17 posts tagged “family”

Here we have my little brother on his way to Zombie Fest 2008.  I promised Niknik a photo, so I grabbed him by the door on his way out and didn't even have to prompt him to make that face, he was already in 'zombie mode' and sneered right on que.  He made the blood himself, and even applied the skin puddy to make that 'wound' on his forehead.

The shirt and tie were borrowed from me, but I have a feeling I won't ever be using those for work purposes again.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween.

** You know it's been awhile since you last blogged when it takes you 3 tries to get the correct password **

Well lets see, since I last blogged a few things have happened:

My brother unfortunately failed his first attempt at his drivers license.  Apparently he rolled into a crosswalk without fulling coming to a stop at the preceding stop sign, thus automatically failing.  The terrible thing about it is the fact that it was the very last thing he would have been graded on before pulling back into the DMV parking lot.  He is pretty bummed out about the whole situation, to say the least.

He thinks because all his friends passed on their first try that he is somehow a failure for not getting his, but as I tried to tell him; some of the best drivers I know (including myself) failed their test multiple times before finally passing.  I know personally I didn't pass until my 3rd attempt.  Since then I've never had so much as a parking or speeding ticket, so failing your driving test isn't a lifetime judgment on your driving skill...  but of course the wound is fresh for him, so he doesn't want to hear it.  I can't say I blame him though, I was a depressed lad after failing mine.

He'll be taking his next attempt at the local driving school, for a 60 dollar fee.  I'd love to just have him take the free DMV test again, but between the upcoming start of his school year and my new work schedule I just don't have the time to get him there.  At 60 bucks a pop though he better pass this new test on the first try!

On to less important matters;  I've pulled all my money out of the bank, and promptly put it into another bank...  Yeah.  Well my previous bank has just screwed me over too many times for my liking, so enough was enough.  I pretty much just walked across the street -- literally -- to the 'rival' bank and opened myself up an account there.  I told them exactly where I was coming from and why I was there, and they just about rolled out the red carpet for me.  They were practically giddy to hear my story - I guess stealing customers is a time honored tradition among businesses that lay across the street from each other.

In other more Alakan'ish news, but still relating to money, the state has approved what they are calling an "Energy Rebate", which is our politicians whimsical way of saying "Ya'll are gettin' some free cash".  1,200$ of free cash to be exact.  They are saying this is to offset the rising costs of heating oil, natural gas, and disel fuel, among others.  I don't much care what their reasoning is, all they had to do is mention the fact that I'll be getting free money and that is all I need to know.  Of course THIS free money is on top of the regular free money that we already get each year (the PFD), so they are projecting this years check to be in the 3,500 dollar range...  Yup, three and a half grand, for free.  I already have plans to get myself a TV, new camera, and probably an Amazon Kindle with that money, and I'll still likely have 2 grand left to put into the bank - good times, good times.

There are times I hate being in Alaska (like, uhh...  winter) but there are definitely perks to living in this state, for sure.

Little boy:  "Oh, I love these!" he exclaims as he picks up a packet of candy at the register.
The Mom:  "Thats great honey, now put them back."
Little boy:  "...what are they?"

(everyone in line laughs)

The Mom:  "If you love them so much, you should know what they are."
Little boy:  "I don't know what they are...  but I know I would love them..."

The things children say never fail to amuse me.  I kind of share his way of thinking though, there are a few things I've never tried (escargot anyone?) but I know I'd hate it!

I had a very rare chance to go into work a little later than usual this morning.  So I slept in a bit, then got up to take a shower.  As I turned off the water all I hear is yelling and screaming from outside the door.  I live with my brother of course, but I'm usually off to work well before he wakes up for school in the morning.  Needless to say I'm used to very quiet mornings, so the commotion going on freaked me out a little bit, even though it sounded more 'surprised' than 'terrified'.

I started getting dressed quick, while standing near my bathroom door trying to hear what was going on.  I suddenly realize I hear my moms voice, as well as my brothers.

My Mom:  *screams* "Help me with this, get out here!"
My Brother: "Why do I have to do it?"
My Mom:  "Because usually this is something the man does!"  *screams again*  "The man takes care of this stuff while the woman stays clear!"
My Brother:  "Well that's something we are going to need to change, isn't it!"

I still had no idea what was going on at this point.

My Mom:  "Grab it, grab it!  Throw that bag on it!"
My Brother:  "I'm not getting near it!"
My Mom:  "I can't believe you won't help me with this!  I'm going to get Josh..."
My Brother:  "He's still in the shower..."
My Mom:  "I don't careeee!"

Just then someone is pounding on the bathroom door.

My Mom:  "Josh!  Are you dressed?  Come out here and help me with this!  Please!"

I tossed on my shirt quick, and my shoes and then stepped out into the hall.  I hear my mom screaming again and talking from out in the garage, so I turned towards my brother with a curious look.

Me:  "Who is she talking to?"
My brother:  "Herself... I guess..."

I open the door and step into my garage to see my mom standing up in the open door of my jeep, wildly pointing towards the other side of the room.  I look over and see a blue canvas bag moving around in little hops, each movement accompanied by another scream from my mom.

My Mom:  "It's a mouse, it's a mouse!  Oh God...  Ahh!  Ahhh!  Get it, Oh my God!"
Me:  "It's in the bag?  Why didn't you just take it outside?"
My Mom:  "It's NOT in the bag!  The bag is just on top of it...  Oh my God, do something!"

At this point I walk over and lift off the bag, doing my best to ignore my moms sudden ear piercing screaming.  I see a very tiny gray mouse (it was a shrew, actually) and it was locked between the black suction cups of a Gopher Grip.

Me:  "What the..."
My Mom:  "I thought it was dead!  I was going to toss it in the trashcan, but oh God, it's not dead!  Hurry and kill it!"
Me:  "I'm not going to kill it, are you crazy?"
My Mom:  "Well do SOMETHING with it!"

I reach down and grab the bag, and the poor trapped mouse and I start to walk towards my mom.  Of course I wasn't really walking towards her, I was walking outside.  She just happened to be between me and the door.  She screamed in horror and jumped down off my jeep and ran outside, backwards.  Yeah, she was running backwards.  I think she was too scared to take her eyes off the mouse...  I just simply walked down my driveway, bent down and let the mouse go free.  The poor thing was screaming about as much as my mom was.  It ran across the street, up over the snow hill and vanished.

My Mom:  "I can't believe you just did that!"
Me:  "Why, I'm not scared of mice..."
My Mom:  "But... he could come back now!"
Me:  "He was just trying to get warm.  I have a few that live in the backyard every winter."
My Mom:  "Oh God..."

As I was walking back towards my house I notice for the first time that my jeep was parked halfway outside.

Me:  "What were you doing with my jeep?  Was the mouse under there?"
My Mom:  "Uhh, no..."
Me:  "So why did you have to move it?"
My Mom:  "I was going to drag the mouse outside, and run him over."

Hearing this, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Me:  "You've got to be kidding..."
My Mom:  "I couldn't think of anything else to do!"
Me:  "The best plan you could come up with was to get in my jeep and run the mouse down?  That is gruesome..."
My Mom:  "Well I sure wasn't going to touch that thing!"

That poor woman.  I admit, I'm as scared of spiders as my mom seems to be of mice, but even I have never contemplated vehicular homicide upon one.  I left for work 15 minutes later, and the whole time I was there she kept shuddering and rubbing her arms, while her and my brother argued about who was the bigger wimp for not being able to move the mouse.  I wouldn't be surprised if she called in sick from work, claiming emotional stress.

By the way, this is the lil guy that so terrified my mom.

I got a call from my dogs Vet. the other day, letting me know that he's due for some 'work'.  Chichi (my Shih-Tzu, who recently turned 9 years old) has been living with Cushing's Disease for the past year.  He's doing much better than he was when first diagnosed, though it's still a month-to-month thing.  At the time when I found out he was sick I was almost positive he wasn't going to pull through, but he's a little trooper and has done surprisingly well considering his age.

I think he has a strong will to live, and a loving family he would rather not leave behind.

I find it amazing though, how much pets health care costs.  It's unbelievable really.  If I didn't have a job that afforded me with some extra spending money, my dog would have died last year.  I have no illusions about that at all.  This last Vet trip was $93.00, and that was just for 2 shots that took a whole 5 minutes.  I also have to fill a monthly prescription of Metyrapone that is about $100.00 a bottle (even with insurance).  As well as his special--and expensive--allergy-free dog food (since many things in normal dog food makes his Cushing's worse) that usually sets me back about $60.00 every two weeks.

Now this coming Tues. I have to drop him off again for a few hours at the Vets, for some extended blood work and testing.  A process that experience has taught me is going to set me back anywhere from $300-400 for the one trip.

Don't get me wrong;  the life of my dog is worth any expense to me.  He's my kid, so that says all there is to say.  I'm not so much complaining about my situation, but more so for other people.  I mean... how many pets are dying out there because their owners just can't afford these ridiculous Veterinary charges?  Not everyone can afford this sort of treatment.  Actually, I'm sure the majority of normal families couldn't swing it.  It's heartbreaking to think that some people will have to make the decision to put their pets down, simply because they can't afford the treatment or surgeries that will save their lives.

That just isn't right at all.

Sure, I know that you can get pet health insurance now - but still, even that will only cut expenses so much - and you probably can't even get the insurance if your pet is already sick.  The costs of these things really are out of hand.  But like I said, I love my dog.  I'm going to keep paying these exorbitant prices simply because there is no other option, except letting my dog die - and that is absolutely unacceptable.

I ended up buzzing my hair off yesterday, a summer tradition (though I did it once this winter as well).  I tend to give myself haircuts, rather than pay for it.  I'm cheap like that, but anyway, who wouldn't want to save a few hundred bucks a year?.

So I walk out of my bathroom sporting my freshly sheared look, and my brother says:

"Wow!  You shaved your head again.  Is that the shortest it's ever been?"
"Nah," I replied "the last time I did it this short too."

He then walks over and rubs my head a few times.

"Well at least you have a nice round head.  Most people have oddly shaped heads.  That's why I don't want my hair short."

I gave his head a glance, and told him he didn't seem to have an oddly shaped head.  He told me that he wasn't sure if he did or not, but didn't want to take the risk of finding out.  [since apparently the only way of finding out if you have an oddly shaped head is to shave your hair off]  You've got to love that kid.  He may be 16 years old now, but he'll always be my little brother.  Especially when we have conversations that go like this one did.

Recently my little brother has become interested in a sport called Airsoft:

Airsoft is a combat sport similar to Paintball in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting them with (6 mm or occasionally 8 mm) plastic BBs (small, spherical balls) launched from airsoft guns, that can be powered by CO2, Green Gas, spring, or electrically powered gearboxes actuating a piston. Participants typically use varying types of weapons designed as replicas of real firearms, tactical gear, and accessories used by military and police organizations.

They had their first 'event' this weekend, and it was a rousing success with more than 40 people of all ages signing up for the opening game of the season, and 43 players that actively participated.

The game took place at the Goose Bay Nike Missile Site, commonly called "The Missile Site", here in Alaska.  These bases were originally designed to protect cities and airports against Russian bombers during the 50's and 60's. They became obsolete with the development of ICBMs, and are now the home of some 'alternative' recreational activities such as cross country skiing, golf, and now of course Airsoft.

I've been seeing stories on the news about abandoned pets.  The United States economy is going so poorly at the moment, and so many people are losing their homes to foreclosure, that there is now a suddenly influx of pets that are also homeless.  I guess this is something I've just never really thought about, but it makes sense;  if the family loses their home, the pet loses it's home as well.

And if the family now has no place to call home...  where can they possibly keep their beloved animals?  Most apartments won't let you keep pets, and some of these folks are living out of their vehicles, and it would just be cruel to try and force an animal into that sort of situation.

It's really heartbreaking, for the family and the pets.  I can't even imagine how bad it would feel to lose a home.  It must be awful--and then to realize that you have no hope of caring for your pets as well?  To know that you'll have to give them away, or take them to a shelter, and likely never see them again...  I can't imagine it.  It's just really sad.  When the economy is hard on us, it's hard on our pets as well.

They are calling them "foreclosure pets".

Recent studies suggest that home values could continue to drop by $1.2 trillion in 2008, creating far-reaching economic hardship and a likely recession. Many cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, and Trenton, N.J., have already been particularly hard-hit by the collapse of the subprime market, with thousands of homes being abandoned. Bank employees and other lenders who enter these homes are often required to leave property—including pets—untouched until legal proceedings are complete. As a result, pets are not receiving the care they need.

I guess it's getting so bad that many ASPCA members are driving around and looking for the foreclosure signs in yards, and then checking the houses just to make sure there are no abandoned animals there.  Sadly they find some, more often than not.  As hard as having your home taken away must be for the home owner, I still think they have to consider the welfare of their animals as well.  No pet should just be left abandoned in the house to fend for itself.  At least try to take it to a shelter, if you have no other option.  Sometimes it takes upwards of a week for anyone to even check in on the house after the family leaves.  I don't think anyone with a good heart would willingly let their pets languish unfed and uncared for, for that long.

Just another example of the 'trickle down' effect.  When things are going poorly, it affects all of us.  Even our furry friends.

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The ASPCA offers this advice for people who are faced with foreclosure and the loss of their pets:

• Check with friends, family and neighbors to see if someone can provide temporary foster care for your pet until you get back on your feet. Agree to a specific time frame, and check on the pet regularly;
• If you are moving into a rental property, make sure pets are allowed and get permission in advance—and in writing; and
• Contact your local animal shelter, humane society or rescue group, in advance of your move, since many shelters limit their admissions to the number of animals they can adequately care for. If a shelter agrees to take in your pet, provide medical records, behavior information, and anything else that might assist shelter workers in finding your pet a new home.