Natala la la la ... ... ...

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

echo lake  

i've spent the last few days relaxing at wonderful echo lake (entryway to desolation wilderness, near tahoe). My cousin Jasmine is working at the Chalet for the summer. There was a crew of us staying at The Oakes family cabin: My aunt Jenny, my cousin sammy from australia, the Oakes (John & Debbie) and then of course Jasmine, Jared Oakes, and Scott. I had a wonderful time hiking around and spent most of yesterday kayaking. The water was *cold* and the air was warm so it worked out wonderfully. We slept outside under a blanket of stars. I highly recommend electricity free living.

Saturday, July 19, 2003

let sleeping dogs lie 

I'm taking care of my co-worker's dog ely. He's a wonderful pet. so well trained and mellow. I've taken him with me to work the last two days and he was wonderful...he came with me to all my meetings and he's been a big hit. There was one minor incident -- he ran into a water post and punctured his leg. It was quite scary -- he was bleeding, but we had a health fair that day at work and my vet from Adobe Animal Hospital was there! they checked him and said he was ok. i'm cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide twice a day and putting on some neosporin. Ely doesn't seem to notice a thing, and the owund is healing fine, but it totally freaked me out.

Last night we went over to my parents house for dinner. We went to the local park and then had dinner outside in the backyard followed by a walk downtown for ice cream and those pearl tea things. At the end of the night, after a full day of work and walking around town, we were pooped and both feel asleep in my mum's living room -- as the picture below by my mum shows.



right now he's sleeping on the floor ... soooo tired after a morning at the beach and breakfast with Vignetta at my old hangout, the Grove, on chestnut. We visited catnip + bones too -- where he tasted yummy treats and charmed everyone.

phyllis...an oral history 

tonight i went out with my mom and step-dad and my aunt (who came up from santa barbara) and my cousin sammy (who flew in from australia) ... it was sooo much fun! Ely, the dog that i'm dog-sitting, came with us too. It was really great to see my mom and aunt interact and tell stories about growing up in India. They were telling us about how my grandparents went to England in 1954...by ship!!! They were gone for three months, much of it spent on the ship!

They were also recapping old jokes my grandfather used to tell. My mom, wonderful as she is, really isn't the best joke-teller. I've decided that my sister should learn these jokes because she's a great joke teller, just like my grandad.

What's the shortest poem?
Fleas
Adam, had em.

What's the longest poem?
Go On.
Go On. Gooooo Oooon. Go On. Go. On. Go On. Go On Goooo On. Go Ooooon. Go On Go On go on Go onGo On. Go. On. Go On. Go On Goooo On. Go Ooooon. Go On Go On go on Go on Go On. Go. On. Go On. Go On Goooo On. Go Ooooon. Go On Go On go on Go on...

Then there all the jokes you've got to see live....like the one about the man who gets a suit made at the tailor. And he goes back to the tailor because the sleeves are too long, and the tailor says "oh, just hold the sleeves like this" and then the pants are too long and the tailor says "just hold the pants like this" and the story goes on and on and evenutally the man is holding his suit in all these weird poses! it's hillarious, but you've got to see it live. My grandpa used to tell this story with uncle jack, his high school chum. they'd laugh for hours.

My favorite joke is the one about phyllis the flea. I can remember my grandad telling this story and loving it and always falling for it :-)
It's all about this circus flea, phyllis. "Jump Phyllis, Jump" (note: my grandad's hands are out in front, fisted with the thumb on top and you have to imagine phyllis is jumping from one thumb to the other thumb). "Do a cartwheel phyllis" "Do a loop-de-loooooop" "good phyllis, good" "Jump Phyllis, Jump" "Phyllis! Phyllis! oh! Phyllis No Phyllis" (at this point my grandad would pretend that phyllis had jumped off the stage and down his shirt and down his pant leg...it's physical comedy at its best.

it's moments like these that make me cherish every precious minute i have with my family.


Chase Family Reunion, Brisbane Australia 2002

Sammy and all the girl cousins

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

blogging 101 

the funny thing about blogs is that when you have one and your friends and family actually start reading it, they start to think you might be writing about THEM. sometimes of course you are, but often you aren't. the e-mails that result "i can't believe you exposed me like this" (when i was talking about my cat) ... are just too funny. too bad you can't post them as notes to your blog...

Monday, July 14, 2003

highly recommend: jason mraz 

i bought the Jason Mraz CD today (well i ordered it from amazon.com a few days ago and it came today) and i really like it. he's lyrical.
"Oh love it's a brittle madness, I sing about it in all my sadness"

Sunday, July 13, 2003

these boys are fast 

*sigh* i just lost my post. i am no longer inspired. let's just say, these guys are incredible.

Thursday, July 10, 2003

get well cards 

one of my favorite people is really sick. no one knows whats happening or why. i've been wanting to write him a card to let him know i'm thinking about him, but everything i want to write sounds so sappy and insincere. "i hope you feel better, this sickness stuff sucks" just doesn't seem to cut it -- esp. when this sickness stuff might not get better. and i don't want to write something like "i know you'll be ok" or "this will pass and you'll be fine" because the reality is that it just might not be ok. so how do you convey to someone that you care without seeming trite? i'm still not sure. in the end i wrote the only thing i felt i could write -- a short note that said i didn't know what to write, that i was inspired by his spirit and tenacity (jeez is that the right word?) (i am inspired by him), that i didn't want to be sappy and that i cared and was here.
now i just need to find a stamp.

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

i'm sleeping too much 

for some reason i've been getting around 9 hours of sleep a night. I usually get somewhere around 6. I really don't know what's going on.
UPDATE: i also seem to be bumping into things. what's going on?

Sunday, July 06, 2003

dog days of summer  

there's an extra dog in this picture...thanks to wes for taking it.

things i've learned about dogs:
* the dog park is a SCENE. people brought beer. there were 16 dogs there. as the new kid, i didn't yet fit into the social structure. i think there's some sort of sniffing peeing initiation ritual.
* dogs fart
* dogs don't know what's your space and their space
* dogs sniff everything
* dogs pee on things, but don't give a damn about fire hydrants
* dogs chew on anything. should they be chewing on bark? won't they get splinters? apparently not.
* walk your dog. it is important to tire dogs out. it will make you happier because they will be tired and lazy and sleep. i think people who have dogs must be healthier for all the walking.
* finding legal places to take your dog off leash is essential. i highly recommend Pulgas Ridge -- 16 acres of off-leash trail fun.
* dogs and horses don't like each other. Dogs are scared of horses because they are significantly bigger than a dog. So they figure they should attack (because you know, that's the smart thing to do when faced with someone oh, 4 times your size). Horses are scared of dogs because, well, horses are skittish and are scared of everything. How do i know this? i came across two horses when i was walking the pups in woodside (i was trying to find the upper windy hill entrance which i have never found *sigh*). When we came across the horses, i had the dogs off-leash. this was, uhm, bad. It worked out, but i got the feeling (from the stares of the riders) that this could have been a very nasty scene and that we had just miraculously escaped.

tomorrow is my last day with the dogs. it's been fun to have them around, but i have to say, i'm relieved to be returning them. i think nick will be happy too, he's been feisty today, i think he misses Kassie & Luke.

Thursday, July 03, 2003

this evil beast 

just peed in the hallway at work. i'm not feeling the canine love anymore.

challenge: who let the dogs out?  

i'm taking care of my friend's luke and kassie's dogs. oh my.