Big O Albino
He’s about 11 inches long and 6 inches top fin to bottom. He’s in a 125 gallon tank with some other random fish. These are the survivors of a long standing community tank. These pictures and information will make more sense once you read the next post.
I just like the way he looks here. Mason took good pics. Read on….
I blame the booze
And messed up cosmic bowling. And a million people all driving towards the mall. And a long line at the liquor store. And that first, delicious, vodka martini with garlic stuffed olives (pretty good, not as over powering or breath killing as you might think). And the movie Elf. And the bottle of wine that I bought the other day. And the other bottle of wine that I bought today. And the sore muscles that prevented me from getting up and moving in a timely fashion. And the Wizard of Oz, with commercials, so that I could struggle to my feet and exercise my way to the kitchen for more drinks in between.
But not actually exercise. Or not eat. The moment I said I would just drink and not eat, all I could think about was food. So we ate pretty much all the leftovers in the house. And then some other stuff too. Sorry Mason, we ate the cheese sticks. I’ll buy more this week.
And then it was so late. I could stand and walk enough but I was not doing, like, a workout. And now it’s morning. For the record I slept like crap. And I had a headache all night long. And I was really thirsty. And I had strange, weird dreams about working in a hospital. A giant, multi-level, spread out hospital that doesn’t exist in real life. I had to put eye drops in a long list of patients scattered everywhere, and measure their pupil dilation. But I couldn’t find the rooms. And the patients were listed categorically by disorder and it seemed most were psychiatric. It took me 15 minutes just to get near the hospital rooms. There was a huge, 2 level, narrow, oddly stepped staircase I had to go down (and back up) and my kids were following me and I was wearing my school uniform. AND I was drinking in my dream too! IN the hospital. All the other nurses and doctors were too. I don’t know what that means but it’s probably not good. In the end I could only find one person on the list and he refused.
Thank god I woke up. I’m drinking coffee now without anything in it, although I bought something for that yesterday too. I’m going to wait until later. During football, to start drinking again. And I must try to exercise even though just trying to cough hurts at this point. That’s the problem with irregular exercise. Those muscles hate stretching out after you let them sit for awhile. Then they punish you big time by not letting you move faster than sitting and not lifting more than a fork or a glass. Thank goodness I can type, right Amanda??
I suppose I better get up now and do something. In celebration of school being over I got myself some fake nails. But I am not skilled on managing alot of personal hygiene things yet. Takes practice and some different moves. Like, for instance, it took me half an hour to put in my contact lenses. It’s stupid. I don’t know how the fancy girls do it 24/7. But in a week or so, I’ll have naturalized myself to the whole concept and I’ll be fine. I let my daughter get some too, but her’s are probably all broken and chipped by now. 2 days would be a record. She likes to tap them on everything and pull at them all the time. Anyway…my point was that it takes longer to do less.
And I have a crazy fish to deal with. My son’s Oscar has taken to swimming around the tank in circles. Not like around the outer edges, literally swimming in fast circles like he’s a dog chasing his tail. We can’t figure out what the problem is. One site said water issues, one says nutrition, one said maybe he broke the heater and he’s getting electrocuted continuously. Well, there’s another fish in the tank and he seems fine so I doubt it’s that, but we unplugged the heater anyway. Still spinning. He also likes to attack the surface and throw water out. He just did it again. The other things are not easily fixable so I say just move him out. I think he’s too large for where he’s at and needs to be moved to the big tank. There are a variety of fish in it already and one giant Oscar. He used to be really aggressive, but he seems to be tamer now. I think it might be ok. It’s a pity though, because Mason’s fish is nice and smooth with no scars or damage and he’s probably going to get beat up a little bit if we switch him.
Anyway, these are the problems of a Sunday morning stall. Type long enough and something else will come up to do other than exercise. Like your mom calling you and asking when you planned on coming over. Hi mom! Thanks! Did you read all this? It’s funny huh?? So, since I didn’t make it clear when I called her earlier, and she won’t drive her scroungy butt to me, I guess I better really go get dressed and haul it out there! See? No exercise! Yay fat me!
I am posting a picture of the big Oscar that Mason took as companion to this fine piece of writing, except that its at the top, so you’ve already seen it. And I still have lots of Christmas pics I took from around my house when I was goofing around with the camera. And hopefully, I’ll have really old pics to post from when my dad was alive later too. Pretty exciting stuff. You do want to see those, I promise. In the meantime though, here’s a picture of Mason’s crazy fish:
He’s not as clear as he could be, but you get the idea. He’s about 8 inches long and 5 inches top fin to bottom. In a 36 gallon bow tank and looking mean, but we’ll see.
Sad note on the white fish in that tank below…
When we woke up for school a few weeks ago, he was gone. At first we thought maybe the other Oscar (a Tiger) ate him. He got to be twice the size of the Albino Oscar, and he was three times as aggressive, so it’s possible. Or maybe the Kissing Gourami (also kind of mean) picked him to death and the Pleco finished him off. Seemed implausible to be eaten just overnight, but you never know. Then I thought to look to the side, there is a small opening in the back, and when the fish fight they splash around and break the surface pretty violently. Well, obviously the fish decided he had it with marine life and threw himself up and out and to the side in between the wall and the dresser. He was kind of dirty and stuck against one of those quarter-of-every-state folder things. We tried to revive him, but no. He was gone. All the dust on him served no protective advantage at all (see next post on cleanliness). We freed him to the universal ocean in the big, green garbage can. We feared the flush as he was somewhat larger than a regular fish. Incidentally, the Gourami died shortly thereafter. Poor, unfortunate souls….
I should not be here. And, belated, posted, birthday wishes.
I should be doing mad blood pressures and apical pulses.
Another week of school, another set of tests and skills! Today is the written. Complete. Passed. Still in A category. It is only fourth week though…I feel good and I love this stuff! Tomorrow are the skills. And a mini-written test. That was a surprise, but I am prepared. I got pulses down. Blood pressures can be tricky, especially if the equipment is bad or I make a sudden move! All the noises blob into one big bump! And that ain’t right!
At any rate. Yesterday was the sissies B-day!
Happy Birthday N.!! (Sorry you had to be lumped in with my news!)
I have two sissies. This was the closer-aged one. The whole family was there for the par-tay and the whole family let me practice squeezing them and pulsing them. Sounds so dirty and yet it was not. I think I did pretty good considering the noise level (loud) and the activity going on around (crazy loud) and the participants unwillingness to be quiet and calm for one minute in a row! Love!
It all worked out perfect. The real world is not quiet and willing to sit still for me. And it makes me better(?!?) TBD.
Here’s a picture of an Oscar, probably wishing for freedom (or death). Fish are calming.
Crazy Electric Blue Crawfish and his good friend the Blue Gourami
Now that the big fish tank has been downsized (minus two of the large decoration “buildings”—update on that later) to accommodate the growing Oscars, there are less places for the crawfish to hide. He likes the plants (still have 2) and the back of things. But the only thing to go behind is a tall, pillar piece that isn’t really hide-able.
And the Gourami likes to “sit” on stuff. Not sit, but kind of hover over and skim a surface to where it looks like it’s resting on it.
So these to crazy marine animals got together and I guess they are cool with hanging out on top of each other. The Blue Gourami is sitting ON the Blue Crawfish. It was funny to see because the crawfish wasn’t trying to snap at him. And it looks like the fish has claws. I took the pics with my camera phone and they didn’t move at all.
This is from the end looking longways into the tank. The camera phone took a good picture. Sometimes I get really lucky. I don’t know how amusing you’ll find it, but here it is:
Right in the middle of the plants. Fish on top, crawfish underneath.
After I saw how good the camera took the picture of the tank, I thought I’d try to get a long view of the whole tank. You can see the pillars in the back and an Oscar on the top, right. And there’s a shark near the bottom, swimming away. The light on top is from the tank, and it adds a nice underwater, peaceful glow I think. Makes you feel like a fish. That may be a stretch. But stare at it long enough and you’ll go into a trance!
Last post of the night…
Hold on, let me get a drink for this….
Ok. If you read this in any kind of dailyway, I pretty much list off my activities for the day. So, even though I had good intentions when I woke up this morning (early , so that I could watch the WGN Morning News—I even texted what kind of underwear Pat Tomasulo should wear to co-host his first Regis & Kelly Show on Tuesday—sad), basically I did nothing. The road to Hell…
Drank coffee. Bitched and moaned when I had to take the car to the brake shop, which we desperately needed. Grumped about having to go buy windows and stain and rocks for the house to make it look nicer. Hated the lunch I ate, even though I picked the place. Was bored at the Pet Store getting feeders for the cannibal Oscars (which are getting big–I’m going to do a before and after post when I sober up in the morning because I’ll never find the old pictures in this condition). Sat inside and played BeJeweled on the computer and Facebook while the BF cleaned off the roof, gutters and patio in the blazing midday sun. Perked up a little when we had to go get the car, brand new brakes—so nice!–only because I knew we had to go right past a liquor store! Yay! Happily walked around said liquor store picking up various drink items for tonight and tomorrow. Drove car home thinking about making delicious martini’s and laying across the couch like a lump. Sitting here, right now, drinking second martini and typing about the things that I won’t be finishing up tonight. Like…
The laundry.
The kids room. So close too! Got it painted and ready to re-build. Got proof too! See pics below! I was going to save them for the big before and after unveiling, but who am I kidding?? I might not even finish that room now until Sunday or Monday. HA. All I have to do is hang curtains and move the furniture back. Oh Cursed Vodka!!
Another thing I didn’t do was run. And I feel bad about that. It’s been 2 days; three when I wake up tomorrow. (I did paint for those two days—today was just pure lazy) It’s going to suck running around out there for 4 miles, maybe more, as punishment, with a hangover and reeking of booze sweat but I can’t get behind. I have a five mile race in one month and you saw those butt pictures. Eee-yew…did any one else just feel a chill?? Goosebumps. Or giant lumps (of fat in my pants—yuck). I’m not even telling you where those pictures are or linking it. Find it yourself.
What I am going to do though, is finish this up, post those pictures (the walls and windows really did turn out nice–good work SoberLisa!) and make some moves on my BF. (Too much information???)
Like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, once said (and she totally rocks):
“One drink makes me want to go to bed.
Two drinks makes me want to go to YOUR bed.”
Goodnight, Chicagago!
For the boyfriend…
125 in the dark...
…For being such a good sport about me staying up all night posting my idiocy on the internet: A picture of the fish tank that really highlights all the effort you put into it. It’s beautiful. I love you. L.
Too “Mutch” (clap-clap) Time On My Hands….Tuesday
This is for my little boy today. We were finishing up homework early this morning, before school; two paragraphs on two words that are spelled the same but mean something different, and trying to work out a playlist for today.
Misspelled words? Time? Too much of something? of anything? Produce (fruits/vegs)? Produce (to make something)? Like my silly site that doesn’t offer any useful information?
“Hard boiled eggs? Really? That’s so stupid mom” That is a direct quote. Please check the previous post and enjoy the next helpful “Tip To Live”. Use it for your child’s next school lunch! My children. Always my inspiration for everything that I do!
Sunday PM: Kids came home and it’s a swirl of dirty laundry, leftover food and non-stop talking. A quick tour of the house to see if anything is new and a hug for the fishtank that my son loves more than his mom, and it’s time for bed. Spring Break is over. Back to school on Monday.
I forgot to mention the fish. (Or did I?) We have one large tank (125 gal.) Two smaller tanks (36 and 20) A brand new 3 gallon for the boy, a 1.5 gallon (?) and 2 fish bowls that the girl watches over. The smaller tanks have Betta’s–fighting fish. The 20 is goldfish that my son has collected over the last few years. The 36 is breeder fish. Messy and poopy but they do multiply! The big tank is cycling thru it’s second round of fish. The first set were killed in an unholy attack of Ich that wiped them all out before Christmas last year. Terrible.
Oscars, Sharks, Gourami’s, Silver Dollars, and an Electric Blue Crawfish. These are the new residents replacing pretty much the same thing…so far so good. Mason’s new tank is undecided. Set up is today and fish later on. I’ll keep all the waiting fans updated as it happens!
Monday: It was take-your-mom-to-the-doctor day over here. I took mine and the BF took his! Then we met up for dinner with the kids and some fishtank shopping! (Hence the brand new 3 for the boy and rocks for the girl) Stevie loves her tank too. She is moving her Betta out of its current home and into a smaller apartment and then putting in something yet-to-be-picked-out-until-later in the bigger tank. It’s like a cheap version of The Aquarium around here.
Tuesday: Me alone for the day. Catching up. It’s garbage day plus Recycling so I like to get as much in the can as I can so I can put more in for the next time. Every two weeks. (Three “cans” in a row–that’s funny). I have been cleaning my bedroom as I have been for the last 6 months. It is almost done. Boxes, shelves, papers, books, mags, all sorts of stuff off the surfaces and filed away. Last up: the actual dresser DRAWERS (yikes), kids artwork, report cards, school papers, etc., and…dum dum dum…PICTURES. The bane of almost everyone’s life if they have been taking them for 30 years and putting them in a box instead of an album. Like I have. Or haven’t been. I have taken countless pictures–thousands– I have been sorting thru these last few days…and why? Why have I never albumized earlier? Lazy? Housework? Yeah right. I am near the end though. Alot of memories. Alot of junk. Why do we save blurry pictures?
Here’s a tip: Take those out right away. You’ll never want them. You might not even know what they are. Save time and space upfront.
I was up until 2 am finishing the last visible box (I have more in drawers—you see how this goes?) I have them separated by garbage, mine and my ex-husband. The kids collected a few too, and my next goal is to put everything into albums over the summer. Eventually it all goes to them anyway…might as well give them some nice organized books they can pitch out all at once…save them ALOT of time!
It is funny though about those pictures. I had a life before right now…I mean, we all have a life, but the pictures of when I was in school, jobs, family, ex, kids, boyfriends, house, vacations, dogs, events, cars, birds…whatever. “Of-the-past.” What do you save? What do you give away? What do you want posted on the evening news after you become super famous and get caught in a scandal? (I’m keeping those pictures, separate and labeled, so that won’t be a problem.) All my “new” stuff is downloaded on the computer and I carry it around with me everywhere on my Ipod. I guess that’s how you can tell these days. Past from present. Digitally scanned. (I like the way that sounds.)
The good part is that I get to see how I looked–So Bad!!—some of those clothes and glasses!?! Ugh! WTF was I thinking?
And the good part is that I also get to see HOW I looked—really. Not that bad. The mirror of the past—it’s true. I hated how I looked pregnant. Hated it. But I am so grateful now for the pictures. Because 10 years later, it’s still terrible, and now I have PROOF.
Anyway, it’s all just illusion, smoke and mirrors, and this is getting way too long. It’s like a game after all these years. Trying to fit the pictures into the order of a particular life and doing it so that other people can understand. The pictures just capture the moment, but not the time. So it’s been fun and gruesome and funny and horrible and…fun. Like Monopoly or Risk is fun. Playing with your cheating family…heh, heh, heh…
So the music is about games. (And having way too much time.) Mason actually came up with it while he was half-listening to me ramble on the way I do. “Like a game, mom, ‘Poker-face, Jeopardy…’ get it??” Oh yeah I got it. And here it is, for you:
The “Game Play“ List. Play it now!
just shy of pretty 