Ahhhh......

This past weekend was storybook tale of doing absolutely nothing, and being very productive at it. Some friends decided to have a weekend long party, at a relative's beach house in Fernandina Beach, FL. The plan was to show up, and forget about your cares. There was no formal agenda. Just show up, swim, play, drink, relax, eat, drink, relax some more, drink, relax, etc....

The weekend was spent well, in my book. I worked very hard at working not at all. It was a great time, spent in great company, and was sorely needed by my overtaxed body. I don't intend to be a workaholic, it just works out that way. The weekend of nothingness was just what the doctor ordered.

Okay, I could have done without the jellyfish sting... In the "real world", sea turtles eat jellyfish. Not this Turtle! The jellyfish definitely won that round.

I grew up near the beach, and spent many a day basking in the sun, splashing in the waves, and having a generally, beach-going-wise, fun time. Never had I had an encounter like this. Yes, I had gotten brushed by the occasional broken tendril, which kind of sucked, but nothing like this...

The weekend had been going splendidly, and I was thoroughly enjoying myself. A majority of the party-goers decided to frolic upon the beach. I spent some time relaxing under the sun shade we'd erected, watching friends throw about a football. They'd come up with an interesting twist: miss a catchable ball, and do two pushups. Throw an uncatchable ball, and do two pushups... (It's a version of an old drinking game we play - spill a beer.....) Being that I played defense, and rarely (read: never) handled the ball, I decided that my fat old body was not going to join in on the festivities, as I'd be doing pushups 'til sundown.... "What the hey", I thought. "Why not go for a swim?" I hadn't been in the water for 5 minutes when my entire arm lit up on fire. For the briefest moment, I thought I'd been bitten by a shark. The pain was quite intense. I waded to shore, and back to the shade, and discovered that my elbow was swelling nicely, not to mention turning an interesting shade of red, and hurting like the blazes. I'd had a close encounter with a rather pissed off jellyfish, and he'd let me know it. Luckily, amidst all the home remedies being shouted (No, T, you can not pee on my arm!), someone had something that actually worked. The pain went away, and did most of the swelling. I still have a couple of spots that are sore, red and lumpy, but it's going away. My advice? Avoid this at all costs.

Anyway, even with the sting, it was a great weekend. I shared the company of some lovely people, had fun, and got to unwind. Who can ask for anything more?

-Tearin' Down the Walls...

Well, the house is a wreck. But it is a good wreck.

I bought this house almost 6 years ago, with the woman I thought would be my "life partner". Turns out I was wrong. After her mother died, she became somewhat aloof, keeping to herself. I thought it was depression, and made efforts to keep her cheered. They didn't work. After about 6 months, she announced that she and Danny (her teenaged son from a previous marriage) were moving out. She said she couldn't handle being in a relationship any more. Needless to say, I was a bit stunned. She moved out, and in with a girl friend of hers, who also had a teenaged son. In order to try and understand what was going on, I did a bit of research, and found out that this behavior was not uncommon in people who lost someone near to them. They push away all others, so as not to have to suffer such grief again. I was a bit surprised to learn of this, but it explained things. Or should have... I eventually learned the truth. It turns out that Robin left because she'd been having an affair with this woman for quite some time, and decided that they needed to be together. I never admitted it to myself, nor even realized it, but I had sank into a depression of my own. I didn't hang out with my friends, or go out, or do much of anything. I would come home from work and hang out in the house, alone.

Robin and her "girlfriend" just moved to Utah, with their sons (good riddance, as far as I am concerned) but left a metric ton of, what can only be described as, crap in my house. I'd let it sit here for over a year, partially because I expected her to come crawling back, and partially because I just didn't care.

Well, my friend Tanis just got out of the Army, and with his wife and young son, moved back to Gainesville. They were staying, temporarily, with some other friends, but needed to set up something a little more stable. The housing market is a bit stiff here, and they didn't have much luck, so, against my better judgement, I said I'd allow them to move in with me. I'd been paying the bills by myself, so I didn't really need much in the way of rent. The only real inconvenience comes in learning to live with others again. Especially their 5 year old son. It is not that he is a horrible kid. He's actually a great kid. He is just your average 5 year old, filled with 5 year old angst, energy, enthusiasm, curiousity, and plain old stubborn-headedness. I'm just not used to having one around. It is going to take some getting used to.

The upside is that Tanis has come in like a little whirlwind. He and his wife have pretty much stripped this house down to bare walls and floors, and are starting over. He has big plans. He says that he's always wanted to remodel my house, and now, I guess, he has his chance. They have made several hauls to the dump, dropping off an enormous load of crap. The carpet has been ripped up, revealing beautiful hardwood floors underneath, and plans are underway to make many changes.

How do I feel about all of this? Pretty good, actually. Every day when I come home from work, I walk into a new shock. One day, the furniture is gone. The next, the carpet. Today, light fixtures have been changed. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? My world has been turned upside down, but it needed to be. He is making some radical changes, but they are all good. Good for the house. Good for me. Basically, these are all things that I was going to get around to, when I had the time. I really just haven't had the time, so they never got done.

Robin's presence has pretty much been all but erased, and my home is getting a much needed facelift. And I am getting dear friends as roommates, ones that have brought me around. Well, they are bringing me around, anyway. I didn't realize how much I needed the company.

PETA Kills!

Okay, I've never been a fan of PETA. Yes, they've have good intentions. Supposedly. But I've never cared for the way they go about things. I've been less than impressed with their tactics. Let me give you a brief story...

I am involved in the SCA, a medieval recreation group, and every year we participate in a local medieval fair, sponsored by the city. One of the most popular attractions at this fair is "Judy", the elephant, who gives rides to children. This is, apparently, cruel, as PETA demonstrates every year, petitioning for the release of Judy. They say she is treated poorly. They say she is overworked. They demand that she be sent back to Africa, where she belongs.

The problem with this? Judy is an Asian elephant. She was born and raised in captivity, and depends on people for support. She is fed well and cared for, and most likely would not survive on her own. She works for 8 hours a day, on weekends only, during the "fair season", hauling around three or four 50 lb kids at a shot, and in the off season, gets to lounge around a farm. Were she to be sent back to India (definitely not Africa), she would probably work 12-16 hours a day, seven days a week, hauling logs weighing in at several tons.

C'mon PETA people! If you're going to protest, at least get your facts straight!

Anyway, the reason I bring PETA up is because of this article that was sent to me. I don't know if it is true or not (Snopes lists nothing about it), but it is kind of scary. Read on:

The following story is from This is True dated 17 July 2005. It isCopyright 2005 Randy Cassingham, all rights reserved, and reprinted herewithpermission:

"Ethical" Defined

After more than 100 dead dogs were dumped in a trash dumpster overfour weeks, police in Ahoskie, N.C., kept an eye on the trash receptaclebehind a supermarket. Sure enough, a van drove up and officers watchedthe occupants throw in heavy plastic bags. They detained the two peoplein the van and found 18 dead dogs in plastic bags in the dumpster,including puppies; 13 more dead dogs were still in the van. Police saythe van is registered to the headquarters of People for the EthicalTreatment of Animals, and the two occupants, Andrew B. Cook, 24, andAdria Joy Hinkle, 27, identified themselves as PETA employees. An autopsyperformed on one of the dogs found it was healthy before it was killed.Police say PETA has been picking up the animals -- alive -- from NorthCarolina animal shelters, promising to find them good homes. Cook andHinkle have been charged with 62 felony counts of animal cruelty. Inresponse to the arrests PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said it's againstthe group's policy for employees to dump animals in the trash, but "thatfor some animals in North Carolina, there is no kinder option thaneuthanasia." (Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald) ...Oops, my mistake: that's"Playing God" Defined.

In his author's notes section, Cassingham had more to say about thisstory:

The more I learn about PETA, the less I think ofthem. The story of them killing animals isn't even unusual. According toPETA's own filings, in 2004 PETA killed 86.3 percent of theanimals entrusted to its care -- a number that's rising, not falling.Meanwhile, the SPCA in PETA's home town (Norfolk, Va.) was able to findloving homes for 73 percent of the animals put in its care. A shortage offunds? Nope: last year PETA took in $29 million in tax-exempt donations.It simply has other priorities for the funds, like funding terrorism(yes, really). But don't take my word for it: I got my figures fromhttp://www.PETAkillsAnimals.com-- and they have copies of PETA's state and federal filings to back itup. The bottom line: if you donate money to PETA because you think theycare for and about animals, you need to think some more. PETA literallyyells and screams about how others "kill animals" but this is howthey operate? Pathetic.

And you know what I wonder? PETA's official count of animalsthey kill is 86.3 percent. But if they're going around picking upanimals, killing them while they drive around and not even giving them achance to be adopted, and then destroying the evidence by dumpingthe bodies in the trash, are those deaths being reported? Myguess: no. While 86.3 percent is awful, the actual number is probablymuch, much higher. How dare they lecture anyoneabout the "ethical" treatment of animals!

(This is True is a weekly column featuringweird-but-true newsstories from around the world, and has been published since 1994. Clickthe link for info about free subscriptions.)

Turtleman Begins

A blatant title ripoff for a first post, but hey, it's topical, and Batman and I have so much in common. Okay, I'm not rich. My parents weren't brutally murdered before my very eyes. Or away from them, for that matter. I don't live my life hellbent on revenge. Or much of anything, for that matter. I am a bachelor though... And I don't have a faithful butler, but I do have a rather snooty cat... So I don't have a lot in common with the caped crusader. Or an uncaped crusader.

Enough senseless rambling. Time for sensible rambling.

Why am I here? Why am I doing this? For some reason people want to know what's going on in my life, so, after some urging (read: relentless badgering), I have created this little spot in the blogsphere. I shall post updates on my life, opinions (mine, of course), random thoughts, rants and raves as I see fit, or any other musings, as the muse strikes me. In other words, your average blog.

There is so much going on in the world that I could comment on, such as the London bombings, or the G8 summit, or Hurricane Dennis (after last year, I've had quite enough of hurricanes, but I suppose that I don't have much say on where they're going to hit...), or many other newsworthy topics, but I think I'll just leave this first post to the blathering that I've already done. That being said, I'll end it here. Stay tuned....