Things that I'm looking for this week

July is almost over (thank goodness), in Florida it's overwhelmingly hot and infested with tourists. People don't believe me when I say that they smell like sunscreen and disappointment. What is 'vacation' for some people, is daily life for others.

That being said, my summer semester is winding down, and not a moment too soon. I am, again, unbelievably stressed. So much so that I have three (3) Canker sores in my mouth. Two are almost gone, but one is getting bigger and angrier. I usually get them when I'm super stressed and eat a lot of chocolate (all of which happens frequently).

The worst pain I experienced when when I ate a hot dog and got ketchup in the wounds. Omg! It may be worse than electro-therapy. So, the #1 thing I'm looking for a is a cure for mouth sores.

Secondly, I'm sure many people are running into this need as well, but it is the need for more money. I've got bills, yo. It seems like everyone I know is getting married in the coming year. That equals a lot of traveling and dress buying. Some of the money saving tips I've encountered that work well include: not eating (or only having Ramen), car pooling, whoring myself to online surveys (Swagbucks, Crowdtap), sewing holes in clothes, putting tape/glue in the hole in my shoes, and using the library.

Furthermore, I'm addicted to chocolate fudge and Sabra's Supremely Spicy Hummus.  Sadly, the fudge leads to canker sores, and the spicy hummus does not at all help them heal. So maybe it's a win-win.

Any tips are welcome!

07/15/11 FBI: 'Enraged' flier pelts crew with peanuts

CNN reported a story about an  'Enraged' flier pelts crew with peanuts.  I could not help but laugh, because I can totally see myself going crazy and doing the same thing.  It's a common joke amongst my friends, who are equally as stressed out as myself that we will start smoking e-cigarettes.  I'm so close to losing my mind that I can see myself throwing peanuts at people screaming "mah, mah mah, wizards, mah" until I get taken out in a straight jacket. Fully knowing, this is my fate, it's so funny.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Not a spoiler)

Let me start by saying this is not a technical review, won't have any plot comments. More of an observation, as I live in a place literally surrounded by Wizards.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to screen the final Harry Potter film two (2) days before it came out. And people were lining up already in lawn chairs and such. Ok, fine, it's a popular series. But these people were in full wizard outfits. Again, normal...but Hogwarts and such seems to be located in a colder temperature. In Orlando, we hit 95-degrees on both days. That's dedication.

There is also a wizard conference in town, so again, lots of wizards running around. More than usual. I like to play a game similar to 'Punch Buggy' except it's 'Punch Wizard' this week, the bruises have been so bad.

So the film itself it epic. I just called it the this generation's equivalent of the first Star Wars. I'm actually going to pay to see it again. I may even draw a lightening bolt on my forehead.

On being an animal person

The past week, as well as, this week, Charger has been in doggy bootcamp.  I think of it like the Maury show, where they bring the bad kids to jail for a reality shock. This is similar except more obedience school. In addition, this is the first time Charger has been away from us for more than three days. I can't believe how much I miss her. I don't miss being exhausted, but somehow I'm equally as stressed and I miss my puppy.

I posted pictures of her around our house, so that we can see her wherever we normally look. Surprisingly, my mom hasn't taken them down. I think she secretly misses Charger too. I know my dad does. This brings me to a point in my life where I can finally understand why I never got/excelled in an animal career as I wanted. I am not an animal person. I'm starting to become better with animals, but I was and never will be that person. There's something almost magical about people who love and live animals. It's almost ethereal. Animal people can sense other animal people, which is why I think I was never accepted into that world.

Knowing this has brought me peace.  A part of that dissatisfaction I had about not achieving my goals of working with dolphins and whales, has finally ceased.

Review: 'Turtle: The Incredible Journey'

I had the opportunity to see Turtle: The Incredible Journey today courtesy of SeaWorld marketing.  This documentary definitely delivered on the 'Incredible' part of the title.  The movie follows the perilous life of a baby loggerhead sea turtle from the moment she breaks from her egg through 21-years later. 

SeaWorld Productions partnered with Emmy Award winning director, Nick Stringer, to provide dramatic visualization and a compelling story narrated by Miranda Richardson (aka Rita Skeeter from the Harry Potter films).  True to SeaWorld's mission statement, the film dropped not-subtle messages of marine conservation.  In addition, the film has a 3-D version, which provides complete immersion into the ocean world.  Viewers find themselves holding their breath as the waves crash into the camera, but feel equally as comfortable as the variety of whales, dolphins, and fish swim through the blue abyss.

Why would anyone want to watch an 81-minute documentary about a turtle? Because you love marine life and you like a compelling story.  I'm fairly certain the crew did not follow the same turtle around for 21-years, but that is not the point. The point is to connect with the 'character' and to feel the urge to clean up trash, sign a petition, and save the one ocean that we all have in common. The story goes beyond one turtle, it's a story about all the ocean animals and the challenges they all must face by mother nature alone.  Then you add the human factor and survival is bleak.


Overall, I rate this movie as a B, as the content will not appeal to all crowds.  However, if you're going to see it, see it on the big screen.

And then I rescued a turtle.

I guess I'm a wildlife warrior as I have rescued two non-mammal this week.  Chris and I were walking Charger in the neighborhood when we saw a giant turtle in the middle of the road.

We have a lot of little ponds here, so we think it left one to get to the other side. This guy would have never made it across the road with the traffic.

Luckily, Charger had not pooped, so I had two doggy poop bags. Now I tried some scare tactics to get it to run, only for it to hide even more. When I tried to move it, the backlegs stuck in the ground.  Meanwhile my ever brave brother and dog just stood there laughing/staring inquisitively.  Ever helpful Chris was yelling at me to just pick it up, but it was quite heavy.  I actually thought it may have already been run over and didn't want it's guts to spill out.  Chris assured me he saw no blood and it probably would not be moving if it did get run over.  So after a minute, I pulled it off the ground and ran the turtle across the street towards the next pond.  Off it ran!  Once Charger saw that it was actually not a rock she starting barking like crazy.

I felt good.  I have seen far too many turtles dead on the side of the road. This one I was able to identify as a Florida softshell turtle.  May it live long and prosper.
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On a side note: Charger gets her ovaries taken out on Wednesday.  When asked, my dad would rather have me spayed than Charger.

I speak Parseltongue

I find that the most wildlife I see since living in Florida ends up either in my backyard or dead in my pool. Recently a baby snake got stuck in the pool.  The poor thing swam around for days trying to get out.

Sadly the last time this happen, my dad got to the snake first and bashed its brains out.  I favor living things, so I felt guilty that I did not react sooner.

Today I got my redemption. Again, the poor baby snake was swimming for days, finally it was in a position for me to catch. So today, I got a bucket and told the snake "come with me if you want to live." Without a blink it swam into the bucket. I kindly asked the snake not to jump out until I was ready and thank god it didn't. 

When I got to the grassy area of my backyard, I told the snake. "On three, get out of the bucket and preferably snake away from my feet." I put the bucket down and in a flash he was gone! I felt really good for helping the snake out. Hopefully, it won't come back.

My mom was surprised how smoothly it all went. Now in hindsight, it probably is not the best idea to handle snakes in buckets without a glove and in flip flops, especially baby snakes. I can't seem to identify what type of snake it was online. Meh, a life saved I suppose.