it's on bitches.

this weekend will be my first weekend back to craig county since the fall. i am psyched for this. duh. cause like, if you couldn't tell from last fall...it is another of my most favorite places ever. ever. ever.

so i'm gonna go down this way....

and around this way...

and maybe they will let me use to kitchen equipment again like last year! yea!

but. i hope i don't murder any precious snails this camp season. i still feel preeeetty bad about this little guy. i crushed his life (literally) about five minutes after we took this picture. he was so cute and sweet and snailing along like snails do and then CRUNCH he died. under my butt cheek. i think it was the left one. anyhoo...here's to another year!!!

kitty monster.

my friend took this picture many, many, many years ago and it is my kitty monster, rup-rhett. the dude that took it owns a bar and sends out invites for all these bar things and one day there was my rupey!

it is pretty much the greatest picture of him ever (despite the presence of an ex-bf in the shot, bleghh) he's all slim and trim and young and sly and sweet and badass and mischievous and sultry looking. i love this little jerk. today he is much fatter and has a hard time climbging onto things because of his lower region and it's excessive weight. the neighbor asked me if he was a "regular cat" a few months ago. and indeed, he is not. but not in the way the neighbor meant. i think.

dear gap,

thank you for your pants. even though every. single. time. i visit you i have to try on a million pairs and seem to buy different sizes and cuts upon each visit and leave sweaty and a little humbled...i really love your pants. they fit my less than large butt and make my legs look much longer than they actually are and even though most of your pants are about 2 inches too long, i am fine with this. your waistbands are just the right size and i rarely need a belt. (i hate belts).
so i just really miss you. that is all.
***due to the current economic crisis the gap store in my small, southern town was one of the chosen stores for indefinite closure this past fiscal year. i remember moving to my little town and soon after having that gap open up. now it is gone. and i must travel many, many miles to get cute butt pants.***

***good news: very special friend s works at the gap in favorite big city in va to visit so gap visits are even better.***

***best news: every pair of pants bought at this gap venture were on sale. score!***

hopelessly devoted.

my newest addition to the household is a yellow labrador is named zephyr, aka, zeezee. she is a mess. she's clumsy, blond, squishy...a lot like me. i am a sucker for the disenfranchised and zeezee is one of these. she was abandoned by these jerks that had her from puppy to 10 months. she has a bit of a malfunction in her lady parts and has to take medication daily (which she loves to take-it's like her doggy candy) but other than that, you wouldn't know she has any physical issues. she is a spaz but she's still a puppy. so this former family's desertion really did a number on zeezee. she has severe attachment issues. my schedule recently changed slightly and two days a week i go to work super early. on the nights i got to bed super early she kinda freaks out, stays up all night acting nervous and flips out (literally) when i come home to let her out in the mid morning. i've taken many trips where she has been under the supervision of my dad and she is generally cool with this but when i am home she is all over me all the time.

sometimes it drives me crazy. when i put on shoes and socks she is right behind me, like she is trying to help but in turn, only creating a hazard. she pummels down the stairs with me, at times almost knocking me over. not good. she MUST watch me in the bathroom. i am serious. the doorknob didn't work for a while on the bathroom door so i have at least trained her to stand at the door. it is not my favorite thing but it's better than her trying to get on my lap. if i take a bath, she rests her face on the side of the tub. kinda creepy at first, but again, used to it. if i sit on the couch she is always touching me or under foot. she constantly seeks my approval and guidance. she is always looking out the window for me to return. in the bed, her arm/leg/head/entire 70lb body is always draped over mine. always. ALWAYS.

i am extremely empathetic towards her because she is a sweetheart and i understand why she acts the way she does. her desperation and devotion are signs that i am training her correctly, even when she almost rips my arm off at the sight of a squirrel/leaf/rock at the park. i have had her about 6 months and she has come a looong way.

zeezee represents everything i am not (or was at one time in the past and worked diligently to change). she is needy, anxious when alone, she tries waaay to hard to get the cats that hate her to like her. (chasing and humping things 1/10 of your size is a poor choice, i tell her but she continues to try)...she is super touchy and insecure. her favorite song is "party in the usa" by miley cyrus. in people those are all of the things i despise. if i portray those qualities i feel weak and immediately remedy the situation.

but overall, she gets better everyday. i love the crap out of this dog and think that as much as she represents all that isn't me, her loyalty towards me is admirable. she plays fair with smaller dogs (most of the time) and has an unbelievably in tune conscience. she is goofy and kind but she will act like she is going to rip your face off if you come into my house and she doesn't know or like you. this is a plus considering i am not in a yuppie neighborhood and i live alone.

so anytime this mess of a pooch makes me want to scream i remember that i envy her unconditional love and loyalty. i can do no wrong to her and she lives completely and utterly for me. and her kong. and this is nice.

back to life...

so after the longest, sickest (literally sick, not badass sick) week ever. i am finally feeling better. here are some highlights of my week...

pabi can't see but he knows when i need snuggles. he is very sensitive. he likes to burrow his head under the blankets or pillows.

zz feels the need to kiss/step on/maul everyone i try to pet. she did this a lot this week anytime any attention was veered from her direction...

oscar sleeps anywhere...like on the window sill...

sometimes she really did look pained that i was sick and uncomfortable...

at time she was so sad i felt like i needed to cheer her up...

and then she would stare at me until i told her it was ok.

thanks for all the help with getting better my furry friends...being in bed for days really is not so terrible when you have little ones like this to keep you company.

hey sports fans.

i do not really like sports. but i kinda like sports fans. i am the most nonathletic person alive so in my youth i did everything possible to avoid organized sports. more a solo mover...hiking, compulsive exercising at the y, etc. i do not like to watch most sports...i do enjoy a nice golf tourney, mainly because most golfers are babes, but they are usually in the summer and i would rather be outside. and i'll definitely go to a hockey game because i secretly want to beat the crap out of someone on ice, too. and i love ice skating rinks. i learned to ice skate in my backyard!
i digress...so overall, i like sports fans. i'm a bills fan cause my whole family is from there, it is the town i was raised in and fortunately i moved to the south before adulthood and was spared a terrible whiny accent and a fate of wearing entirely too much make-up... i am fully aware that the bills suck but it is in my blood to love them. i used to trick or treat at the players rental houses and remember getting autographs at lunchtime in elementary school. my dad's bff from high school was a defensive line coach and is a football hall of famer so they get to tour the stadium and locker rooms every few years. one time i got to say hi to boomer esiason when i was 9 cause of my dad's coach friend. we went to a bills vs. bengals game. he was the largest man i have, to this day, ever seen in real life.

so i like sports fans because they represent one of my topics of favor: ultimate loyalty. even when your team is down, you love them. you feel their pain and their joy. this is a good quality to have, which is why, despite not loving sports- i still love the bills. that and my dad still has zubas.
if i ever consider boyfriends again i am going to make sure they are into sports for two reasons: 1. it demonstrates a consistent interest in something and 2. it will assure time alone during specific seasons so they won't get on my nerves. this is something several of my boyfriends lack and i've decided i don't really trust boys that aren't into sports. unless they are gay men. that is the only exception.

don't hate, appreciate.

now, i am most definitely not a regular ray of sunshine but there are some things i feel are worth bitching about and MANY that are not. i have personally had the privilege of living in several, very diverse parts of the country and consider myself moderately well traveled...but there is something that has occurred in each city and town i have resided in that drives me COMPLETELY INSANE, i call them:

current city haters.

now. when you are in high school this is acceptable. in fact, even a few years past college in some circumstances it is ok to hate the place you live. up until this point, your primary location of residence is often out of your control due to age and financial limitations.* but come on people. once you reach age 25 you need to make a choice, move where you want and shut up about it. we all have choices and if you chose to live in ____ville, usa, then that is where you chose to live. if you hate it...MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

*you may also complain if you are stuck with an ailing relative or child. but even then, that excuse is limited and not to be abused.

when i lived in seattle there were TONS of current city haters. they annoyed the crap out of me for several reasons: 1. seattle is awesome. 2. it is super fun, there are a million things to do. 3. it is gorgeous. 4. it is close to pretty much everything neat-o in the north-north west. 5. it is pretty affordable, and 6. generally safe, kinda. just be smart. i mean you've really got to try to get to seattle. you can't get stuck there because you ran out of gas on your way somewhere else. moving to seattle has to be an intentional and deliberate move.

another rampant current city hater city is richmond, va. again, richmond is also pretty cool. if i hadn't moved there with someone that had bi-polar features i would have enjoyed living there a lot more. i love going there now. richmond is in no way a black hole of in-opportunity...and unlike many other cities, it is not very cheap to live in so if you live there and hate it...your bad. stop complaining and go to dc and waste your money or something.

by far the most hating i have ever observed and currently feel a blood boiling level of epic proportions for is my current city. i like my little southern town. now i too, was a hater of lynchburg for a while but i was SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. i grew up in the new york and was culture shocked into this place and felt like i was drowning for a few years before i peaced out to college and didn't look back...for about a decade. then i explored and pondered and ran away and ran back a few times and decided this was the kind of place i wanted to live in.

i have no desire to watch my back in the city i live in. i have no desire to commute or pay a ridiculous amount of money for housing. i like mountains and the river. i like walking my dog and i love the park that takes my stress away on a regular basis. i like my family close by. i like my friends who i don't have to "explain" myself to. (they know i'm a bitch and keep me in check when necessary.) i don't get bored here. if anything, i wish i had more time to do everything i would like to do...especially in the summer.

don't get me wrong- there are things that drive me crazy about this place, just like any normal person...there are days i want to scream. (this is why i rarely drive west of link road, unless going to my parents house or the yellow sub)...but i don't dwell and the good outweigh the bad. if they didn't i would move away.

so those of you who are under 40 and hate lynchburg: if you are able, please consider relocating. it has been lovely to have you but i am taking your negativity personally. if you want "stuff to do" OPEN YOUR EYES, there is a bunch of fun stuff right here. think of it this way: IT MIGHT BE YOU, not the city. you may not be happy in any city. perhaps you are a chronic current city hater. i don't know, that is your business...i just know i am going to go apeshit the next time you ask where i am from then scoff sarcastically when i answer proudly.

i am from lynchburg jerk face. and i live here by choice. deal with it.