to believe its's been 5yrs.

Think. Think outside the square.


RIght, i'm off to bed kids, have a good day & :)

c

Thanks, CC.

I got up this morning and plugged in the TV (that's how seldom I watch it). Remembering the sudden awareness that the first plane wasn't just a horrible accident.

It's raining and chilly here. I'm going to Y to run on the treadmill. It's good to be on vacation.

Cool new snake Nanci - he's beautiful!

I have a wierd association with 5 years ago today. It was the first day that I wore maternity clothes to work (when preg with FishJr). I was so excited. Then - it seemed so insignificant.

Vacation - I asked the question, so I guess I could answer it too. I would love to go Scotland and Australia and New Zealand. I think those would be my top choices.

Lise - enjoy your vacation! Good luck with the new round of dating possibilities. I look forward to hearing all about Mr. so and so. Maybe this time you'll find Mr. Nearly perfect. I say nearly perfect because perfect would get annoying ;)

SF TE ladies - I'm "extra bitter" today. Picked one up to remind me of the trip ;)

Fishdoc, I'm "extra bitter" that I had to work that day :(

I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as Mr. or Ms. Perfect. (protects me from becoming extra bitter...) Now, where's the chocolate?

and <whispering>
where's. my. bike?

Just called the bike shop (again). Gotta love that time zone difference.

The bike is "in transit" now! Wooo-hooo! It even has a tracking number for FedEx.

The shop couldn't quite figure out how much they'd charged my credit card, but once they do figure out how much they charged me they'll send me a reciept.

Ok...

Now I have 20 minutes to shower, dress, pack a lunch, pack the pannier, and walk the dog.

Byyyyeeeeeee!

choco is cute, Nanci! I just got two feral kittens too. I am a kitty cat foster mother... One is Babe, a gorgeous silver tabby and white, and the other is Freddie, a terrified little grey boy.
So far no one has bitten me. I am hoping to calm Freddie down enough so that it doesn't happen. Babe is a mellow guy. Once he learns how much fun life
can be, he'll be a great cat..

Knotted,
you'll be clicking on the UPS tracker website 300 times a day. that's what i did waitng for my own bike. and of course, my bike was shipped over memorial day weekend; it took FOREVER!

I'm trying to not freak out- because I'm a _little_ worried about the size of the screen cover...He'd better be in there when I get home.

Fish - you got an "extra bitter", too??? How very fitting!!

I'm kind of in a weird place as far as where I was 5 years ago...
I'd written in my LJ that it was a horiffically boring day and I wanted to go home. Then the bell rang and I went to my 1st class, where everyone was gaping at the TV. I glanced up, saw an explosion, said something about bad special effects, and my friend said "No- that's CNN. That's in New York right now!"
Then I freaked out.
I called my long-distance bf (later hubby) to see if he and his were ok. The first thing he said was "I told you Bush would take us to war."
(after we'd bickered through the entire election night that Bush was a better deal than Gore, or whether or not the US would end up going to war, should he win...)
I ended up saying "We won't go to war over terrorist actions- that'd be stupid."
...what an I-told-you-so.
I still don't trust 9/10 of what I hear today. How can we?
I just feel so bad for the people who had to be in or near those buildings...
So sad.:(

I'm extra-bitter today too!

I remember sitting on the couch watching everything unfold; first I thought it was an accident. Even when the second plane hit, in my mind I thought "Wow, there's an air traffic controller out there that's lost his mind". Terrorism didn't even occur to me. When it finally hit me what was happening, I started worrying about my brother and sister in law. She works at Columbia, he was teaching in Manhattan at the time. They had to walk home to New Jersey that day.

Gulf quake rattles Florida
Sep. 10, 2006. 01:00 PM

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A magnitude 6.0 earthquake deep in the Gulf of Mexico caused shock waves in an area from Louisiana to Florida on Sunday, but no major major damage was reported, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The earthquake, centered about 260 miles southwest of Tampa, was too small to trigger a tsunami warning, the agency said.

I started a 5 day hike on 9/11/01 and so was blissfully ignorant for two days following the attacks. To this day I have not seen the footage of the planes or collapsing towers because the TV news was no longer showing it when I got home (though I'm sure I could seek it out if I really wanted to see it) and the initial shock was over. So I'm sure it's not as real to me as it is to many of you. My sympathies to everyone who lost loved ones and endured the trauma of that day either directly or indirectly. My sympathies also to those in Afganistan and Iraq who lost innocent loved ones because of the US response to it. I would feel safer from repeated terrorist attack if our response had been increased policing, intelligence gathering, and border security. War makes the whole world less safe, and violence breeds violence. May our future leaders find a better way.

we were in southern Italy whn it happened. we had ducked into a hotel
to use their bathroom. when we came out, people were all flocked around the tv. they saw us and said "Americani? come come come!"
I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to come back.

Now, yes, i am pretty bitter too. Osama is doing just great, but how many Iraqi's have we killed ? and more of our troups have now died in this senseless war than the number that died that day...

Bombing bagdad is not going to help american security. REALLY!

(i am getting down off the soap box because you guys really don't want to hear it.)

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

more of our troops have now died in this senseless war than the number that died that day...

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mimi, I thought exactly that this morning. Will Bush have their wives and mothers and husbands and children stand on the White House lawn and read their names, one by one? Should we remember and honor them any less? :(

Sigh.

I was the new coordinator of a social service agency within our clinic on 9/11/01. I heard the news of the first plane while getting dressed for work. I envisioned a small plane that accidentally ran into the Tower. How sad. I was driving to work and Susan Stamberg was talking to some guy on NPR about his decision to become a teacher when they broke in and said the second plane had hit. It was eerie. Driving down Lake Shore Drive, everybody listening intently to their radios. Watching the sky. Looking at the Sears Tower, the whole Chicago skyline. Wondering if we were next.

Got to work, someone had turned on the TV we used for patient education. My small staff and a few of the docs huddled around it. One of the Mexican case workers turned angrily to a Pakistani doctor and said, "Your people did this." That was my first encounter with the Muslim phobia that swelled around us in the days to come. The look on that sweet pediatrician's face...we spent weeks, after, worried for him, his wife, and children. He told me that people were wonderful to them, offering to go places with them, protect their house.

Many of my patients lost their jobs, sometimes every adult in the family lost their jobs. Most of our patients worked in service industries, many were undocumented immigrants. Terrorism hit the poor the worst. I used to think about that a lot, that the terrorists hurt most the working poor.

What do you guys think of CNN.com running the full day of 9/11 coverage on their pipeline site? I think it's in bad taste personally, but then again I don't think very highly of news organizations as of late.

I was on my way to work when it happened. I read about a plane hitting WTC in the elevator and assumed it was a cessna or something. Only when I got to my office on the 46th floor of a high profile building here in Chicago did I figure out what was up. After about an hour, we all collectively decided we should not be on the 46th floor any more. About a minute after that decision was made, they evacuated the building.

I worked for American Express in the late 90's, and their corporate HQ is across the street from WTC. I went there several times and stayed in the WTC Marriott a lot. I went back to NY about 6 months after the attacks and the weirdest thing for me was the big gaping hole. It was such a massive complex. We'd always make jokes about the WTC being a target when we'd go over for lunch or to go shopping. I refused to go to the top or to the Windows of the World restaurant.

On a lighter note, Sloane the Bianchi is ready for her first test ride. I installed a front brake over the weekend and took her into Performance to get the chain installed. I bought a freewheel cog to put on as well, you know in case I want to coast at some point. I'll try her fixed for now. Maybe tomorrow if this dang rain lets up.

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Originally Posted by Lise

Many of my patients lost their jobs, sometimes every adult in the family lost their jobs. Most of our patients worked in service industries, many were undocumented immigrants. Terrorism hit the poor the worst. I used to think about that a lot, that the terrorists hurt most the working poor.

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Wow - that's another aspect of that which I had not thought of. Sad.

We had a long talk in the car yesterday with the PP about 9/11 and how it has been the worst thing to ever happen to our country - and not just because of the lives lost on that day. If it had ended with that day, it would still be the worst thing to have happened. But to have had it used to do so many wrong things over the years that follow is something that just makes me sick. I am sad that other countries hate us so much. There was such a wave of support, encouragement and solidarity from other nations after 9/11 and it has been flushed down the toilet by the acts of our administration.

On 9/11 we took Emily to school as usual. Teachers and parents were in shock, but everyone wanted to proceed on with some normalcy - and get your kids away from the TV. Then DH and I did a ride, Alpine Dam loop (Fish we drove a lot of that ride). Marin's in the flight path for jets coming into SFO. It was eerie to have the skies utterly silent.

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Originally Posted by maillotpois

On 9/11 we took Emily to school as usual. Marin's in the flight path for jets coming into SFO. It was eerie to have the skies utterly silent.

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that is my only regret in not being home (in the USA) on 9-11.. I missed out on the quiet skies. I live in Seattle, which has 2 major airports (I work for an aerospace company) we have airplane noise day and night always...
I guess it was quiet here too.

i think i caught up on some things with TD. this is what i have to say (there is more, but i need to go back through TD to be specific):

fish - sorry about your other family memeber, its hard i know. i had to send in one of my dogs after she got in a squabble with our other one. kept telling myself i was a bad parent, and forgot that it was the animal kingdom's way and nothing to do with me. i still miss her.

salsa - glad your back and your still in my thoughts.

nanci - love the new addition to the family. how is everyone taking the newest addition?

i caught a bit of something that had to do with favorite vacation spots. so far mine is still the philippines (my first trip out of the US besides canada when i was little, all i remember from that trip is my cousin's smelly feet and skeeters.). i think its beautiful down there and going again in december. though there are so many other places i would like to go.

on the whole 9/11 thing.... i can't say much. to me it didn't seem real. i was in the hospital and had a joy button of morphine (my appendix ruptured and had emergency sugery). all i remember is seeing one plane crash, thinking that didn't seem right, before i passed out again. though i did visit the pentagon after it all happened and that was eerie. i still had a hard time putting two and two together with everything that had happened. though my thoughts do go out to everyone affected by it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lise

I was driving to work and Susan Stamberg was talking to some guy on NPR about his decision to become a teacher when they broke in and said the second plane had hit. It was eerie.

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I was driving to work (getting in a little late) and heard the same broadcast. Then I walked into work and not long after we all knew what had transpired.

We haven't talked with our kids about it. They're still a bit young to have to deal with all of that.

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Originally Posted by fishdr

I was driving to work (getting in a little late) and heard the same broadcast. Then I walked into work and not long after we all knew what had transpired.

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It took awhile for me to be able to listen to Susan Stamberg at all.

When the planes started flying again, it was reassuring and frightening. The parking lot of the clinic had a clear view of the Sears Tower, about three miles to the north. One evening as I left work, I looked north and saw a plane appearantly headed right for the Sears Tower. I stood watching in horror, and, of course, it flew right past. Perspective.

I grew up in a pretty chaotic home; I often felt like I had to stay alert and protect my family. Even as an adult, I used to have a hard time feeling safe to fall asleep. Right after 9/11, I felt unusually safe, because I knew that the nation's defenses were on alert all night. It was as if *I* could go off duty and just get some rest.
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CWR, how's your dad doing? And your mom, Salsa?