I Had to, You See . . .

I couldn't help it -- I had to. Didn't have a choice. It was inevitable, really.

I had to buy some new clothes.

Not much -- two blouses, and a belt.

A belt, people -- because my pants are too big for me. Losing six inches in the waist does that, you see.

Two new blouses, because I wanted them -- but more importantly, I got them at Target. I haven't been able to buy cute blouses at Target in I-don't-know-how-long.

I have Jenny Craig-ed my way out of the "plus-size" stores.

Yesterday, I found out that I have crossed the 160 lb mark -- somewhere I haven't been since my sophomore year in college.

Not only that, I'm 19.6 lbs lighter than when I started -- that's right, by next week, I expect to hit the 20lb mark.

YAY!

Argh!

Okay, so I just got an email through my Zoo Job -- one of the other Seasonal Instructors sending a copy of the now-infamous "let's all not buy gas for one day" message. Perhaps it's because I'm sick, but I really feel the need to be extra-irritable over this. For some nifty statistics on the gasoline situation in the US, see Robert's posting "I've Got Gas".

Here are my big issues with receiving this email:

(1) I figure that less than half the people who say they're going to avoid the pumps on 9/10 will actually do it.
(2) All the people who DO avoid the pumps will inevitably end up filling their tanks, probably the day before or the day after -- won't these "surges" counteract the "drop" you're hoping to create? Heck, if I worked for a gigantic oil magnate, I'd raise the price a few cents before & after the so-called "stick-it-to-'em" date {and what the hell kind of name is that?} and make a freakin' profit off all those people.
(3) Given, I've only taken two measly economics courses, but I'm thinking that in a situation of CONSTANT demand (in the long run, people NEED gasoline, even if they're not buying it right this minute), no one is going to "choke" on their supply volume.

Therefore, I'd like to offer my own suggestions for combating the recent rise at the pumps. None are really large-scale, fight Big Brother, Conspiracy Theory-esque, but feel free to avail yourself of any or all.

Tiffany's Ideas to Combat Rising Gasoline Prices:
(1) Walk.
(2) If it's too far to walk, ride a bike.
(3) Too far to bike? Take public transportation.
(4) Not available? Try carpooling.
(5) Have to drive by yourself? Trade in your freaking' gas guzzler and buy something more efficient (and by "more" efficient, I mean that it gets A MINIMUM of 23 miles to the gallon, because my Ranger can get 25).
(6) Fill your tanks in the evening.
(7) Drive with the windows down instead of using the AC.
(8) Write your legislators to push for funding for alternative fuels.

I think I shall patent that list. Everyone will pay me royalties when they walk. If I charge 10 cents per usage, it'll still be cheaper than 10% ethanol, right?

A New Ass

Perhaps it's only funny because I was reading it at 6:30 this morning, but I received the following email note from my boss at the zoo:

"Also interesting, we are getting a new male ass for the females. He is coming from Germany, but is in New York now and is on his way here. So, that's cool!"

The animal she's referring to is a Somali Wild Ass, now famous for being the animal that the lovable Shrek character Donkey was modeled after. We've had a male for some time (a little goofy, likes to run around his yard with a bucket on his head), then got in three fillies but, alas, they are too closely related to the male to be housed together. Hence, the new ass for the girls. Ha ha ha.

Just thought I'd share.

Because I love you.

Way to Go, Connecticut

I just felt the urge to share with you this yahoo article about Connecticut filing suit against GWB's No Child Left Behind Act.

My thoughts on the NCLB Act (please read with as much sarcasm as possible):

~Yay, more bubble-filling! Today's kids DEFINITELY need to improve their bubble-filling skills.

~Whoo hoo, yearly testing! Because, you see, if you graph the results from yearly testing, they will be DRASTICALLY different from testing done every two years.

~I am SO in favor of requiring all this stuff without actually providing a means to fund it!

Here's an article that showed up in STLtoday.com today. But then again, why do we care what the TEACHERS think of this act, right? Not like they really have anything to do with education anyway.

I can only hope that the state of Missouri (which I love) follows Connecticut's lead. Do I see it happening? Not anytime soon with him in the governor's seat. He actually had me fooled when he vowed to restructure school funding in his State of the State address -- until he mentioned that he was going to give schools more money by taking that AWAY from early education programs & adoption subsidies. GREAT IDEA, really!

Okay, I'm done.

Thanks for listening.

Wedding Pictures!

Some photos of the wedding I went to last weekend:

All eight alumni (and one alumni-to-be) that made it to the wedding -- That's me in the center

Site of the ceremony

Bride & Groom cutting the cake

Who's That Girl?

(((yawn)))

So I spent all day yesterday in the car -- we left Ladysmith, WI (site of the wedding)& drove 4.5 hours to Pewaukee, WI (site of my truck, which I left at friend Maria's house), then I drove home to Saint Louis. Whoo hoo!

Top 2 funny things from the wedding:

The bride, groom, & groom's mom didn't recognize me. Apparently, the looked at Maria & I & thought, "well, there's Maria, I wonder who that is she brought, and where's Tiffa-oh-my-god-she-cut-her-hair!" My new haircut got rave reviews!

Friend Ethan's quote, "Kids are too expensive to own." amen!

Week 8 Update!

Okay, after eight weeks on the Jenny Craig program, I'm 16lbs lighter -- no significant weight loss this last week, BUT it was measuring time again -- in the last month, I've lost 10 inches, for a total of 16 inches in 8 weeks -- whoo hoo! I'm down a clothing size -- had to go buy some new clothes (joy!) and am totally psyched about seeing college friends at a wedding this weekend!

May I Have the Dictionary, Please?

My interest in historical stuff got the best of me this morning, when I found this article on yahoo. It's pretty nifty information; however, about halfway through the story I encountered this:

The monastery, which is in the desert west of the Red Sea, was founded by disciples of St. Anthony, a hermit who died in A.D. 356 and is regarded as the father of Christian monasticism. A colony of hermits settled around him and he led them in a community.

Okay, if you don't yet see my point, read that last sentence again: "A colony of hermits settled around him and he led them in a community."

Just to make sure I wasn't going OCD over nothing, I double checked the definition of "hermit" and found these definitions.

Please tell me that you understand now why I went crosseyed reading that. A hermit is, by definition, a person who lives in voluntary seclusion. Doesn't having a colony/community de-hermetize them?

Just wondering . . .

Hey all - thought you might enjoy this photo of me & my reptilian friend -- that's 350 lbs of pure Aldabra tortoise, baby!