Michele

Hey, Ed? This isn't helping me.... From the link: Damn thing isn't changing shape, and, as Kev pointed out, it must be a really skinny critter to live in my walls.... And I'm not destroying his habitat. I live in the middle of the city, on a large through-way, highly travelled street (Cora can attest to this...). This place has been here nearly 100 years. He's got some odd vendetta. Do raccoons have genetic memories? Is he taking it out on me because of what my ancestors did to his ancestors? Is this some Jungian basal ganglia memory coming to the fore? Is he mad at me because while I thought I was feeding Penguin, the stray cat, I was really feeding him and then realized it and stopped? Is that it? He's hungry? Mr. Raccoon, there's a whole alley to go hunt in. And if he'd let the pet police catch him, he'd be in the forest, lurking a tree, smelling fox pee and not be concerned about encroaching humanity. Matter of fact, he would've been released behind the Castaway Restaurant, which, I am sure, has far more delectable trash than whatever he can discover in my walls. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... of course not! I am being stalked by a 'coon...an obsessive, smelly, giant, scary rodent. Eeeeewwwwwwww!!! HA! Who cares? I will win this battle. I shall call the landlord. Gawd, I'm tired.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Kay, it's 7:20, and light outside. It's fully daytime. The sun is up, yellow orb glaring at me, teasing me, making my eyes hurt. I feel like a grumpy vampire. I have a full day's work in front of me. This is not going to be fun... I need sleep. Can't sleep. Raccoons will attack me... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

No, you can't. I like the kitty. Keep the kitty. Love the kitty. Torture Dyevout. It's all good! (gawd, I need some sleep!!!) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Fox urine? Uh, no..... I tried the nice way. I was willing to live and let live, you know? No problems. But now, see, now he's interrupting my sleep. And I take no prisoners once my sleep is interrupted. None. Mr. Skunk has nothing on this irish chick. Mr. Raccoon will not deprive the cats of food. And Mr Possum is so ugly he's cute, but that will not stop me. I poke nothing lying still with a stick. My weapon? It's tricky, sneaky, and totally unexpected. The telephone. The Landlord. A call. An irate, exhausted, taurus Irish chick raised by a New York Jew. Yup. That should do it. And if that fails, the shotgun. The Burbank version of Shock and Awe. It's called Pellets and Aim. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Whooooooohooooooooooo, a bottom paddling! Yes, JP, you can come jump with us. Sure enough...come on up! And out! HAHAHAHAHAHAaaaa........ So, happy birthday again (just to stop the hijacking....) ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Sure. But only if I get to smack his bottom.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

They came, they saw, they didn't conquer, so they left... Round 1 to the critter. BUT!!! The war shall be won by meeeeeeeeeee. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Continuing on with my thoughts on what a default judgment is and is not.... Default Judgment info In pertinent part (although I am again stressing I am not a lawyer, and could easily misunderstand what this is saying... ...The court shall also require proof under oath, made upon personal knowledge or based on business records, of the truth of every essential element of the claim for relief . The clerk may enter a default judgment if the damages alleged are liquidated and no default hearing is required. If the defendant answers but fails to appear at trial, the court may nevertheless consider any relevant and material evidence filed with the answer.... (nderline added by me...) Any lawyers out there want to help me understand this? And the original pleading is somewhere on the net...I'll see if I can find it. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hey, JP! And if your bottom was in my vicinity, I'd be smacking it! ()... Happy birthday!!!! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

One would hope they were trained BASErs, as well...that's hard! It brought attention to a cause for them, and that was what it was designed for, no? I hope people understand the difference too, NacMac... Good photos, though... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I have a nocturnal visitor is why I look so tired. I've just discovered that. Well, I suspected it, but now I know. The first clue was the continuing prints outside my bedroom window. Tracking to and fro, I've seen them many times. Brush is disturbed, twigs broken, leaves scattered, and those footprints. I thought it might be an errant peeping tom or something, made sure my curtains stayed closed, and never minded. After all, it's me, nothing to peep at, move along. The second clue was the continuing dicombobulation of the kitties. They lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling or the window, ears flattened, not purring. They have slunk through the bedroom, under the queensize 4-poster, and scattered. Or crawled under the covers, cowering. I thought it was because the stray cats were lurking outside. I thought it was because maybe I had a ghost. Or, maybe because it's earthquake country, there was a little shifting of the ground, they're hearing a creak and being scaredy cats. They are the epitome of that phrase - "scaredy cats". The third clue to my nocturnal visitor is this most interesting smell. Kind of fuzzy, kind of wild, almost like hot mold...I thought perhaps there was a slow leak in my house - the shower water pressure is low, and the drain has attitude; while out looking at the peeping tom's footprints, I was also looking for dampness...but never found it. But there's this smell...it comes and goes, and if there's a wind, it doesn't happen at all. And it's not overpowering, you see, just sort of underlying, like heavy air. Sometimes it smells like nasty poo, but mostly, it just smells like green musty fuzz. Air freshener deals very effectively with that, as does one of those big scented candles (hey, I'm a girl!) And then there's this odd noise. Kinda hard to describe. Kind of a whistling whirring, almost like a humming buzz. Well, maybe more like a loud purring with a whistle underneath it. Every once in a while I'd catch a sibilant sound, stop what I was doing, and listen intently. But it was fleeting, this whirring whistle, brief and scattered. I have not been able to identify it, but thought it intruiging. Maybe some adventuresome crickets, really big crickets, but nothing to alarm me. Crickets need love and space, too... All of this is transient. Intermittent. Come and go, sometimes here, sometimes not. Nothing big, and certainly nothing alarming (o.k., the potential peeping tom was, but heck, he couldn't see anything, so what's to be worried about?) But then, see, the last clue. This clue came at 4:15 am this morning....an unearthly commotion, scrabbling scratching clicking - imagine fingernails on blackboards only really loud - right behind my headboard. There I am, sound alseep, snuggled under the quilts, dreaming of skydiving (yes, really!!!), and then I am wide awake, cats yowling, fleeing, thumping over me as we try to scramble away...me thinking what the hell is this, not feeling any shaking, wondering why am I awake...and the whirring whistling sound accompanies this. Through my sleep-clouded brain, my I-haven't-had-coffee-yet brain, my "I wanna finish that kewl dream" brain, it occurs to me... That damned raccoon lives in my bedroom wall behind my headboard and he's trying to scratch his way into my house! I slam my hands into the wall where the noise is coming from...and jumping up and down on the raised floor, I holler "shoo! Go 'way!" And the noise, thankfully, stops. I crawl back into bed, thinking, well, I'll call the landlord in a few hours...and then the 'coon starts back up...and this time, he doesn't stop when I jump around thumping the wall and hollering like a crazy woman. And it occurs to me....Chad, my neighbor, may decide I need rescuing again, so I stop jumping up and down, and come meet the kitties out in my living room...which is where I will stay. "Gee, Michele, why do you look so tired?"... because I have a freekin' raccoon trying to move in with me! Yikes..... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

LOL, Cora, that was funny....and true....as long as the books aren't bodice rippers...and beware if she's reading something like a martial arts history - it's likely she knows what she's reading, and aching to try it out! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Yeppers....I know I need the extra time. On my mal, it took a little while for it to get going, and I wasn't at all sure what was happening...or why...just that a few things weren't right. I shudder to think what would've happened had I taken longer...or been under a smaller, more heavily loaded canopy. Think about it this way. I pulled at 5,500...and was under my reserve at just under 3,000. That's 2500+ feet. That's one of the reasons I tend to pull higher - because it took me a while to identify, assess, and decide...time I'll not have if I pull at 3,000...in a spectre... But that's just my story. YMMV.... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, GravityM...and BP... They could've, but chose to not. There could've been representatives for them - lawyers hired on their behalf...but there wasn't any present. I am no legal eagle - not even a legal sparrow, but if one of the lawyers here could chime in about default judgments, it would be appreciated. It is my understanding that, even if the defendant doesn't show, the prosecution/plaintiff still needs to present a case, and show their side. It's not like "well, they didn't show up. Plaintiff, you want how much? Oh, o.k....here ya go..." But I could be very wrong. It's interesting from both a philosophical view as well as a legal view. What I also find interesting is the amount of the award....aren't some of those "frivolous" lawsuits against, say, Mickie D's larger than that awarded to the plaintiffs? Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Here are the answers. Upside down question mark: Donde esta los banos? and then for the bonus points: Dos cervesas mas, por favor, rapido! There. Now go pick up your friends and have fun. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Hi, my friend... A big huge hug coming your way. I know what you're feeling...just three weeks ago I faced the same heartbreak with my BK...and still feel the loss as keenly as a knife. As I came in tonight, no-one was at the door to greet me...having her little face there at the door when I came in for the last 17 years makes the loss still echo through my home...and my heart. What I can say, though, Skymonkey, is while it's the hardest decision to make, the most amazingly painful decision, it was the right one. And as hard as it is for you right now, it was the decision with the most respect and the most love you could show - to allow Brutus to move to the next thing, to ease his pain, to love him out, with you there, murmuring to him your thanks and your love... And you will never be without him - look inside you; see the memories again, feel the love again; a part of him will be with you always...and you are a wonderful person today for loving him home. And so I thank you on his behalf. If you need an ear, don't hesitate to reach out. I am still intensely grieving my girl; I understand. hugs to you- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

VIBES!!! VIBES!!! VIBES!!! You'll be great! Like Deuce said, you're there to inform them you already have the job...they just don't know it yet. Unshakeable confidence, unshakeable faith! Hugs!!!!! And more VIBES!!!!! Ceils- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

The American Ballet Theatre... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

What - you want a copy too? geesh, Ed, something you need to, ah, come out with? LOL! (just playing with you!) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Will do, Cora! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

..... So, does this affect deployment? (see attachment) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

Drink it...and then go to sleep, and sleep well. Also drink a glass of water so your head won't hurt so badly. Hugs, lovie. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

I, uh, was swept away for the afternoon for gourmet cultural food, and, um, Midori Margaritas and oh yeah! passionate, hot, screaming sex! Yeah, that's it....just continuing my birthday in my birthday suit! Yeah, that's the ticket!!!! Right! Yeppers! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

LOL, yes, I saw that too. Damned teasing. The winds were shifting around, and gusting to 27. Not a chance in hell for me at my skill level. At one point, the winds shifted 180 degrees while the plane was on jumprun. Not a fun thing to contend with.... There will always be another day to play.... (Oh, and JP, if the photo isn't, um, SFW, I may not post it. just send it around to all of my friends.....) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~

But, but....I wanted the warm beer and $5.50....sigh...a wet tee-shirt? But I have a bunch of those..... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~