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rachel at phoenixfeather.net
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« December 2004 | | February 2005 »
January 29, 2005
Because I SO UNDERSTAND!!
Randomness , Rant , Water

As someone who grew up in what the rest of you call Upstate New York (which to anyone who doesn't know New York seems to be anything that isn't NYC - those of us who live there will refer to Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region. No one seems to understand that I lived in New York and yet lived 7 hours or more away from NYC. Its a big state people! But I'll now set that bitterness aside) and who now lives in California and observes how people here react to weather and giving directions and numerous other things, I find this email my Grandmother sent me amusing.

I can relate to more than 2/3 or these jokes in some way or other. If you don't believe it, you should get out more. If you don't get it, visit "Upstate New York" It really is a beautiful year no matter what the jokes say. Just pick the right time of the year!!

Jeff Foxworthy on Upstate New York:

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Upstate New York.

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Saranac Lake is the coldest spot in the nation, and Syracuse gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you might live in Upstate New York.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you might live in Upstate New York

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live in Upstate New York.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Upstate New York.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Upstate New York.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Upstate New York.

If your town has more bars than churches, you might live in Upstate New York.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Upstate New York.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WHEN:

1. "Vacation" means going South past Syracuse for the weekend.

2. You measure distance in hours.

3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.

6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend / wife knows how to use them.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.

12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.

13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.

15. Down South to you means Corning.

16. A brat is something you eat.

17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.

18. You go out for a fish fry every Friday.

19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

21. You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."

22. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Upstate New York friends.

09:44 PM | Comments (0)
Ring In The New Year
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

01:17 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2005
Buffy-mania
Giggles , Media


:a good site for those of us Buffy freaks... made by someone much more freakish than me!! I'm impressed!

03:18 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2005
UnderWater Dangers
Photography , Travel , Water

I promised in my last photo album that I would tell this little story. Unlike the Baja trip the trip to Bora Bora is not one that I can't the day by day story line... or I could, but I won't because you would be bored. It was a wonderful trip filled with naps and bumming by the pool and beach and a few planned adventures. I just know you don't want to hear about my naps and sunburn though.

So the little story worth telling (I knew I would get to it eventually) is an underwater story. I seem to just find the scary underwater things! In Baja I told you that I managed to find a rock fish (the most deadly fish in the sea of Cortez) and a tiger eel (which isn't horribly dangerous, its just very snake like and snakes scare me!). Well during my second dive in Bora Bora I did one better, I found a Moray Eel! I was quite scared.

So on our second dive we were lucky, there were four of us and we got a boat to ourselves with our own guide because the other boat was going to a different area. This group usually pairs a guide with about 4 divers. Since I had dove with them earlier in the week and Susan had the most recent experience besides me our guide took the two of us in first. We went down and around for a little bit. Once the guide was satisfied that we knew enough of what we were doing he took us to this one rock very near the boat and made motions that we were to stay in this area around the big rock and that he was going to go up and get Jill and Scott.

This thrilled me, I finally had a chance to spend figuring out how to get close to the fish at this rock to take some close up pictures with my macro lenses and I didn't have to worry about the guide moving on and my needing to hurry. So I approached the rock, it was wide and not to high and well prolly more coral based and rock. Its major defining feature was a very old box that seemed to be embedded in one end. Susan and I swam around I took my photos and kept moving around the rock following the fish.

I was coming around and kind of over the rock when I saw it, near a bunch of fish that I was heading toward. I just saw a head, it was bigger than my fist by maybe another half fist, maybe not quite that much, it had a long nose/mouth sticking out the front and it was dark, almost black.

I knew what I was looking at right away, but something in my brain didn't want to believe it. So I doubled back the way I had come and circled around the other way to make sure that I had really seen what I thought I had seen. It was true, I was right, from the other side again, there it was just a head and a little body protruding from inside the rock, and the mouth open just a little this time. A little is enough to see the teeth.

No, I did NOT take a picture. When I get scared I just get away. I don't know the habits of the Moray Eel. I've only ever heard of people getting their arms bit when they stick them in holes looking for lobsters, but I see teeth and I have no idea if he would come after me. If I had take the picture from where I was, well the underwater camera makes things look a bit further away so it just would have been Moray Eel at a distance, and I'll be damned if I was getting closer to those teeth.

I turned around and ran... well swam fast over to Susan because, well we are down here with a Moray Eel ALONE!!

I did my little hand signals and frantic gestures to signal to Susan what I had seen so she can be careful. I tried to show her where he had been, but at this point he had gone back inside the rock.

Our guide came back down with us and I did my little charades for him, but he didn't seem to care. They are much more used to things like that than I am, but still, I wanted nothing to do that that rock anymore. Luckily with Jill and Scott down with us we headed away from that rock and to new under water wonders.

Despite my tendency to find the underwater scaries, I really can't wait to go scuba diving again!!!

10:58 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2005
I'm For Scuba!
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

04:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
Bora Bora Nights
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

02:07 PM | Comments (2)
January 20, 2005
Mac World Excitement
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

10:59 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2005
Super Kitty
Air , Family

Or at least getting a lot less stressed Kitty. I've been really pleased and surprised with how well she has been doing the last few months. Especially since moving to the new house she has settled in and become pretty relaxed and tolerant. That is a lot to say for this cat.

We got her a cat sitter for while we were away for nearly a week and a half at xmas time, and while she was very needy when we got home, she didn't trow any tantrums or get "pissed at us" at all.

That alone is impressive, but she also has been getting remarks from a few people she has lived with in the past. Both Ammy and DanaMarie have mentioned she is almost a different cat.

On top of all of this, last night... Kevin had a few of his poker friends over to play a little poker. around 11pm or so there were about four other people besides Kevin and I sitting around in the game room and Nym comes downstairs. That was a little surprising, but what shocked me was that she came right over to the table, got up on Kevin's lap and then wanted to get up in the middle of the poker table.

It was amazing, she doesn't like people she doesn't know very much, and 6 people is usually way too many for her to do more than show her face at the stairs. I was really impressed. Yay for recovering kitty!!

12:19 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2005
Cars Are Pets Too!!
Air , Life , Love

For the last week I've been having a hard time looking at my poor little car in the driveway, all banged up and crushed and violated. But she was still in the driveway so it was okay.

My car's name is Guinevere and even though she is about 11 years old she is still young at heart. I learned to drive on her, she spent some time at school with me, she took me to see long distance boyfriends, and to live and work in NH, MA and PA and all over the place.

I took off to see the country and spend some time on my own, but she was there with me, all the way to Utah and back to NY and everywhere in between. She got some great parallel parking experience in Pittsburgh, and then she drove Nym and I all the way out to the bay area. She helped me begin to learn this new area, she was always there.

She has had her problems, but whenever I sit down in her its like coming home. She is part of me, an extension, my wings!!

I love Gwen and I can't imagine walking outside and not seeing her there in the driveway or the parking lot or whatever. I don't like the idea that I will never sit in her again. She is my pet and my friend. I know she is just a car, a piece of metal, but she is mine and tomorrow she will be gone.

:( :( :(

Bye Gwen, I will miss you more than ever I thought would. Sometimes love just sneaks up on you.

06:13 PM | Comments (1)
January 14, 2005
Clean Clean Screen!!
Blogging , Randomness

Because your screen is never clean enough!!

Thanks to Groovy Mother.com for this one
08:36 PM | Comments (0)
Just Off The Catamaran
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

06:27 PM | Comments (1)
January 11, 2005
A Lovely Day
Earth , Life

On the upside: Today is Kevin and I's 2 year anniversary since we met. Happy Anniversary sweety.


On the downside: On the on-ramp waiting for a break in traffic to merge onto the Oregon expressway another guy came down the on-ramp behind me in his SUV too fast and straight into my trunk. Thats right folks the SUV's bumper which is higher than mine went right over my bumper and crunched my trunk right up; detached the back of my car from the bumper. *sighs* No one was hurt other than being a bit shook up, maybe some whiplash, but I think it will be okay.

How did his SUV fare you ask? yeah, a couple scratches and a little paint from my car.

*grumble grumble grumble*




look at that, my trunk is being detached from my bumper *sighs*

08:10 PM | Comments (4)
January 06, 2005
Stand By For Take Off
Photography

Anything you want to tell me feel free!!

11:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2005
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and All That Jazz...
Blogging

We're back from Carmel and Bora Bora and a awfully long day of travel (about 25 hours start to finish)... there are pictures galore coming up soon, and stories to tell and much much much to come when I have a few more hours of sleep in me!!

I hope everyone else's Christmas and New Year was Merry and Bright!!

11:05 PM | Comments (1)