10 Apr

This is why dudes don’t plan weddings

Posted by Allison | Squirrel Thoughts in Funny Things That Happen To Me. Tagged: , , , , .

With less than three months to go until the Big Day, the wedding planning has kicked into high gear! I went to pick up our invitations today, as well as envelopes we had printed with addresses. Much to my horror, I discovered a major error as soon as I looked at them:

I have trouble focusing sometimes. Sorry.

I have trouble focusing sometimes. Sorry.

Yep, they spelled Zach’s name wrong, which sticks out like a sore thumb, especially when you’re obsessed with the correct spelling of things and whatnot, like I am. And I was a little annoyed that the shop tried to claim it must have happened because his name was spelled that way on the spreadsheet I gave them. I was fully vindicated upon review of said spreadsheet, naturally.

Now, of course I knew right away that we would need the shop to redo them, so that’s exactly what I requested. But when I sent the photo to Zach, who I thought was the real victim in this situation, this was his response:

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Ummmm, what?! Who doesn’t care if his own name is spelled wrong on the envelopes for his wedding invitations?! DO I EVEN REALLY KNOW THIS MAN?! WHAT AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO?!?

My response reflected the gravity of the situation:

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By the time I’d sent that, I had already made the decision to have them redone and was on my way to pick up a delicious sandwich, but the point that we cannot just disregard the little details still needed to be made.

I’m sure this is just the first of many Total Bridezilla Freakout Moments (TBFMs) we’ll experience over the next few months. But Zach really has pitched in a lot with the wedding planning, much more than I imagine a lot of grooms do. (Think our wedding website is the most hilarious thing you’ve ever seen? Yeah, that was pretty much all him.) I’m pretty lucky I get to marry him in June.

5 Apr

Happy third anniversary to our little flufflepuff!

Posted by Allison | Squirrel Thoughts in Squirrels/bunnies/mascots. Tagged: , .

Happy anniversary to our little fwuffy wuffy bunnykins! It’s been exactly three years since we first brought our little furball of joy, Pancake, home.

Fwuffy-wuffy wufferton

(Oh, and for those of you who have been agonizing for an update since the last, somewhat grim post about Pancake … sorry. She made a full recovery and is fluffier than ever now!)

Our shy little bunny has made a lot of progress since we first brought her home. She’s gone from not even wanting to leave her cage when we first got her to effectively taking over our entire apartment:

Pen

It’s Pancake’s house. We just live in it.

(We actually had to build this pen after she was sick because she turned into a chewing monster for a while and couldn’t be left alone without tearing into the carpet or wall trim. Side note: Our landlord will never, ever let another rabbit owner live here. Ever.)

Also, after only three short years of getting to know each other, our wittle Lady McFluffle finally lets us pet her without completely freaking out and running away! And by “pet,” I mean stroke her on the head, and maybe her side, for about 30 seconds before freaking out and running away. Progress! Now, picking her up is still an ordeal that involves using a blanket and other absurd strategies, affectionately known as The Bunny Grab. But at this rate, who knows what the next three years will bring!

4 Apr

Seriously — what year is it?!?

Posted by Allison | Squirrel Thoughts in Politics/Society/Seriouser Stuff.

I came across several news items today that had me seriously wondering if I had been knocked unconscious, shoved into a time machine and hurled backward through the space-time continuum.

First, there was this gem of a decision by the Montana Legislature:

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This is when I first started to suspect something was off. I mean, we’re (hopefully) on the verge of marriage equality here, but some Montana lawmakers still can’t grow a pair and remove a law that was struck down as unconstitutional in the 1990s anyway.

Then, I watched this video about black students not being allowed to go to “white prom” in Georgia. Yeah, you read that right. White prom. Since I thought there was no way any place anywhere in the world — even Georgia — could legally hold a segregated prom, I was convinced I’d been transported back to 1964.

I had no idea just how bad it was though until I came across this post reminding me of how Montana and other states attempted to pass legislation requring local law enforcement to  ignore any federal laws passed banning assault weapons … as if a little conflict called the Civil War had never happened, had never resolved the whole is-it-constitutional-for-states-to-pick-and-choose-which-federal-laws-to-follow-like-letting-white-dudes-own-black-dudes-if-they-want-to debate. (RELATED: Louis C.K. as Lincoln)

But the Civil War did happen, and it did establish settle that debate, and there’s no way these legislators could have possibly missed that. Unlessss … unlessss … it’s actually 1860 and the Civil War hasn’t even started yet! Yes, that must be it! It’s the only logical explanation!

So, in the eight years since electing our first black president — and 45 years to the day since MLK Jr. was assassinated — we’ve somehow managed to progress -152 years. Congratulations, America.

2 Apr

Drivers of Great Falls: You are legally required not to run over me

Posted by Allison | Squirrel Thoughts in Life and Such, Politics/Society/Seriouser Stuff.

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I like Great Falls, a town that often gets a bad rap. It’s one of those towns I feel like I shouldn’t like living in, but I do, in spite of that.

But man, people here GOTS to learn to stop for pedestrians! I don’t think I’ve ever lived anywhere that is so unfriendly toward people getting around on two legs. Granted, the last city I lived in was hippie-dippie Missoula, where more people own bikes than cars and drivers will stop half a mile from a crosswalk just in case there could possibly be someone needing to cross it in the next five minutes.

But Great Falls drivers are the WORST. I’m seriously lucky to be alive to write this at all after the close calls I’ve had — either because people a) didn’t see me running across a crosswalk or 2) my angry reaction when they didn’t stop for me, which may or may not have involved various vocal and physical incarnations of the F-word, could have prompted them to turn around and run me over anyway.

I haven’t quite figured out if people here aren’t stopping because they don’t realize that IT IS THE LAW to give pedestrians the right-of-way when they are crossing at a green light or someone is waiting to cross the street at a marked crosswalk …or if it’s because they are just being assholes.

I do know with absolute certainty that it’s not because drivers don’t see me. How do I know this? Because during winter, I often have no choice but to go running until after it’s already dark. And because I’m not a total idiot, I dress for these runs in attire I know I can be seen in, complete with a glow-in-the-dark neon shirt and a red blinky light.

It looked like this:

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I probably don’t earn cool points with many drivers, but I know you can see me when I look like this. If anyone hits me and then tries to claim it was because they couldn’t see me in the dark, I’d know they’re a g.d. liar, considering that this photo was taken from the International Space Station.

So what’s the deal, GF? Why can’t you be cool and just not almost run me over all the time? I’m just trying to get a little endorphin fix. I run on the trail and away from the main roads as much as I can, but I have to cross some major intersections to get there. Give a squirrel a brake, would ya?

14 Dec

What is it going to take, America?

Posted by Allison | Squirrel Thoughts in Politics/Society/Seriouser Stuff. Tagged: , , , , , .

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. An official with knowledge of Friday's shooting said 27 people were dead, including 18 children. It was the worst school shooting in the country's history. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. She was later identified as the sister of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher hailed as a hero for shepherding her students into a closet. An official with knowledge of Friday’s shooting said 28 people were dead, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

I spent most of today on the brink of tears while reading about and seeing images from Connecticut. But now I’m just mad. Mad that our refusal to address these tragedies THAT KEEP HAPPENING has now led to 20 dead, innocent children. Twenty children who left for school today, without a care in the world other than what game they would play at recess or if they would get chocolate milk with lunch. And now they’re just 20 little bodies, lying lifeless in Sandy Hook Elementary.

What is it going to take, America? Fifty dead children? 100? At what point are we going say it’s not worth it anymore? When are we going to stop just “sending thoughts and prayers” and start looking for real solutions to keep these weapons out of the hands of the mentally unstable people who do such unspeakable acts? When are we going to stop using “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people” as an excuse? When are we going to finally say, ‘yes, it’s OK if it’s harder for me to get a gun if it could help prevent these tragedies”?

Honestly, I don’t know the gun-control statistics from countries around the world. I don’t know if stricter laws would help. I’m sure if I did enough research, I could find stats that would prove points on both sides of the argument.

I don’t know what the solution is. I suspect more emphasis on getting help for the mentally ill is part of it. I would think that increasing the requirements someone — anyone — must meet to get a gun would help, but I don’t know. The kid behind today’s massacre used his mom’s gun to murder her, so who knows.

And even if it is true that guns don’t kill people; people kill people, we have to ask ourselves why these people killing people are using guns to do it, and figure out what we must do as a country to prevent it from happening again and again and again.

Again, I don’t know the solution. But no one can deny that what we’re doing now is NOT. WORKING. Unless you think 20 dead children is OK, you cannot say it’s working.

So instead of just thoughts and prayers, let’s take action. Let’s re-examine whether our values and beliefs on the topic are practical in reality. Let’s encourage discussion on what we can do better, from talking about it with friends and family to voicing our opinions to local and national lawmakers. Let’s get involved with and support organizations that can effect change. Let’s support compromising for common-sense reform.

Your thoughts and prayers are welcome, but they won’t prevent another massacre. Let’s figure out something that will.

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