what’s goin’ on...

bless me, readers, it’s been nearly a week since my last entry. here’s a quick recap of events since last we spoke...

i wrote an article on unusual pets and now know more about chinchillas and hedgehogs and the like than i ever thought possible. the piece will be out in september, but here’s an exciting preview: chinchillas eat a high-fibre diet and, as a result, poop constantly! degus’ tails will slough off (i.e., the skin comes right off) if you pick them up incorrectly! red-eared sliders (note to moob: NOT spiders, sliders) have salmonella in their stool! ferrets eat anything! and hedgehogs hate other hedgehogs! isn’t that fascinating? hey...wake up...i said ISN’T THAT FASCINATING?!

i’ve begun pondering a birthday vacation. initially, i’d thought about seattle...then a seattle/vancouver double bill...but both of those west-coast cities are VERY expensive in june. so i looked into chicago and discovered it’s even pricier there. yet, for some reason, san francisco is strangely affordable (comparatively speaking). i continue to research and mull.

young beatrix stayed over on friday night and a good time was had by all...until...

...saturday afternoon, shortly after she left, when some sort of alien creature invaded my intestines and caused no end of upset. seems i ate something that did not agree with me and my body wanted it expelled ASAP. this was super-fun.

YB and i also went to the National Home Show. she’d been given free tickets, and hopes to be a homeowner before the year is out, so we decided to check it out. it was underwhelming...but packed to the rafters. and, much to our surprise, there were countless vendors whose wares had little or nothing to do with homes. i mean, a T-shirt booth? toronto animal services? a sausage salesman? a candy store specializing in british imports? the best, though, was a cosmetic dentist who’d set up a giant space and was offering – no joke – on-site TEETH WHITENING. he had four or five dentist chairs in a semi-circle, various “technicians” in white lab coats, and a quartet of those Zoom™ laser machines. AND PEOPLE WERE HAVING IT DONE! at the home show. whaaaaaa...? is that *really* where you want to have any kind of dental procedure done? at a HOUSING EXPO???? apparently, some did. weird. nevermind that you’re on full display for all the passersby (like me) who look and point and wonder what kind of lengthy release form you had to sign before sitting down in that chair. yikes.

HotDocs starts on thursday! :-D

and, finally, give this a look for a little warming of the heart on a monday (i dare you not to get a little misty):