DOGS, DOGS, DOGS

Ok, if you haven't read the previous entry yet...go read that and come back to this one. I promise, this entry will be much, much funnier. For those of you who HAVE read the aforementioned entry, you'll love this gem that I have for you today!

What would you do if you were in sunny, warm Aruba? Would it be pester your daughter at home? If that's what you answered...BINGO! You win a prize.

My father has been away for exactly three days and he couldn't stand not knowing how the dogs were. Here is the email I got from him only moments ago.

Are you taking good care of my dogs? I trust that they are safe and well, and that you are giving them lots of love. Bailey likes to cuddle up when he sleeps. Give him lots of kisses. Of course, I hope you are doing well too.

Your father

Appparently, my father has had a bit too much sun because he forgets that Bailey was sprayed by a skunk right in the choppers. Bailey receives no kisses from me. Nuh uh.

As I type this, the dogs are both lying at my feet. They really are too cute.

I'm pretty sure I'll have a change of heart tomorrow at 5am when I have to make the feeding rounds.

- posted by Taunia @ 8:25 PM (0) comments

 
ARUBA, DOG POOP, AND HEARD IT ON THE RADIO

In case you didn't already know, I live next door to my parents. That's the trade-off I made in order to work PT at the Symphony and pursue music. It actually works out very well and is a win-win for both me and my parents. My dad charges me minimal rent which pretty much covers their mortgage, I have a decent place to live and still live alone (which I like), and I also feel like I'm at least investing in this house rather than giving some stranger my money for rent. All told, my parents and I have a great relationship and they respect my privacy and vice versa.

I am very similar to my dad - we both WORSHIP animals and in particular, dogs. I think I've filled you in before that my dad goes a little overboard (remember he BAKED THEM COOKIES???). The dogs know that the house is their kingdom, believe me.

Vicki is a Rottweiler and is beautiful, well-behaved, loving, and not at all fierce or scary as you'd expect a Rottie to be. Bailey, on the other hand is a fucking wreck. He's a black lab and he's HUGE. My dad got Bailey a few months after Maddie died last October (Maddie was also a black lab). Maddie was super-smart and the most amazing dog ever. Bailey? Dumb as a tree stump - completely retarded.

The dog can't sit still for two seconds. You can't ever pet him because he gets SO excited that he goes into convulsions when he sees you. He also keeps chewing up all my mothers things: her shoes, her books, etc. My dad decided to tell her that *I* took these things when she found out they were missing rather than get Bailey in trouble. Say WHAT?!?! Anyhow, the gig is up! I filled her in that Retardo has been eating all her stuff. I love the dog...I just want him to calm the fuck down.

So, fast forward to today when my parents and sister left at 4:30 for Aruba for 7 days. Guess who has to take care of the dogs? Yep, me. My dad decided to make a LIST for me with directions. When I rolled my eyes, he told me that he'd give me a break in the rent if I took care of all this. DONE!

The list is ridiculous, though. These dogs are PAMPERED. Here's the list...pay special attention to the one in bold:

1) Feed the dogs in the MORNING!!!!!!! (Note the extra exclamation marks. Good thing, because I may not have remember MORNING without them!)

2) Give them 2 cups of dry food and mix in half a can of dog food with the dry food. Then, make a beautiful hollandaise sauce and sautee' some onions to garnish. (Ok, I made that last part up)

3) Make sure they have plenty of water.

4) Give them a treat before you leave. (I wish someone would give ME a treat when I left!)

5) Make sure the dogs go out at night and close the back door when it gets dark...

(SKUNKS!)

What I forgot to mention is that Bailey the Wonder Mutt went right up to a skunk in our backyard at 2:00 in the morning and got sprayed face first. Of course, Vikki saw the skunk and said "HELL NO!" because she actually has a brain. That skunk smell invaded their house AND mine for a good 2.5 weeks.

Before leaving, my dad pulled out a bottle of "Skunk-Off" and said, "if they get sprayed, you have to wipe them down with this" to which I replied, "uh, NO amount of rent would have me go NEAR THEM if they're sprayed."

6) Feed the cat in the morning (1/2 can and 1/2 dry food). This is for Beannie, who is my cat that has to live with my parents because of my new adult onset allergies. My cat rocks the party, yo.

7) Give the rabbit a carrot of celery or lettuce and rabbit food. Make sure the rabbit has plenty of water.

Noticing a theme yet? Yep, it's like George fucking Orwell's animal farm over here. And I promise, everyone will be fully-hydrated.

8)GIVE THE DOGS LOTS OF LOVE AND ATTENTION!!!!!!!!

Oh, where do I even begin with this???

He actually SAT ME DOWN and explained that I need to SPEND TIME with the dogs...a few hours each night and tell them I love them and pet them, etc. Seriously?!? Then he told me that I have to bring them to my house so that they wouldn't be lonely. All of this is fine, I just couldn't help but think, "did you put this much prep into OUR care when you went away?!? NO! You left us with Aunt Evie: crazy bird and tire sale lady!

9) Check to make sure Bailey STAYS OUT OF TROUBLE.

Dude, if Bailey is awake, he's in trouble. I checked on them this morning, and he's already destroyed one of my mother's books. I had to put all books on high shelves and get rid of any footwear in site. It's going to be a destructive week.

HAVE A GREAT PET WEEK!!!!!!!

Love, DAD

P.S. Don't let the poop pile up. It's easier to pick it up daily.

Oh, lovely. Seriously, that's just fucking LOVELY. I didn't realize picking up dog poop was part of the deal. Bailey poops like a motherfucker and you know even though he's retarded, he'll be pooping his brains out JUST BECAUSE I have to pick it up. Cripes!

The dogs are fine, and I will take good care of them...the list just cracks me up. Plus, my mother and father reiterated these directions to me at least 3 times each yesterday. I said, "I'm not the one who's retarded, your dog is!" I joke a lot, but I do love Bailey...even with all his ridiculous antics.

Last night, my mom came over and told me she left me a chicken dinner in my fridge. I laughed and said, "did you think I wouldn't eat while you were away?"

So here I am on Friday morning, hanging out with the dogs, the cat, and the bunny and all is good. Thank God there's no pigs, or else the animals would be in control by tomorrow.**

**George Orwell reference.

BY THE WAY: We'll be on the radio this Saturday (what will the dogs do!?!) so check us out:

SATURDAY: 3:00 PM - WERS/88.9 FM
SATURDAY: 11:00 PM - WBZ/1030 AM

- posted by Taunia @ 10:23 AM (0) comments

 
I CHANGED MY MIND

I take back my BOOOO to the DNC. I love the DNC. I want those Democrats to back every year. Now, I realize that they don't have a convention year, but I think that they could rack their brains and come up with some excuse to get together and shut the entire city down.

I have never enjoyed Boston or driving in and out of it so much. There were hardly any people around on the streets, in the stores, or in the restaraunts. It was like the whole place was there for my taking! I went to my favorite Ethiopian restaraunt, Addis Red Sea, and there were two people in there, whereas normally it's packed. The hostess and I had a long conversation about how it was bad for business. Was it wrong for me to stand there thinking, "yes, but that's more Ethiopian food for MEEEEEEEEE"?

When I drove out of the city on Wednesday night, Storrow AND 93 were open, so I took them home and got home in record time of 20 MINUTES. I love the Democrats. Yeah DNC!

As part of the DNC, Ted Kennedy held a gala here at the hall. Boy, Teddy is not the greatest televised speaker, and as we all learned he can't sing worth shit, but Ted is my new best friend because I got to meet:



Yep, that's right kids....it's BONO from U2, my new best friend.

Bono was there as part of the performance and he was one of the most friendly, gracious people I've ever met. SO nice. I love him because he is SO passionate about causes that move him and he knows that his fame only helps to bring those causes to light. He was the commencement speaker at U of Penn and I loved his speech - it was passionate and moving and really brought to light many of the plights of Africa right now. Anyone with passion for something moves me, but someone with passion who works towards a solution is someone to look up to in my book.

_______________________________________________

Unfortunately, I missed two of the speeches I really wanted to hear from Al Sharpton and Barack Obama. In case any of you missed any of the speeches as well, there are transcripts from all of them here on the NY Times website. I'm about to go read what I missed and I suggest you do the same.

I did, however, hear John Kerry's speech. During the primaries, Kerry was not my pick. I've heard all of the spin from the right, and some of it made me question Kerry - which I believe is important (to question, rather than blindly follow). Before the DNC speech, what it came down to for me was a choice between a lying conservative who we have in office now, or someone who would bring change to our government. It was easy that my choice had to be Kerry, but I wasn't entirely won over by him...yet.

After listening to his speech, I was blown away. I thought it was incredibly powerful and direct and he address everything that I wanted him to from White House staff to the privatization of social security to stem cell research . The one topic I had wished he'd be more direct about was gay marriage, but he made it clear where he stands even though he hadn't said it directly.

What I find extremely encouraging is the amount of people working to get people to vote. Puff Daddy created a program to inform urban youth about voting and making their voices heard. I'm glad that everyone is working to show the importance of younger generations in creating a stronger tomorrow.

Are you registered? If not, GO. You can do it online. It's easy, you can go to any of these sites:

DECLARE YOURSELF

YOUR VOTE MATTERS

ROCK THE VOTE

REGISTER AND VOTE 2004


I know I sound like a public service announcement, but it's so important for all of us to register and to vote. Are you unhappy with Bush? Then DO something. Rock the vote, yo!



- posted by Taunia @ 8:50 AM (0) comments