catchin' up

to get caught up a bit:

the zurich show was at a little rock club. very smoky, but real nice peeps and a good time was had by all.

i tried desperately to get a photo of a crazy little dancing man who was getting DOOOOOOWWWN in the front row. his moves seemed to be a combo of burning man-esque hippie dips and waves, with the occasional tai-chi thrown in just to mix it up. a couple of times he twirled around on one foot.

shara had her own personal smoker in the front row. throughout the gig, he continually puffed a pouf of smoke right into her face as she sang. i counted his little pile of butts at his feet, and there were eight of them by the end of the hour.



shara believes that when they were in stonehenge, merlin put a hex on her and tried to turn her into a frog. it is quite possible, because despite a visit to a swiss hospital (which was free and during which she received the most thorough exam of her vocal chords ever) she has not fully recovered.

(aside: this is what came up when i looked up "merlin frog" on google images:)



from zurich we drove to geneva....an absolutely, incredibly, breath-takingly BEAUTIFUL city...all curves and archways and opulent wedding cake facades. i may have left my heart there...i've been longing for it ever since we left.





the band played in a traditional concert hall type of setting--this place. probably a bit of a departure (velvet seats, old fogeys, etc.), but i thought it was an amazing show regardless.



after geneva was a long ride through switzerland and france to belgium. we twisted and turned up and down the mountains, through foggy countryside of green. i peered through the window with tears rolling down my face. as a child, i loved the grimm's fairytales--really any children's book with beautiful illustrations of the french countryside: thatched roofs of heaps of straw, mossy stone walls, rolling hills


....i felt like i had awoken to a dream. even writing about it makes me misty and warms the cockles of my heart.

it looked a bit like this:







in a complete juxtaposition, we arrived at trix, a very modern dance club-ish type of place in antwerp.




antwerp seemed to me to be a very modern city...we were in more of an industrial area and we "bedded down," as bdub is wont to say, in a (lovely) backstage area from the time of our arrival until after the show. i think we were far from the city center, so exploring was not so much of an option. luckily, there was rooftop access, which was fun.

moon from the rooftop:



three words for the opening band, soy un caballo: "cute band alert".

they were like a lovely bit of stereolab mixed with camera obscura. good stuff.

i made it!

yes....i made it in one piece!

i would like to preface this post with a public apology to my love, bdub, who was somewhat hurt by my last post. the dub believes that i did not sufficiently convey how hard he was trying to make my arrival in zurich easy, and that many factors were out of his control. of course, i understand this.

however, we will be purchasing a blackberry world phone just as soon as we are able to afford it...if only for my peace of mind during times like these.

onward: i arrived in zurich without incident, but i cannot say the same for my bag. train service was reliable and accurate (after all, this IS switzerland) and getting to the hotel from the tram wasn't so bad either. once i freshened up, i ventured out to explore and was unable to navigate to the tram running in the opposite direction (towards the city), so i hoofed it, thinking only of h&m--my european mecca.

the walk along the river:




swiss bully!:


i stopped at a marriot hotel and tried to swipe their wireless--sadly, upon opening my little mac, it seemed to shut down on me and promptly go into sleep mode. nothing i did--including my simian-like pounding on the keys and various grunts and snorts-- seemed to have any effect at all.

i took my lil puter to a mac store i stumbled upon in the city center, and can now say that tech support peeps at apple in zurich are just as arrogant as those in new york. joy! as it turns out, my genius tekkie dude informed me that my battery had run out and needed to be recharged.

silly nowlze.

after purchasing a couple of cute frocks at h&m, some swiss chocolate pralines for the dub and a delicious lunch at the fresh market in the train station (of olives stuffed with orange rind, a pizza-like creation with a custardy cheese filling and fresh tomatoes as well as a fresh mango-banana juice), i took the tram back to the hotel and napped and napped.

lunch:



bdub's pralines:



i was awoken by my sweet dub, perhaps the best wakeup call in the history of wolfeinelli inc! i can't think of a better definition of "a sight for sore eyes" than le dub at that moment.

gig details to follow!

au revoir! tschuss! auf weidersehen! see ya!

i am OFF to europe!

le petit bisquit is at the lil bro's and the lil firecracker's. he is having a heck of a time...he actually "rooted", as in rooted around burying his plump little body into brush and grasses along a pond. how cute is my little country dog? his cousin, jackson, is a shining example of an exemplary canine, and is not afraid to put him in line with a bark or two...i expect the biscuit to return to me having learnt all of jackson's tricks as well as his good listening skills.

not too much excitement to note about my weekend, which is just how i wanted it: a couple of trips to target (where i did NOT get into a "targument", as jen and i like to say, with any target employees. on my last trip, i engaged myself in a debate with a target employee --think the pimply-faced "i'll have to ask my supervisor!" clerk from the simpsons-- over whether or not i should have to pay for a trashcan lid, despite my not having the faulty lid with me to exchange.




i think i made a pretty good case for myself....). in addition to tarjay was lots of laundry, mending, dog romping, eating.

on the way back to new york, i stopped and visited my sweet katie swartz, who has transformed her culinary prowess into
quite the small business. she's, like, already famous and she hasn't even been doing this for six months (she has scored the catering/personal cheffing for a reality show in her area! crazy!). it is completely NOT surprising, i'm sure, to anyone who knows her that she would suddenly be thrust into something as insane as a reality show. and did i mention that it features sextuplets? they were all swarming around her like a little hive when she showed up: "are you our chef? is this your car? what's on your car?"




i think i am, finally, almost ready for my trip. the only loose ends i have are transport-related. i used a service called hitcher.com, which connects people looking to share rides to the airport with each other. if you don't get a match (which i'm pretty sure i won't, as i don't think many people use their site yet), they send you a regular car service. however, i haven't heard a peep from them, and this concerns me.

more concerns involve finding my way around zurich. i am a hot mess. i have to pray to the good lord above that i can manage an early check in ( very early, like 8 am ish), catching the train from the airport to the city center and then on to the hotel, and then navigating to the hotel by foot.

thank god i have a sister and a good friend who let me cry all over the phone to them. i think i am seriously in over my head, but atleast i'll be here:



i am trying to master my swiss german before i go....did you know that THIS is actually a word?

"CHUCHICHÄSCHTLI"

yes. that is the swiss german word for "kitchen cupboard". i am so screwed.

this post has been edited to be nicer to my dear husband.

pooped.

i just got back from the billboard interview in sayreville, new jersey.

sum 41 = dim. that's the only fitting descriptor, unfortunately. i was hoping for atleast a little sparkle of something.

the highpoint was when sum 41 member b:




(sum 41 member a is this guy, deryck, who is married to avril lavigne):




...said of their replacement guitarist, "he WON'T do INTERVIEWS". they also mentioned -twice- that this poor hired gun is only there to cover guitar parts. he will not be in their videos or photoshoots....as he is not --i repeat-- NOT a member of sum 41.

thank god that's settled so we can all rest easier!

i offered danielle flora (our lovely interviewer) $10 G's if she would repeatedly refer to avril lavigne as "april leVINE". this is what my hero, ehrrin keenan, calls her and i think that's just the funniest thing i've heard in ages.


(our dear april--she's so out of control! and crazy! and not afraid to repeatedly flip everyone off! coool!)

i am sad to say that talk of "april" did not make it into the interview. in fact, sum 41 members a & b were so lame, they probably would have cared less, if that's possible. furthermore, they REFUSED an application of powder when i offered it to them!! jerks. go ahead and let your greasy faces shine, poseurs--i'm still adding you to my resume.

ok-- i am officially done hatin'.

my to-do list is shaping up nicely. the biscuit's food is purchased and ready to go, the apartment is relatively clean, and my sweet lil' bro and his lil' firecracker of a girlfriend are offering me the use of their washer and dryer this weekend when i am visiting. no news has made me so happy since the biscuit pooped after his dry spell.

bring the biscuit to work day

large sherpa bag for 25 pound animal: $75
car service from williamsburg to cstv studios at chelsea piers: $20
having the biscuit with me at work: priceless

the biscuit has had a fun day so far. he loves to greet the talent who come into the makeup room, and there is a dog run a few blocks away from the studio. though small, it boasts a few man-made concrete hills, a running stream/puddle, and lots of nice critters.

the biscuit, a friend to all creatures, really had a swell time with the cutest little papillon named cowboy and his sister, cricket, a brussels griffon. i think the biscuit may need a brussels griffon brother or sister himself:



today's research (what can i say? i've had a lot of free time here!) has uncovered the following very important travel tips to many of my destinations:

"Zurchers tend to greet one another upon entering lifts, shops and offices. Be sure to return a passing grüezi (hello), even if it is in your own language."

this i like! and did not know!

re. the Zurich guilds:
"The guilds are exclusive, men-only bastions. They make one public appearance a year, in April, for a day of pageantry to ring in the Spring. During the lavish show, the head of a papier-mâché snowman is filled with explosives and placed on a bonfire in front of the opera house. Guildsman circle the fire on horseback until the head explodes."

in berlin:
"It is considered impolite to start drinking before everyone has raised glasses together, a procedure you usually repeat with each round. (According to German superstition, if you don’t look into another person's eyes when clinking glasses, seven years of bad sex will follow.)"

"Pets are often at the dinner table, fully accepted."

this i REALLY like!

more tidbits to come, i'm sure. however, all talk of zurich, my first stop, puts me in the mind of fondue. not good. i have been known to say to le dub "i want. cheese. now." and honestly, once i have a hankering for something as specifically creamy and cheesy and delicious as fondue, it will be hard for me to focus on much else. but i shall try.

i heart arthouse

i took a peek yesterday on arthouse's website...just curious as to how things were moving along with putting lil' old me's stuff up there.

i figured, it's only been a week! there's no way they could sift through my years of tearsheets and prints and catalogs and what not....but lo and behold, not only do they have it all online, they have it looking supa fly!

you can view it here.

...and how cute are these crazy kids?





again this week i am busy as a bee. no days off, and thursday i am doing makeup for a billboard interview with sum 41. color me NOT amused. while i can embrace pop music ( i love pop music), i cannot abide sum 41 and their poseur-ish, fluffy punk antics. nor can i abide avril, not even as a joke, and i can only pray that the good lord's grace will shine upon me and she won't be there making out with her gross poseur husband and being all obnoxious. hoping it will be an easy day, and one step forward to the weekend, visiting lil bro, and closer still to europe!

a night at the opera

BRAVA!!!!!! BRAVISSIMO, BDUB!!!!!

if it isn't already apparent, bdub surprised me with a romantic night at the opera!

though i have played in several opera performances as part of the orchestra, i have never been to the opera for reals. in fact, i would venture to say that i have really never heard such a fantastic orchestra in person before last night. in a word: amazing.

i wore a little white and black number, and tried to style my hair into an opera-worthy 'do:



bdub looked smashing in his black suit:


(this image is an approximation--simply a sample. bdub did not play drums at any time during our anniversary festivities).

we trotted along eighth avenue after my job, got a coffee, and then hailed a cab. an important detail, because the cabbie stopped in the middle of the street (rather than along the sidewalk), and between tossing my cup of coffee in the garbage and running to the cab...i nearly didn't make it. i was almost struck by another cab right there in the middle of eighth ave. i have promised bdub (who was practically inconsolable) that i would share a PSA with all who will listen: WATCH OUT FOR THE CRAZY CABBIES!!.

but onto the rest of our evening, which was much more fun and much less disturbing:

we saw don giovanni at city opera, which is a fantastic company whose mission is to bring opera to the people. the tickets are well-priced and they aim to define the american "voice" of opera.

the talent level was just incredible...i have decided that the opera singer is the greatest of all the musicians: they are intensely physical with their instrument PLUS they possess an amazing capacity for the dramatic bravado, of which i am clearly a fan. really, though, all i could think of when i was listening to the insanely gorgeous voice of soprano jiyoung lee's young bride, zerlina, was that i wanted to hear this music in my dreams that night. it just made me melt.

(another zerlina with her marsetto:)


but i know that what you really want to hear about is TESSSLLLAAAA!!!!!!

upon arriving at the venue, the crew and i were accosted by tesla's street team post haste. we were given homemade magnets for our refridgerator and told that we were in for a treat. the woman who was talking to us (she of bleached hair and lazy eye, bless her heart) had travelled all the way from MICHIGAN for the show! i have heard talk of the loyalty of tesla's fans, and felt honored to have witnessed their dedication in person.

tesla the band were very nice. one of them asked me to powder him (i usually don't powder the bands that are interviewed for billboard unless they ask me-which is never-- or if they are insanely shiny and really need it; after all, i don't want to soil their tough, rock star reputations). i found it to be endearing that he asked.

sadly, i didn't bring my camera, so i have no visual proof of my meeting with tesla. curses!

in other news, the dub is currently enroute to london, and i will be a single lady in the city (if only in that i will be alone...sigh...) until i meet up with him in zurich. just ten days, and i'm countin' 'em down!

i know that this is insane to complain about, being a freelancer and all and living the "feast or famine" life, but dammit, i'm tired. as bdub and i like to say when we're plain exhausted, "i'm TARD" (that's west virginia for super tired). i will have worked a solid EIGHT DAYS in a row after tomorrow eve (when i conclude a twelve hour tv day @ 10:30 pm), and i actually passed on a job that i was asked to do for SUNDAY. i need a day of rest. plus, the subject is an opera singer (weird coincidence, right?) and i would have had to do her hair as well. so i passed. i didn't need some diva freaking out on me, like with this poor fella:

it was four years ago today...

...that bdub and i tied the knot.



what a great day. le dub and i were married on a hilltop. big tractors full of bales of hay took our guests up to the top and brought them back down. we partied (i hate using "party" as a verb, but it fits) in a barn, dancing to funk and soul music, drinking wine and eating delicious food. i loved every minute of it; i was literally giddy.

i don't know WHAT le dub has planned for this evening, but he is being awfully mysterious. through some strange turn of events, i got booked for billboard magazine (as i am fairly regularly) to do makeup for the host of their webcasts...for a freaking TESLA concert. apparently, TESLA is playing at the nokia theater and billboard is conducting an interview.



when i gave bdub the news of my gig (and, of course, invited him along to get backstage at the TESLA concert for our anniversary!) he was not amused. of course, if this were circa 1986-1990, this would be the hottest ticket in town and bdub would be dumbfounded at his luck and shaking his head in disbelief, as soon as his jaw was picked up from the floor, once it sunk in that he was ACTUALLY GETTING TO SEE TESLA!!!??!!

but i digress.. TESLA has thrown a wrench into my love's surprises. there is now some pretty intense plan b stuff going on, involving me having to change into a dress when i get picked up at the theater, and heather dropping us off...the only clues i have are that the plan will still work, even with me not being done with the job until 7 pm, and that bdub will be wearing his suit.

interesting....

i am guessing we will be going to the opera? the ballet? i can't think of anything else that would be so fancy (or so romantic).

rock over zurich! rock over amsterdam!

have i mentioned here that i am joining le dub on his next european tour?

bdub will be playing yet again with the fabulous my brightest diamond. words cannot express how much i love MBD. not only is shara worden, like, the most amazing singer i think i have ever heard in my entire life, but her beauty truly touches me. she is the kind of lady who can very much be an observer, a portrait of quietness, serenity, and solitude, yet moments later talk a blue streak to you about any number of things and, simply put, crack you up. i adore her.

i will be joining them in zurich on september 26, and then will be hopping along in the van for the following dates:

9/27: Geneva
9/28: Antwerpen
9/29: Hamburg
9/30: Berlin
10/1: Schorndorf
10/2: Paris
10/3: Amsterdam

bdub leaves on friday....it's a little bit too early for me to describe my emotions as "excitement"....right now i am waffling between "nervous", "overwhelmed" and "hoping to avert disaster at every turn". i will feel a lot better, for sure, when my renewed passport is in my hand (it is currently being processed--yikes) and when i know for sure that all my ducks are in a row re. the dog, the cat, the car, and the apartment.

i would also like to revamp the ole wardrobe. i am open to any and all suggestions re. this adventure, from must-sees in these various cities to what the hell i should pack.

here's a little bit of my brightest diamond (seriously, ain't she the most?):

i heart ny

i got a message today from deanie, telling me she always thinks of me and the dub on september 11. i think of her, too, of course.

somehow on that day, i managed to be in touch with all of my peeps whom i needed to be in touch with: bdub woke me with a call from the J train (which rides above ground over the williamsburg bridge), telling me that a plane had hit the world trade center, and that he could see it from the train. we kind of shared a "huh. how weird. i hope no one was hurt" exchange, and i went to the window of my hallway and surveyed the billowing smoke. i turned on CNN and was glued to the tube as the second plane hit.

kara dean called me. she was near times square, and the first to report to me that things were seriously crazy. i told her bdub would be at his rehearsal space just a few blocks away. somehow, they met up on the street and walked to brooklyn together (bdub says he clearly remembers his brain scanning the faces of people on the street, and its recognition of the beautiful deanie).

in the meantime, i got through to my mom. brian's sister heather got through to me. so did kara's sister, meredith....she had such worry in her voice, and i was grateful that i was able to tell her that i had talked with deanie. i bounced from window to computer to tv to phone, in shock. all day.

when deanie and bdub arrived, naturally, i made pasta.

i will be forever grateful that everyone i love was able to put their fears to rest easily that day, and know that we were safe. i am still so thankful that bdub was the first to call me and give me the news--that i never for a second had to worry about him or my dearest friend. so many spent the days to follow pleading to their fellow new yorkers, "have you seen my son/daughter/husband?". they almost wanted a moment just to talk with you, as one mama did with me. just to know you or someone or an entire city was praying for their loved one. i think of her when i think of those who have taken advantage of her loss--to exploit many more of our sons' and daughters' lives, to exploit our fear and our loss through a senseless war.

i am trying today to just reflect on our city and its healing, rather than to express my own anger. perhaps that is for another day, and today is just a day to remember.

the kids are really goin' wild for this...

i realized today on a job that there are a few surefire things that make the kids go wild. of course, not everything works for every kid, BUT--if you ever need a kid age 3.5-5.5 to smile, one of these three words should do the trick. they work even better when combined with "say___!" (as in, a substitute for "say cheese!") :

"booger!"
"tinkle!"
"poop!"

another good technique is to sniff a kid and exclaim, "pee YOOOOOO!!". this works for children even younger.

there is also the old "i'm gonna getchyoo!", which is generally more of a hit with the younger babes. those that are more humorously inclined, like my friend wiles, for example, will even laugh hysterically at the mention of a threat of someone else "getting him" (as in his mom saying, "aunt nowlzie's gonna getchyoo!"). the mere suggestion may throw him into a fit of giggles.

why is this? isn't it fascinating that, even at the age of one and a half, we can get SO EXCITED that we laugh hysterically at the anticipation of, well, anything? or maybe my little buddy is just extra advanced for his age? i think that's probably it.

p.s.

my first "assignment" with arthouse is to compile for them a wishlist of new clients i would like to have...these, of course, are to be catalogs, magazines, clothing companies, and other brands of the childrens/babies/'tween/teen variety.

so far on my wishlist i have:
alloy
baby gap
children's place
cookie mag
delias
gap kids
guess
h&m
hannah andersson
j crew/crewcuts
limited too
nieman marcus
oilily
old navy
PB teen
pottery barn kids
target
teen vogue
ralph lauren

leave me a comment if you think of any more! thanks!

and here's a picture of sadie and jasper for inspiration of the cute kid variety (or really just because i would like to include them in my blog):

a change'll do me good

i have made a big change today. it's a good 'un.

i am no longer with my agency of more or less seven years. while i love that the owner of my old agency (R.I.P. mark) took a chance on me and gave me my start in new york, since his passing it has been a different place.

my most recent booker, david, worked so hard for me, though. he gave the agency life, he fought for good rates for me, he got me amazing new clients. he emailed this week that he was leaving to go work for another agency, arthouse management. arthouse is an amazing agency that represents photographers as well as fashion stylists, makeup artists, and hair stylists. they aren't small potatoes. they are lucky to have david, and he looooves being there. i couldn't be happier for him.

david had let me know last week that "we needed to talk". and talk we did. david has taken a few of his artists along with him to share in this new opportunity, and i am one of them! as of our meeting today, i am now repped by arthouse. i am thrilled. the owner and the other booker are great, too...they share my aesthetic, they are on top of it, the truly care about how they are represented and what they present to their clients, they have amazing contacts and loyalty.

i had to give this a shot, and i'm hoping that this will be great for my career and will be a catalyst for me to "step it up" in terms of how i present myself as well....to create new work to show, to revamp my kit and my website, heck--maybe i'll even give myself a little makeover? considering today i taped a hole in my dress with duct tape and my purse strap is held together with safety pins, it may be about time.

of course, i knew this decision was the right one as i sat down on the subway and heard the hushed question of:

"do you know what time it is?" asked by a quartet of tall, dark, and handsome men to oblivious tourists and commuters.

i knew the answer and did a little "YESSS!!!!" whisper and arm pump in my head.

"IT'S DOO WOP TIME!" the men shouted to the unsuspecting riders. the fellows immediately burst into doo wop favorites of a bygone era, snapping and shaking their cup of change down the aisle.

i first heard this group before i had even moved to the city--years ago, when i came to visit karadean, and every time i have heard them since, just like every time i used to see puerto rican abe lincoln in my old neighborhood or whenever i see the three-legged boxer on my corner being walked by his owner, i know it's going to be a good day.

FINALLY! a solid!!

it is 1:32 am. the eagle has landed. that is all.

photo gallery!

since i don't know how to insert photos within my text, i thought i would just create a post with a whole mess of 'em together. can you believe that there was a time in my life where i was actually paid good money to write html? shows you my retention level of such skills.

anyhoo, we have le bisquit modeling his kerchief from dr. mann, both in babushka and neck styles, as well as prezzies bdub brought me back from seattle! these include a tee shirt with a robot on it, some cool vintage looking bath salts, and a music box thingie that plays "here comes the sun." nice! bdub says that cranking the music box "makes him less nervous."

ps: STILL no poop yet today. we are going to try to go on a little outing and see if some running around will help to move things along.

all things poo, yet again

so it seems that le bisquit has a clean fecal! he is parasite free! no giardia! hooray!

upon calling the vet with my inquiry, they were a little confused as to the nature of my call until the receptionist identified me by saying, "you're the bloody stool!".

gross, i know. of course, due to his meds (i'm assuming) the biscuit has yet to do a number two of any sort today. we'll see what transpires when i get home from work. poor little guy.

i'm so flippin' STUPID!

i just realized that i have invited my mom to peruse my blog. and let's face it, if anyone actually cares about the comings and goings of the wolfeinelli's and will ACTUALLY read anything i have to say, it would be my mom.

now i can't swear on here. f*ck.

my love

funny how i have felt so compelled to start this blog. it isn't my first (which was a sad documentation of a time that needed to be recorded, but which i would rather put away for a while). it is, though, nice to have a means to type the non-specific things that come to mind. plus, it seems that i am always in the mood to write this time of year. every journal i open from my bookshelf seems to start in september. i wonder why that is?

i was inspired by my friend and occasional colleague kristy, a mom, wife, model, singer, actor, and baby wrangler, to document the fun misadventures of city life (in fact, i just realized upon looking at kristy's blog that i totally yet inadvertantly stole "misadventures" from her blog description, and...um...added it to mine. sorry, kristy! i would assume, though, that most people blog about their "misadventures" of one kind or another).

anyhoo, "rage kage", as i like to call kristy in my mind, seems to have a knack for capturing so much that is fun yet unnoticed about urban living. it's refreshing, really, and has inspired me to blog and hope that i can some day have as much fun with future wolfeinellis as she has with her girls. she makes me believe that it is indeed possible to raise children whose lives are enriched by the city, rather than hindered by it.

this has been a HUGE realization for me over the past few months, and was really triggered by my mom sharing with me that she and my sister were talking about bdub and i, and were discussing what an exciting life our future kids have in store. i can't tell you how much that meant to me....

A) that i have family that views my life as an exciting adventure (rather than a colossal mistake--i know many people--freelancers, artists-- whose parents are simply waiting for them to find a real job and get over it already) and

B) that hearing their perception really helped me to change my own...perhaps from one of panic ("how are we going to DO this when we have KIDS???!!!") to one of, again, feeling blessed, of knowing that we live in abundance and that we and our kids will have enough-- enough love, enough time together, enough structure and enough resources to have a pretty good life.

but i digress....

once a month, rage kage lists her loves, the little things she appreciates about her sweetie and her girls. what can i say? i'm a huge sap and it struck a chord with me. so sue me. plus, i happened to be married to one of those guys who is, like, always doing amazing, wonderful things just because he loves me. it would be a shame not to give him any credit.

MY LOVES--june-july-august:
-being so helpful and taking such good care of chris and jen during their visit
-making our six flags adventure spirited and fun!
-cooking dinner when i was so tired from the graco jobs
-picking me up in greenpoint after your gig, even though my phone was ignoring you and you were so tired
-your patience and love towards my family
-complimenting me on my wedding skillz--i appreciated the props!
-being such a great date at the nups in LA
-helping me to drive and collect donations for beezie and matt
-the many early work dropoffs, when i'm sure you would rather sleep in
-meeting me at the train with the biscuit (there are few things i would rather see than the two of you trotting along towards me)

days of diarrhea and le vet bizzarro (mannhandled)

le bisquit has come down with a little sumthin', i am afraid. he has had the runs now since friday. he has had an even grosser variation on your typical runs after we had a fun little meetup with the dean-assaels at the park. what can i expect, what with all the running around? the high temps? the bowls-full of water? things were a little extra runny last night.

luckily the fine peeps at northside veterinary clinic were able to fit him in this afternoon. however, i was not prepared for dr. mann.

of course, dr. mann was in some ways a breath of fresh air for the clinic. our original doc, dr. leiman, is very thorough, but during one visit he "shushed" brian while he (the doc, that is) was trying to listen to the biscuit's heartbeat. those of us who know and love the dub know that there may be times where a good "shushing" may be called for, but i found it to be a little bold and off-putting. i think bdub was just stunned.

anyhoo, dr. leiman wasn't in today. neither was the last vet we visited with, dr. zamata. dr. z. may be andy kauffman's latest character, if andy is still with us and up to his old tricks. the similarity is really striking (wish i had a pic of dr. z. for comparison). dr. z. assured me that the speckled appearance of the biscuit's penis is totally normal, which i was relieved to hear in his somewhat whispered hush: "oh noooo....every dog is different. he is fiiine.." i enjoyed his tone of wonderment, which seemed to equate le bisquit's bits to a unique flower.

but back to dr. mann. dr. mann just about flipped out when he saw my dog. he immediately started rough housing with him right there in the exam room, and followed his crazy (i'm talking CRAZY) display by fashioning the biscuit a bandanna out of some checkered material and a pair of scissors he had sitting on the counter. interesting.

the biscuit was non-plussed by the vet's feats of fashion, of course, but i don't think he enjoyed it so much when dr. mann flipped him up (yes, seriously, he flipped my dog up onto the exam table, legs in the air and all) and started pulling on his hind quarters, commenting to me that he "had great hips!"

dr. mann proceeded to assure me that all would be fine, punctuating his sentences in a mix of upspeak? and almost an "mm kay?" a la mr. garrison.

whatevs. i am just happy to have vets who care about le bisquit and who don't lecture me about his diet, even when the "delicate flora" in his gut is out of balance, like today.

le bisquit is expected to have a full recovery, poo analysis pending.
le dub is expected back this evening from a brief stint in seattle with my brightest diamond. i see a delicious dinner and some makin' out in my future. sweet.