mingaling

Spring Cleaning and New Links

2005-03-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

Things are changing up a bit around here. The house has been cleaned top to bottom and is spic and span. We actually have things on the walls. A certain package just arrived from Shanghai to Anchorage, and it's on its way into my hot little hands. And, last but certainly not least, your Mingaling is moving to a new address: http://mingaling.typepad.com/blog/. Update now!

That is just SO wrong

2005-03-25T17:42:00.000-05:00

I was reading a pretty sad article about the school shooting in Minnesota. One of the victims was recounting the horror of looking at the kid in the eye before getting shot. I can't imagine what that must be like, especially at such an age. Yet, at the same time, something caught my eye at the right side of the screen. It was a banner ad for Lowermybills.com. Nothing unusual you know, except for the gingerbread man HUMPING THE PENIS-SHAPED JAR OF FROSTING.

Notsogood reason to get knocked up

2005-03-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

I really, really need to have a baby to put all these cute things on. I'm just saying.

Hero

2005-03-22T12:55:00.000-05:00

Heather Armstrong is so totally my hero. SO THERE.

Thank you, Internet

2005-03-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

Thank you all so much for your kind words and thoughts about Sam. Thank you for all the cards, flowers, dog cookies for Maggie, and support for us through this time. Thank you for being there.

Goodbye, sweet girl

2005-03-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

Sambo Ming, my best friend, passed away March 15, 2005 at Ansley Animal Clinic due to complications from epilepsy at age 9. She is survived by her adoring parents and adopted sister Maggie May. I adopted Sam as a gift to myself halfway through undergraduate school. My sister and I drove to the boonies outside of Orlando to Bithlo, also known as the World Famous Home of the Mullet. Amongst the trailer parks and feed stores was the House of Golden Retrievers. The litter had an astonishing 11 puppies. There were several males, but Sam was the last bitch left. Naturally. They originally gave her the name Ginger, but no dog of mine was going to grow up to be a stripper. The shy little pup we brought home soon revealed her self to be quite the character. Although she got carsick on the way home, riding in the car soon became one of her favorite things. She thoroughly enjoyed terrorizing my father's golden, Goldie, to no end. She also became an Olympic qualified swimmer and spent every waking moment in the pool. Her favorite game was to jump onto unsuspecting swimmers from the deck and attempt to drown you. You could hide underwater for a few seconds, but she would only circle above you like a hungry shark.

During trials and tribulations, she was always there for me. She was always ready to go for a car ride (she had an uncanny habit of jumping into any open car door and refusing to come out until she at least got around the block). She was the friendliest dog ever known. A true people-dog, she would rather associate with the bipeds on outings to the dog park as she knew the rewards included many cookies and head/ butt rubs. She was there through all the laughter, and especially all the tears... any sniffling she heard would instantly beckon her to sit next to me snuggle. When I was with her, I felt complete. When the boy and I met, Sam and I would take weekend trips over to his place. The boy and Sam were inseparable. He was her favorite boy in the whole world, and she lit up when he walked in the room with a Frisbee (which we had to call a ball since that's the only word she knew other than cookie and outside). She would wait until he left, then quickly hop up on the forbidden leather sofa. Every time she was caught she'd give you a little smirk that made you forget what she did in the first place. I often longed to come home to the sweet girl who greeted me with nothing but love I walked in the door. She would greet me with the thumping of her tail and guide me to pet her with my hand, a favorite relaxation technique. She was large enough to give full body hugs, yet sprightly enough to romp about or swim effortlessly. She was so sweet and gentle, yet so tough and stoic. She barely whimpered when in pain or discomfort, and she wrestled like the best of them with Maggie. She would never dare to bother you with her discomfort. Even when she broke her toe, even when we dressed her up in funny clothes... because she was just so giving. Sam was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 3. She was prescribed a treatment of phenobarbitol that limited the amount of seizures and allowed her to live a healthy, active normal life. She had not had a seizure in well over a year. However, on March 14th, she suffered a traumatic seizure that left her weak and unable to move or breathe properly. She was able to walk to the car for one last ride, but her heart stopped shortly after arrival at the veterinarian. We are devastated, but are comforted by the fact that she spent her last days with us doing what she loved most: spending time with us, catching the frisbee at Piedmont Park, and wrestling with Maggie. She brought joy and happiness to every day of my life. As I sit here typing with tears streaming down my face, I look outside the window to see that the once sunny weather has turned to rain. The sky is mourning, perhaps, at the passing of girl who inspired renditions of You Are My Sunshine with her sweet, loving face. Goodbye Sam, my sunshine. We will always love you.

Beer and Bloggers

2005-03-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow. Prince of Wales. 7:30-ish. Word.

Switching Teams

2005-03-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

After a long, arduous decision-making process, the boy and I have decided to switch teams. I've been reading self-help articles and looking up devices and mechanisms that will get me through this process, but I'm still apprehensive about the whole thing. I've been totally loyal to my team from the start. Am I ready to convert my ideology to something I know only a little about? The boy, on the other hand, thinks this is the greatest thing we've embarked upon and is ready and waiting. And now I'm down with it, I just need a little guidance. So there... I've committed myself, so now I only need to choose my uniform. This? Or this?

Dusk in the West End

2005-03-12T08:54:00.000-05:00

Dusk in the West End Originally uploaded by mingaling.

Emails of Doom

2005-03-09T12:24:00.000-05:00

A lot of websites have those handy "click to send to a friend" links for articles that may interest them. I would emphasize the word may here, but my sister has taken it to a whole new level. I rarely get emails of substance or questions about how things are going. Instead, she uses email to warn me of the dangers that exist in our world. Sweet? Notsomuch. I often get drive-by emails from CNN.com or WebMD about freak accidents, the eight-million ways I could die unexpectedly, and the "you can get cancer from {fill in the blank}." As if those weren't weird enough, she has to add her freaky comments to them. For instance, she sent me this today:

Food poisoning kills 29 children with the comment, "Did we ever eat these? I can't remember what they are."

Some background... we used to live in the Philippines. USED TO. And we never like those, nor are we elementary school children living in the Philippines today. Some other gems that I have received include:

What's the Most Dangerous Day to Drive? with the comment, "You are not allowed to drive any where on holidays...even if you are visiting us! Man held over alleged Internet suicide plot with the comment, "Do you think we'll see the end of the world in our lifetime?"

At first I acted like I was amused, poking a little fun at her crazed emails. They were humorous little pick-me-ups to my day from my wacky little sister. But now I can only imagine her sitting in her living room, watching Inside Edition, just waiting to let me know whether it's safe to eat sushi or use a school bathroom ever again.

Hands Off

2005-03-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

The weekend withdrawal is always so hard for me. It just hurts thinking about going in on a Monday. I figured the least I could do for myself was get a little treat for myself before going into the office. Now I know everyone loves their Starbucks. I get invigorated just walking into the place and smelling the freshly ground espresso and listening to the chatter of patrons amongst the grinding and the clanking of steel steaming pitchers. Everyone eagerly awaits in line, no matter how long, for their turn to have the barista shout their order to those at the bar. What I hate, however, are those who are a tad too eager. These folks anger me to no end. It is quite obvious that I am waiting for my order, despite the fact that I have my hands buried underneath the coffee bean display (I can't help it - it just feels so good). Despite the fact that you run directly from the register to the tiny bar top, they're still going to make mine first. Sorry. Yeah, I might be browsing the paper, but when they yell "tall soy latte" I can still recognize the fact that I ordered it a mere 2 minutes ago... and NO IT'S NOT YOURS.* Don't mess with me before caffeine. * Okay, I didn't grab it out of her hand, but I did give her the look that 1. shocked her, 2. made her pout to the barista, and 3. put it down very quickly.

Laughing

2005-03-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

Lauren: Hey Renee...you may not know this...but there's this huge fiery ball in the sky called The Sun...and if you spend some time in it, you get SOME COLOR. Jesus.

Three in One

2005-03-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

It was cold and cloudy when I walked the dogs this morning. It started snowing at 10 a.m. while at work. It was bright and sunny on my drive home tonight.

Oscar Night

2005-02-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

I don't really have much to comment regarding the Oscars except: I'm really not getting the Million Dollar Baby hype. Renee Zellweger always looks fugly. Cate Blanchett is too beautiful. Mickey Rooney is still alive! How did Beyonce score the musical monopoly? Die, Joan. Just die. And the doppelganger alert:

The Hooch

2005-02-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

And I Quote

2005-02-24T09:38:00.000-05:00

"Oh yeah, I guess it is in May. Oops." -- Sibling I COULD KILL HER.

Perfect T

2005-02-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

I'm currently obsessed with graphic t-shirts. Like this one. And this one. And my schoolmates would love this one. And this one's on its way... in pink, of course.

Around the Corner

2005-02-22T17:30:00.000-05:00

I have a little time ticker thing in the left sidebar of this page to remind me of upcoming travel dates. This morning it said "Nashville - 77 days" but now it reads 9. I apparently mistakenly thought that my family trip was in May instead of March this year. As in 9 days away March. As in MY WHOLE FAMILY WILL STOP HERE ON THEIR WAY UP AND I HAVEN'T REQUESTED ANY TIME OFF kind of March. The thing is, I never do this. I'm a born planner and love to organize every aspect of my travel agenda weeks and weeks in advance, so I have no excuse for this except work-related mania. So excuse me whilst I plan a Meeting of the Moms, reserve some rooms, and pull out the rest of my hair.

Shameless

2005-02-19T16:46:00.000-05:00

It's official: I have outed myself and become the newest addition to the Atlanta Metblog. You know... because everyone needs a non-paying gig and all.

Our New Baby

2005-02-18T22:58:00.000-05:00

Ta da! Yes, my lovely, very very hetero boyfriend just bought a Passat wagon. After a few minutes of "grocery-getter" jokes I applauded his decision, as the wagon and its suprising luxury is actually pretty sweet. It really is perfect for the dogs and road trips. Also, when I told him it was so roomy and joked that it could fit 2 car seats, strollers, and a pack-n-play, he actually smiled.

Atlanta Metblog Meetup

2005-02-17T19:33:00.000-05:00

Had a great time meeting some of the Atlanta Metroblog folks at the Hand In Hand last night (and am also looking forward to writing for them in the very near future - stay tuned).

She's a little slow

2005-02-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

But here it is... finally. Your atom feed: http://themingaling.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Choices

2005-02-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

There used to be a time when there would be two fantastic shows back to back and it didn't matter if they were on school nights because I would so kick school's ass if I acted like a little bitch and didn't make it to both and drank a fifth at each one. Now this is the time where I admit I am a little bitch and I'd totally kick ass IF I didn't work eight billion hours a week for Company X and IF wasn't such a tired piece of shit by the time a real show started, but I am. STUPID CHOICES.

VD

2005-02-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love. ~ Sophocles VD could stand for a variety of things today - what one could catch after a rendezvouz this evening, my vile disposition this morning, or anything else more clever than this Hallmark holiday. However, it was the gift of one single red rose from a perfect stranger that has melted the crankiness away. I'm looking forward to a quiet evening at home with the boy, away from overcrowded restaurants, with good food, candles, and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Cheers to you and yours.

ATL Blogorama Deux

2005-02-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

Click for more The gang met up at Trader Vic's downtown for some mighty mai-tai's and revelry. It was good fun, and Titus even got into the Asian-babe network thanks to Oliver.