Not Much...

...going on here. I am a little bitter because my tattoo was infected. Not bad or anything, but it will require some touch up work now. Word of advice for anyone thinking about getting any ink done, never assume how an area will heal. Always ask. I thought his location (inside upper forearm) would be a breeze to heal. Little did I know that every single time I bent my elbow, the tattoo would open, bleed, and just generally not heal. I should have asked. Otherwise it is cool as hell. D says that aside from my Spot tattoo, this one is his fave.

It has been bitterly cold here. I am pretty much done with winter, and it's not even February yet (okay tomorrow is, but technically it's not yet).

Cosmo is doing fantastic. He is still taking aspirin, but other than that, he's as normal as he will ever be.

Over and out.

TV Again

The Foxz were on TV again this morning. I love getting up at 330 am so much. I tried to nap on the floor, but it didn't work.

Here's a clip.

In other news, Cosmo hurt his back. Don't ask me how or when, but he's doing better today.

Word to your moms.

Parents on Social Networking Sites

Such as Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Don't do it. I can guarantee that you will find out something you don't want to know. My mom is very upset about my tattoo right now. I don't get it, but hey, she's my mom. I am not sure if it is the placement or the word but it bugs her. Had she not been my virtual friend, she would have never found out. Well at least not as soon as she did.

I have had the flu all week. Next year, I am contemplating a flu shot, but I have heard they aren't vegan. Vegans? This is an awful sickness that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. I am hot, cold, freezing, sweating, achey, sneezy. I pretty much suck.

New Tattoo

I went to a tattoo convention here in Green Bay yesterday. I tried to walk away from the the show without getting inked. It didn't work. For the life of me I cannot find the card the guy gave me. And I want to shower so you'll have to wait. The ink was all vegan, except the black and he owns a shop in Chicago.



This is a pic from my phone so the quality is kinda shitty. That's my upper right forearm since you can't really tell from this picture.

Rawk!

Help Me Understand...

Sometimes, I really wonder why I live where I do. Am I crazy or is everyone else? I think I have become the Cranky Vegan Asshole. Maybe the longer you are vegan, the less tolerant you become. I seem to go through phases. First, I'm the ever charming tolerant vegan converting omni's everywhere. Then, I want to move to a compound that locks everyone else out. Okay, I swear I have a point.

North East Wi had a tragedy happen over the weekend. I really tried not to comment on it, because it is horrible. Then the second news story I'll discuss hit, and I couldn't let it be.

The first story actual made the national news. That's how bad it was. For the full version please click here. The Cliff Notes version would go something like this: A pack of snowmobile riders surrounded, rounded up, tortured, and killed four deer and left one alive tied to a tree. It is the most disgusting thing I have heard happen in this area. The reward money for helping identify the suspects is $10,000. It's a horrible, tragic, disgusting thing.

But here's what I don't get.

Hunters are outraged. What? How? I have heard the argument that it is quicker when the deer is shot. This means that everyone in NE Wi is a perfect shot? Doubtful. And what about bow hunting? I just think it's a piss poor argument. In fact, this is the happy meat and free range argument. It's okay to kill and abuse, as long as the animal was livin' large.

Then, as if to prove my point, another story came out. You can read the full version here. Condensed version is a city located with in 100 miles of the snowmobile incident voted to cull it's deer herd. And yes, I said cull not cuddle. They're hiring snipers to come in and thin the herd. So much for natural selection.

There are two main things that are fucking with me. First, okay so shooting a deer is more humane than running it over. But how do we decide what is humane? We have no way of knowing what the animal feels. Even though shooting a deer may seem humane to some, unless I learn to speak deer I'm just not going to shoot them. In other words, I am going to err on the side of caution assuming that the animals don't believe there is a humane way to die.

The next thing that gets me is animals on farms are abused All. The. Time. I'm not going to post any links, but you can go out to google and do a search on factory farming. They'll be tons of links to videos and pictures. You can see for yourself. And you'll probably convince yourself that this isn't the way all farms are run. You know that PETA or COK picked the worst case scenario. But, I would bet if you asked any one in North East Wi, they would tell you that these snowmobile riders were the worst case scenario. They would tell you that the majority of snowmobile riders aren't that way and love animals and pet deer. Yet, this worst case scenario is worth $10,000 and cows and pigs worst case scenario is around $2.95 for a carton of milk or $1.99/lb for beef.

Why the discrepancy?

Go Vegan already.

First Bout

Has come and gone. The Paper Dolls (my ladies) came out victorious winning both games we played.

Let me tell you this, we had a fan-fucking-tastic turn out. There were over 500 people in attendance, we had lights, we had a dj, we all kinds of stuff for sale. It was awesome. If you didn't make it, you should definitely come to our valentines day bout. It's sure to be a blast.

Photo Courtesy of S-Funk

It's Been a Year

I cannot believe it has been a year since I lost Spot. It seems like it was really only yesterday, I feel like I just took down his crate, like I just saw him. It's an odd feeling.

I wrote about his passing here, but I don't think that I have ever really talked about Spot much at all. Spot was my dog. I don't mean this in the typical sense, I mean Cosmo and Razz are my dogs too. D is my husband. This is different than that. Spot was my dog. I am sure that I will get more than one eye roll for this, but we just got each other. One of my favorite things to do with Spot was just be. We could sit on the couch and I felt like he knew what I was thinking. And lets be honest here, Spot is what planted the seed that grew to me becoming vegan. He knew when I needed to be left alone, when I needed to be cuddled or when one of the other dogs were out of line.

Before I became so involved in roller derby, I fostered for Green Acres Boxer Rescue. Spot was the best welcome dog I have ever seen. He was so laid back, he could make even the shyest dog comfortable. Spot had just enough spunk that he could get a nervous dog to play. Spot helped me temperament test dogs and assisted in Canine Good Citizen Testing. I used to say that if a dog had problems with Spot, that dog would have problems with all dogs.

Spot was also a therapy dog. We visited a home here in Green Bay for developmentally disabled adults. He loved it. He loved the attention, the extra treats, the pudding that the nurse used to give him, he loved all of it. I remember once a security alarm went off, and it was loud. I looked to Spot to see how he would handle it. I swear, he yawned and laid down. Spot loved to visit every where and I loved to take him. I loved to travel with him.

Right now I sound like one of those owners who believes their dog is perfect. Um. No. Spot had always had pee problems and was never the best at the whole house training thing. He had accidents pretty frequently, especially near the end. He was an incorrigible counter surfer and food stealer. He would bark at the worst times (I'm thinking of a midnight feeding at Alabaster Mom's house) and of course, he would pre-bark. He also had joint issues that required surgery, therapy, and lots of TLC.

Nope, Spot was far from perfect. But he was Perfect For Me. I miss him so much.

Old, old, old...

Yup. That's me.

I actually pulled an all nighter last night. Okay...I slept for maybe an hour or so. I had to be at practice at 4 am. That's right folks, 4 am.

You maybe be asking yourself why I would create such insanity. Well because roller derby made the news this morning. Every year we get to an early morning live shot.

Enjoy...

Why Are You That Way?

I get asked this question all the time. Like veganism is a disease. I believe Alabaster Mom was once asked "Why are you like that?" to her being a vegetarian. Same thing really.

I have taken to answering like this. I wouldn't eat my dog, or your dog, or your cat. I wouldn't take their young, steal their milk, and leave them in concrete gestation crates. Therefore, I think it is pretty logical that I wouldn't treat any other animal that way.

And it does get old really. I was at a team dinner and the question came up a lot. I don't ask anyone why they choose to eat meat or cheese or any other item.* For the record, it's things like this that make vegans snap.

I know that dealing with new people will potentially cause this to arise any time I eat with them, and I think my answer above covers it.


*I know that I'm being asked this because it is different than the norm. I get it. It's still annoying.

Happy New Year...or something like that

I meant to post something really prolific and thought provoking today.

I've got nothing.

2008 was a pretty piss poor year. I am glad it is over. I don't really do resolutions, but I did put together a 2009 reading list for myself. Maybe then I will be thought provoking.

I doubt it.