RIP Cleo 1996-2008

We had to put Cleo down today. I still can't get over it. I keep wanting her to be upstairs every time I go. I keep thinking, She can't be gone... But we couldn't have kept her alive much longer. She had this degenerative disease that was eating at her spinal cord. Her back legs were already starting to fail, and she was in constant pain. It's better that we let her go quickly and painlessly.

I'm still distraught. I've had her since I was 3. She's been around almost as long as Aidan, and nearly 3 years longer than Josh. She was as much a part of the family as any of us.

The entire house is grieving, even Maddie. She hasn't ran around as much, or played as much, since she realized Cleo was gone. We're all feeling the same way, but it's difficult to tell who was affected most. It was either me or Mom. Aidan and Josh weren't there, and Kris didn't know her as long.

Actually I think that's what made it hard for me, was being there. Seeing her in her last moments alive, so peppy, even in pain. I'm glad I did, though. Maybe it'll help me get over it faster, knowing I was one of the last things she saw.

I'm keeping her collar. Forever. That'll be my everyday reminder of my greatest companion.

RIP Cleo 1996-2008. You will be missed.

Rant #2: The Internet

You know what really pisses me off? Those stupid chain bulletins on MySpace. You know what I'm talking about, those 'repost or you'll die at 2:12 a.m. because a clown with herpes and a blue penis lives under your bed and wants to eat your soul while using your computer to crash Google and Yahoo.' They get so stupid, it might as well be something like that. And what's even more sad is that people believe that crap. How dumb do you have to be to believe something like that? I mean, my GOD, people, grow a brain! Next time, before you repost one of those stupid bulletins, check Snopes, then slap yourself upside the head for not knowing that it wasn't real in the first place.

I've been checking out Nintendoland a lot, and the forums have grown so much since I joined up. If you're a fan of Nintendo and wanna talk with other fans of Nintendo, I would advise you to sign up. Tell 'em kirbyviper93 sent ya. (nods)

Speaking of the Internet, check out some of these webcomics: Questionable Content, xkcd, Sam and Fuzzy, and Brawl in the Family. I have inspected them all and approved them for your viewing pleasure. They're all quite interesting, so check 'em out.

One last thing before I go: next time you're on Google, search "finding Chuck Norris." The results are hilarious.

Rant #1: Life

Our basement flooded last night. It's really annoying, cuz the rug in the downstairs foyer is still soaked. I wish it would dry up faster, cuz I've nearly slipped and hit my head several times now.

My parents are gone for the week, and my grandma's here to take care of us. Not like I mind having her here, but I'm fifteen now. You'd think that would be old enough to take care of the house for a few days. Of course, they may just be having her over as a precautionary measure; maybe they think I'll sneak Jenna over or something.

Speaking of Jenna, things with us are better than ever. She was over today, and I didn't want her to leave. We've been talking about... different things, and... well, let's just say there's a lot to consider, and a lot I can't say.

Emily and I are back to talking like we used to. She seems to have finally found the right guy for her, and I'm glad for that. She needed someone like that after being hurt for so long.

Life is pretty good right now, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

New iPod!!

I finally got my iPod! It's an 8-GB black iPod Nano. It cost me nearly 250 bucks, including the $30 replacement warranty. It's really cool, though, so it was worth it.

I was worried I wouldn't be able to use it, since my computer's fried, but my mom let me put all the music on her computer, so that's what I'm doing now.

But on the non-technological side, my friendships with Alysha and Emily seem to be getting stronger, whereas my relationship with Jenna may be in danger. It's not like I'd rather have the situation reversed, but I don't want things to go awry with Jenna. Oh well, hopefully we can work this out.

So yeah, that's it for now. More to come later.

School? I'm not ready yet...

I don't want to go back to school.

I realize that I've been in school for 4 days now, but I'm still not so sure I should be in school. It doesn't feel like school yet. I guess it takes a while to fall into the pattern. Hopefully by mid-September I'll be feeling like I'm supposed to be there.


So, Jenna's got mono, I don't know how, but she's supposed to be infected with it for about 6 months. Major bummage.

Emily's got herself a boyfriend, and they seem really happy together. I'm glad she's found someone that can make her happy.

I'm making new friends, talking more with old ones, and seeming to get more popular.

Oh yeah, this school year's gonna be great.

Holy. Crap.

I desperately need something to do this summer. I'm going mad with boredom.

So far my summer has consisted of going through webcomic archives, hanging out with my girlfriend, and playing video games. But now, entering July, I'm starting to get more desperate for entertainment. The other day, I got into a small argument with one of my friends over Neopets. That's the first sign that something is wrong. Add to that the fact that I'm constantly logged on to three websites at once, none of which have an update when I check every two seconds, and that the video games I play are those that I have owned for a while and mastered, and you've basically got your midsummer boredom equation.

Guess I should get started on that summer reading project.

17th Century porn, earthquakes, and Stickpigs, oh my!

These were the things that made up my trip to Chicago today.

We started our trip with the aquarium. We got to see a Caribbean reef exhibit, and there was an injured sea turtle. It got hit with a boat propeller and it gashed her shell almost to her spine. The incident affected her buoyancy, and her back end floated while the rest of her swam. In the same tank were several rays, one of which was very little, and kept following the diver that was in the tank around. It reminded me of Maddie, all "Ooh, what do you have? I want some! Hey, what's that over there? Wow, you got something good, can I have some? HEY, let's go attack that fish!"

Next up was the Field Museum. There was an exhibit on mythical creatures, which Aidan and Josh COMPLETELY ate up. Then we went into the ancient Egyptian part, which was pretty cool. Then we got to the natural disasters exhibit. It showed all kinds of stuff, like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, twisters, volcanic eruptions... there was a seismograph that picked stuff up from 8 feet away. It was so cool! We were stomping around the room, and we watched the line on the screen just JUMP.

Then, at the art museum, I started to ponder a question first posed in Calvin and Hobbes: If this is supposed to be great art, why does it all look like a bunch of naked people? That's when I thought, what if this is all just 17th century porn? Historians (and my mom) say that these artists claimed the human body was a work of art, but how do WE know that? We're basing our "facts" on what historians think they know. How do we know that this wasn't just an early way of selling porn?

Finally, on the train ride home, we got to discussing how much I'd eaten that afternoon. I had some mozzarella sticks, a big piece of garlic cheese bread, 4 and a half pieces of pizza, and a Cinnabon. That's more than anyone else had. My mom called me a pig, but that's impossible, seeing as I'm skinny as a rail. I'm a pig, but I'm a stick figure. Hence, the term "Stickpig": someone who eats a lot, but never seems to gain weight.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my whole trip today.