Not a Southern Girl After All

So either I didn't go far enough South, or else I really am a Northerner.
Okay, so I hate the cold. I don't do any winter sports (the idea of even going outside is enough to make me want to go back to bed) and if I have to leave the house, I'm bundled up so much I walk around like that kid in my dad's favorite Christmas movie (A Christmas Story), you know, where I have so many layers on I can't put my arms down by myself and have to slowly waddle wherever I'm going.
I thought going south would be good, because winter would be just like a prolonged autumn without the pretty colors, but I was lied to. True, most of the time, I can get by with just a sweatshirt.
But when it DOES snow, oh my god, even three inches is deadly. I've become such a wuss since I don't have snowtires on my car and living in a state that sincerely believes that plows will work without actually touching the road. I'm not even exaggerating: after a harrowing drive home from work through about 5 inches of powder and slush, during which I witnessed a plow truck with the PLOW UP just throwing salt all over, a coworker tried to convince me that that was because "it's powder. You can't plow powder. It's not possible." The entire state is like that. Try driving in unplowable powder/slush with no snow tires and drivers who begin to panic hours before the first snowflake falls. I had a coworker call out of work because he'd seen a weather report that it would start snowing THAT NIGHT.
News update: Just got my second snowday (tomorrow)... from the same storm... which ended yesterday.

So I either didn't move South enough, or I'm really a Northern girl, because all day today, I missed New England like crazy. I spent all day looking for places to rent back in NE where I could have space and trees and not as many crazy people. If you haven't guessed, my housemates are driving me nuts.
I had thought to stay here at least through the summer, but I think this Maryland Experiment is about done. Keep an eye out for cheap places for me to rent, or animal-industry jobs!

Maryland is not really all that Merry

I'm a bit disappointed by that, actually.
I needed a change of scenery, and since Maine didn't work out (too cold for me) I moved in with one of my girl friends in Maryland. Her and her boyfriend, which I didn't know until I moved down here. Before I GOT here, I had been led to believe he was just a third housemate. Now he's my boss at work too. Yeah, not sure how long that's going to work out, but I'm trying.
Rizzo, the big blond love of my life, did not adjust well, and has spent nearly the entire month hiding under the china cabinet, so on my first visit home since moving in November, I'm bringing him back to my mother's.
Bailey, on the other hand, moved right in and promptly beat everyone into submission. For a while she kept trying to run outside, but after our one big snowstorm, i snapped a long leash to her collar with plenty of room for her to run, and let her "escape" out the door. She took off like a shot, hit the snow skidding, fell down the front steps, and decided she'd had enough. I had to drag her out from where she'd taken refuge under a parked car (that's what the leash was for) and she hasn't made an escape attempt since. Ahh the beauty of letting kids and critters make their own mistakes.
My friend Merry lives about 5 minutes down the road, which is kind of nice, even though I still don't get many chances to go visit with her.
Other than that, no real news, just looking forward to my visit home at the end of January!

Paris in the Fall

Paris was not my city. I did all the required stuff (up the Tour Eiffel, climbed up Notre Dame, toured the Louvre... you name it, I pretty much had it covered) but was remarkably uninspired by it. Plus I got sick, like the second day in. Don't get me wrong, I still had a blast, but I could never have spent more than a month living there.

I went to visit my little sister Amanda, who is studying there this fall. I got a place to stay and a free tour guide, which was great, but she had these annoying little things called "classes" which kept getting in the way of my sightseeing, so while she was busy, I wandered Paris by myself. I spent HOURS in the Louvre and was horribly disappointed by the Mona Lisa, but it's okay, because I still found my two favorite statues (Cupid and Psyche, above, and Nike, not pictured here) plus the Hermaphrodite, which is a trip.
One of my other solitary excursions produced the picture below, which I discovered, when I posted all the pictures on facebook, was everyone's favorite. I hadn't thought much of it until then. I snapped the photo in just a second, because the kid's dad was right behind him, so I had to get the shot before he stepped into the frame. This kid wasn't actually being all cute, he was screaming "QUA! QUA!" at the ducks, who ignored him.

Everyone takes this picture when they climb up Notre Dame, but I didn't want to pay for the postcard, so I just took it myself. Not bad, eh? Even got the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Halloween was a blast. We went to Asterix Land. I don't know how cool it is normally, but it was awesome for Halloween. Everything was lit up, and even though I couldn't go on the terrifying rollarcoaster, since I was sick enough that the Metro made me want to heave cookies, I did go on a few other rides, including one that's just the coolest swingset ever. You sit down and pull the little bar down so you don't fly out, then the whole set swings you around up in the air so you're flying in circles.
The highlight was the haunted house. Unlike every other haunted house I've ever been in, this one had people inside and out, so you weren't even safe from flesh-eating zombies once you made it through the house. They also didn't have that silly "don't touch people" rule, which meant that at one point, an undead clown zombie came up behind me through the fog and the blinding strobe light and put his hands around my neck to choke me. Best haunted house ever.
I've discovered that I really like silhouette pictures. The one above is Alessandra, one of Amanda's friends that I really liked. The other two who went with us were Mike, who was a doll, and Kelsey, her roomie.
The picture below had to be taken in about five seconds, because it was my last sight-seeing day, and I was driving Amanda nuts, taking pictures of EVERYTHING.


Even though she'd done it before, Amanda went all the way up the Eiffel Tower with me. ALL the way up. It's a long way up. Apparently Amanda didn't know I'm afraid of open high spaces. We cheated and took the elevator, and Amanda teased me about the death-grip I had on her hand on the way up. Despite my fear, I did manage to take several great pictures, but this one I took after reaching solid ground again was my favorite. The policeman standing at the exit when I snapped this giggled at me. I must have looked a bit rattled. Worth doing though, because now I never have to do it again!


The best part was just hanging out with my little sister. She was absolutely in her element, and I loved seeing it.


This last picture is my favorite, and my favorite story from Paris--
There's a tiny pond in a garden in front of the Louvre that is dark and murky so you can't see more than an inch into the water. These dubvious depths, which seem like they couldn't support even scum life (seriously, this water was really gross), hide giant killer demon fish.
I know, I didn't believe it either.
Amanda was trying to prove it by luring these monsters to the surface with muffin bits, but this one pesky seagull kept swooping down and stealing them, so Amanda got down on her knees at the edge of the cesspool and valiently attempted to protect her precious bread crumbs.
Funniest thing ever. I was laughing so hard, I could barely get this picture, because my hands (and thus the camera) were shaking uncontrollably.

Alice in ... Paris

Okay, so I know I've missed a lot, but it wasn't good stuff, so it's not important anyways.
Tonight Mom is helping me finish sewing my costume, because I leave for Paris in the morning!
A week in Paris! I'm going to visit my little sister who's studying there this Fall. And I'm spending my favorite holiday there!
Halloween... the one time of the year where you are EXPECTED to dress crazy, and then told to go out and take candy from strangers. Gotta love it.
So I'm being Alice in Wonderland, and when I told my little sister that, she informed me she was planning to be the Queen of Hearts. How perfect is that?! I tried to dye my hair blond for it, but my hair apparently refused. So basically what the dye did was take all the brown out of my hair, and leave all the red that I didn't even realize was there in the first place. Whatever. Alice will just be a little off color.
Post and pictures when I return, wish me luck!

Rizzo's Jail Stint

Rizzo got in a fight recently, and had his face all chewed up. It abscessed, swelled, the hair started falling away, and that's when we could finally see how much damage had been done (he's a long hair cat. Unless he's dripping blood, all you can really see is fluff, and he hadn't been showing any sign of pain, even snuggling his face into my hand).
I took him to the vet, and they kept him overnight to clean him up. Well, actually now they've kept him two nights. I know he's fine now (abscesses are a messy business) but I still don't feel right when he's not home with me. Also Rizzo hasn't gotten more than a scratch in a fight in several years now. He's a big kitty (more than 15lbs, none of it fat) and he's been neutered, so other cats don't generally start fights with him. Apparently now there's a dog (or coyote, we know we have those around) that I have to worry about.
On the other hand, if he HAS to get in fights, at least he's winning.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to bring Rizzo home.

Life Sucks. Here's a Sandwich.

...I think it would taste bitter and delicious all at once.

Sandwich Fair! Other than of course the Highland Games and Halloween, this is the highlight of my year. No, not a fair centered on sandwiches, but a little country fair in a town called Sandwich (which is awesome, and I almost want to live there just so I can say I live in a sandwich).
Of course James went with me, as he has every year since highschool. I suppose that wouldn't be all that surprising of a tradition-- fairs and friends, makes sense, right?-- except that the fair, for him, is a form of torture. Why, you ask? Because I like rides, the spin-y-er the better, and James likes his stomach to stay where it is. He KNOWS that every time he goes to the fair I am going to make him go on those rides, and yet he still goes every year. The past few years, he's brought his girlfriend Vicki along so that SHE can go on the rides with me, but this year she bailed.
Her loss, because we went on a helicopter! Helicopters don't really fly, they're just so ugly the earth repels them. They ARE, however, amazing. James let me sit in the front with the pilot (headphones and everything! The pilot was very amusing.) so I got the most incredible view, with glass all around me and even right up to my feet.

Kate-- I think you should take Mom to the fair.

They also had a new ride this year! Like my favorite one (the one James refuses to go on ever again, he says) only it drops you, AND you twist around upside-down. James refused to go on, so obviously the entire time waiting in line, and then once he was strapped in, he was informing me that he hated me. It's a lie; he totally loves me, ESPECIALLY since I force him to prove he's tougher than he thinks he is. If I didn't torture him with fair rides, the fair wouldn't be as much fun.


Oh, and because I'm lovely, the night before, I gave him a little bottle of Ouzo and another of Absinthe, and made him shoot both, no chaser. Yeah, I'm a total sweetheart.

End of the day, we hit up the bee stand (another tradition), and then James's mom, whom I adore, made us dinner, and his two labs (Seamus and Sully) sat on me and tried to lick my eyeballs.

And now, for your moment of Zen:

Not a Great Weekend

Quick update:

Oscar died on Friday.
LSAT was on Saturday (I didn't pass out or throw up, so that's pretty good), but I won't find out how I did until the 19th.
The one good note was dinner tonight at my sister's.
Let's hope tomorrow is better.