We got some complaints that the redesign got rid of our old photo albums. Well, there are much better ways of organizing photos online, so now we’ll post photos on PicasaWeb instead. There’s a permalink on the right side of the page, in case you ever want to see what’s new.
Samantha & Sherman both love Greenies. For the past couple years, we have bought them online. We buy an entire year’s worth of treats, because that way we are sure not to run out any time soon. We also get a better deal buying them in bulk, but they’re still quite expensive for what they are. But the dogs love them, and Greenies do help with their breath and the cleanliness of their teeth.
This year, we bought Greenies from Dog.com. Not only do they have free shipping, but they offer discounts when you buy 6 boxes or more. Well, we bought 12 boxes of the regular size for Samantha (30 per box) and 3 boxes of the Teenie Greenies (108 per box) for Sherman. According to the online shopping cart, we got the discount on Samantha’s order, but not on Sherman’s, even though they were together. I didn’t think it was that big a deal – it was only a savings of $2 per box anyway.
Two days later, the big box arrived with the invoice/packing list tucked inside. Someone there had discounted the price of all the boxes, so we saved an extra $6. They didn’t have to do it; nothing on the site would indicate that the discount applied to our particular situation. They did it anyway.
I just wanted to say, “Thanks, Dog.com!”
It was time to update the website. It had been pretty stagnant for a long time, and it has been tough to keep it fresh. Hopefully, this new version will make it a little easier to add new content, and we’ll try a little harder to do so.
Have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever holiday you are celebrating), and many blessings in 2008!
We saw Brokeback Mountain right after it opened in Evansville on January 20th. It’s a painful, beautiful film that portrays the heartbreak when two people are prevented from being together by an untolerant society (even if that lack of tolerance is only in their minds). Even my parents can understand that basic fact.
The criticism of the film from the right is just what one would expect them to say. Some people complained about the graphic sex, even though there is only one “sex scene” (if you can call it that) between the two men, and it’s so brief and obscure that you’d miss it if you blink. Yes, they do kiss, but if a man and woman kissing isn’t a “sex scene,” then neither are those scenes in Brokeback.
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle is one of my favorite movie writers and critics. He writes a weekly column in the Sunday Pink section called “Ask Mick LaSalle” where he responds to letters and comments from folks around the globe. Here’s what he wrote to one guy who took issue with Brokeback Mountain:
The question it poses to straight audiences is “How would you like it, to not be able to live with the person you love, to not be able to express your love publicly, to have to go through life pretending to be something you’re not?” Sure, in New York and San Francisco, we’re sort of past that question. But in much of the country people aren’t. So what better casting than to take a couple of young guys who seem about as gay as Gary Cooper and have them fall in love? What better way to accomplish this than to put the issue of sexuality off to the side and make the issue, instead, about love? And what better type of guys to place in this predicament than a pair of cowboys, cliches of American masculinity? The movie is telling audiences that Jack and Ennis’ situation is not about choice, but about identity, and it’s saying if you can’t be yourself in America it doesn’t make sense. What other country asserts that it’s everyone’s right to pursue happiness?
“Brokeback Mountain” ties gayness to the American dream in the most obvious way imaginable, in a way so obvious that it might be considered ridiculous in 20 years time. Or brilliant. I can’t tell. But for the time being, it’s effective and I have to consider it a very good movie.
You can read Mick’s entire column here. And be sure to go see Brokeback Mountain. It’s wonderful.
We adopted Sherman, a 9-pound chihuahua, in late January, 2006. He was about 15 months old. Sherman had travelled around a good part of the country before he came to us. From what we know of his story, he was born in Ohio and then was adopted by a family in Missouri.
Steve’s oldest brother Rod had been working down in New Orleans helping the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina. He was renting a house with a few other guys who were also working down there. One of Rod’s housemates had bought a dog for his family in Missouri, and the family didn’t want him. So the dog ended up sharing the house with these four guys in Louisiana.
Steve and Rod’s mom had been saying for quite a while that she wanted another dog. So last Christmas Rod brought Sherman up to Kentucky from New Orleans for Mom. She had Sherman for about a month, but one day Sherman got loose and ran down the street, and at that point, Mom decided that Sherman was a bit too much for her to handle.
So now Sherman lives with us in Indiana. He seems to have adjusted to life here, and he and Samantha get along fantastically. They wrestle and chase each other. Sherman follows his big sister around everywhere. We hadn’t planned on getting another dog, but this just worked out, and now we can’t imagine it any other way.
One year ago today, we moved to Evansville, Indiana, from San Francisco. A lot has happened over the past twelve months, and it’s about time we provided an update.
We took our big vacation last August, with a 2-week cruise on Celebrity through the Baltic Sea, visiting Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Warnemunde/Rostock, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Dover, England. The ports of call were all fantastic, but we especially loved Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Tallinn.
Steve W continued working for Wells Fargo in San Francisco, working from home in Evansville. He has obtained his Indiana Real Estate license, and hopes to begin work as a fulltime Realtor this fall.
Steve G entered the Associate Supervisor Training program for the US Postal Service in February and graduated the end of May. He is now a supervisor at the Lawndale Post Office, about half a mile from our house. Just last week he had an accident at work where the tip of his left thumb was severed by one of the safes, so he’s off work for a little bit while the injury heals.
Samantha has enjoyed the changes that Evansville offers. She has become good friends with Harley, a West Highland terrier, who lives next door. She is now obsessed with squirrels, and considers it her fulltime job to guard the premises from the furry-tailed invaders. She got very sick in January with Auto-Immune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA), where her immune system was destroying her red blood cells. She is on the road to recovery with a daily drug regimen, and we’re very glad that she’s still with us, because we weren’t sure she would make it in the first few days. Right after her diagnosis, blood tests revealed that she had lost 80% of her red blood cells, which is often fatal. We are very glad that she’s still here. Samantha now has her own website too.
We survived our first winter in Indiana. We had nearly 2 feet of snow right before Christmas, but it was gone by New Year’s Eve. It was pretty cozy inside the house though, and we didn’t mind the cold weather as much as we thought we would. Evansville is in Southwestern Indiana, so the winters are milder than they are farther north. During the winter months was also when we had our swimming pool installed. Now that summer is here, we’ve been enjoying the pool a lot. We even had two pool parties over the July 4th holiday weekend.
Life in Evansville is a bit slower than San Francisco, but we don’t mind that a bit. We’re more relaxed, and that makes us very happy. We miss our friends in San Francisco, but with email and phone calls, we do our best to stay in touch. We hope you all do the same.
A lot has happened in the past few weeks. We went to Kentucky last month to visit with Steve G’s family, and while we were there, we both had job interviews and ended up buying a house. Yes, we’re moving to the Midwest.
Our house in San Francisco went up on the market last week. We’ve had our first open house on Sunday, and today was the “broker’s tour”. There’s another open house this coming Sunday, and we take offers next Tuesday. It’s been a whirlwind getting everything ready for the open houses, and we’ll be thrilled when the house here is finally sold.
The house in Indiana is wonderful. It is very different from the house in San Francisco, but we’re looking forward to the change in lifestyle.
Steve G’s job is already set, and Steve W will take it easy for couple months before searching for employment. We’ll miss our friends in SF, but we have a lot of friends and family in the Evansville metropolitan area.
Here’s a link to a video of our trek across country during our move.
Bon Voyage!
For some strange reason, the Republican National Committee has me on their mailing list. A couple months ago, they sent me a survey that purports to “set the record straight.” Having recently taken two graduate courses in statistics and quantitative analysis, I was quite amazed by the survey tool as an unbiased method for gathering information. Well, I guess you could call it “unbiased,” if you worshipped Rush Limbaugh.
I made some edits to the survey that I thought the RNC might appreciate. I appreciated that they always include a postage-paid envelope for my responses. It helps the US Postal Service and saves me money! What could be better???
Steve G and I started the South Beach Diet on January 2. In the past 15 weeks, I have lost 24 pounds and Steve has lost 20. That works out to about 1.5 pounds per week, which is the right pace for a sustained weight loss, the experts say.
I’ve gone from a 35″ waist, when I was 196 pounds, down to a 32. The day clothing manufacturers added the 35″ size is a day to be both blessed and cursed. It saved me from the dreaded 36s, but it also allowed me to go beyond the 34, which had always been my limit. Now, I have some 32s that are almost loose. I never thought I’d see that day again!
South Beach is a great eating plan for people like me. The book is written to educate people on why some foods are better to eat than others. I admire Dr. Agatston because he really doesn’t care how much we weigh – he wants to avoid health problems in the future. But there is this added benefit of getting thin that is the carrot on the stick.
It’s really not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. (Does that mean the radical right will start worrying about the “South Beach Agenda”???) I am hooked. It even has me exercising more. I bought a Pilates video that Steve and I are using. It may be a little bland, but it works. And I’m TiVoing different shows on Discovery Channel’s FitTV to get more cardio into my exercise routine.
There are naysayers who think that this diet is part of the “low-carb” craze that is currently sweeping the United States and elsewhere. They’re wrong. The first two weeks cut out almost all carbs (except for tomatoes and some “starchy” vegetables like beans), but that is done mostly to force your body to get over the cravings that are natural when you’re used to eating a lot of sugary-sweet things. It’s also low fat, so you can’t have a glass of whipping cream with your scrambled eggs and bacon. (You can’t even have the bacon, much to Steve’s chagrin.)
Starting the third week, you get to add whole grains and fruits, a little at a time. The goal during this phase is to figure out the right spot where you can continue losing weight (and improving your blood chemistry). For me, it’s three servings of grains and two fruits.
We can tell you that as a weight loss plan, this works. No, it’s not easy. We cook a lot more now, but we also try to make food in batches that can last us through the week. The first two weeks are tough, but the results make up for the relatively minor sacrifices you have to make. I’ll report back later on the blood chemistry thing. I had a blood test back in November, and I’ll be having my annual physical in a month or two. Then we’ll see if my cholesterol numbers have changed.
Stay tuned.
Last week, we attended a fund-raising event sponsored by GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It was really powerful to hear the speakers talk about how the religious groups like Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, and so on have been able to raise millions of dollars to fight LGBT rights (and especially marriage equality) using fear tactics and hatred. It got me thinking how many LGBT people – especially those in the big cities like New York and San Francisco where tolerance is more commonplace – get complacent about supporting the organizations that fight for our rights. At this moment, nothing could be more important than making sure that the right message gets out to the right people about how we are not asking for anything more than the same rights offered to everyone else.
GLAAD has been especially active in teaching everyday people who want to advocate for LGBT rights how to maintain a consistent message across all media outlets, and they make sure that the message is backed up with facts and supporting documentation to maintain authenticity. It is important that our message always be truthful, so that we can counter the falsehoods that the religious groups use to silence our voices and take away our rights.
We have joined GLAAD’s Media Circle donor program to make sure GLAAD has the resources to continue doing good things around the world. Please consider joining us!