http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble recent pleonast.com entries by user pokyribble en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=601195 Last night, Jason couldn't find his jacket. We looked all over the house for it, and as a last resort, I decided to look outside in the yard to see if our dog had carried it out through the dog door. I found two pairs of Jason's dress shoes, one pair of my shoes, a flip-flop, some dirty socks from the laundry basket, and his jacket... all piled in a mound of dirt by a corner of the fence. I carried them all in, threw them in a pile on the floor, and Jason proceeded to go through a "Choose the right toy" exercise with our dog, putting a dog toy and a shoe in front of her, and telling her "No" every time she chose the wrong one. Eventually, she seemed to get the idea, and only chose the toy. ---- Last night (after the clothing/shoes incident), Jason decided that we need to teach our dog a lesson about just who owns the house. We normally don't let our dog on any furniture except for a large beanbag. So, we moved the beanbag and set up a blanket on the floor fo... 2008-11-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=591331 Friday crossword puzzles are always the hardest. We had a table of 8 people and still couldn't solve today's. So much for collective intelligence. I was bit (bitten?) by a parrot today. It really hurt. I later learned that when this particular parrot starts chattering like a reporter giving a Newscast, it means she's about to bite. I've filed that one away for future reference. On a similar note, a Maribu stork attacked me yesterday. I did all the proper animal-training techniques: I remained calm, raised my hands above my head to look taller and more intimidating, and stepped TOWARD the attacking bird rather than away, so as not to reinforce his attempt at intimidation. It worked! The bird backed down... and only after the ordeal was over did I notice that every muscle in my stomach had tensed up in fear. It's the only time I've felt truly afraid since I started this job. Good thing it turned out okay! Besides, my co-worker totally had my back. She was ready with the ... 2008-10-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=588029 Today was a day of random discoveries: 1. Jason drove to work only to find out that the person for whom he was supposed to work didn't show up... but that he'd get paid anyway. So he got a day of pay without having to work! 2. Jason needed to get a vest and bow-tie for a catering job this weekend. We were trying to think of where the nearest tuxedo place was, and decided to stop by Party City... as we were making a U-turn to get to Party City, I looked up... and there was a tuxedo warehouse right in front of us!. Weird. Oh, and they had really good prices on vests and bow-ties! 3. On the way home, we stopped to go through a $3 carwash -- with free vacuum service -- and I discovered one of the coolest inventions ever! It's an automatic floor mat cleaner. Seriously... you just put the floor mats from your car into the machine, and in about 5 seconds they come out the other side totally clean! And it was free. Wow. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but it seemed like a pretty gr... 2008-10-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=585683 2008-10-10 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=583331 Not off of it, just down it, as I managed to hold on as I fell, kind of sliding/scraping myself against it along the way. No worries -- I survived. Nothing even bled. I was then lectured by the Stage Manager on proper ladder use. I agreed to be more careful, but when I tried to explain that there is no way to climb up a ladder safely with a bird in one hand, he insisted that there is a way, and that he would happily meet with me the next chance we have to figure out one for me. I'm very curious to see what he comes up with. Injury Tally for this Week: Wounds from own clumsiness: 8 --Concrete Burn on Shin(s): 1 --Hand-Pinch from Gate: 1 --Skin removed from foot by contact with cement ledge: 1 --Bruises from falling down ladder: 2 --Minor ladder burn on arm: 1 --Scratches from Emu bite: 2 (my own fault; fed him a grape the wrong way) Wounds caused by animals: 2 --Scratches from Emu bite: 2 (technically my own fault) --- I'm winning 8 to 2! :-D Or does that mean the anima... 2008-10-03 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=582092 Today I found myself wondering if it's possible to die from multiplicity of scratches. Just surface-level ones, I mean, not deep cuts or gaping wounds or anything, just shallow scratches over a large surface area of the body. My work scars are spreading, but strangely enough, they are not animal-related. Other than an emu bite which mildly scratched up two of my fingers, my most recent injuries are entirely due to my own clumsiness. I fell down a few days ago and scraped my whole left shin up against a piece of concrete, and then today I pinched my hand on a gate. This proves that I am, in fact, my own most imminent danger. On a lighter note, it has been pointed out to me that none of the animals I work with are capable of fatally injuring me, unless through a series of incredibly rare and bizarre circumstances which would never really happen. So, now I can proceed to tussle with emus and tumble with storks with no fear for my own life. That is, of course, unless I find mysel... 2008-09-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=578367 Tonight was incredible. Yesterday, an old friend of mine called and asked me a favor. She's recently moved away, and her ex-boyfriend was struggling spiritually and needing someone to talk to. I called him yesterday afternoon, and left him a message inviting him to come to church with us on Sunday. Sunday afternoon, he called back. I'd never met him, or even spoken to him, but he explained that my friend had told him about her beliefs, and that he wanted to come with us to evening worship services, and to have a Bible study with us afterward. He came to services, and afterward, we studied with him for about 2 hours. He believed he had been saved through a direct experience with the Holy Spirit. Jason and I talked and studied with him, and after much discussion, and much deliberation on his part, he came to a conclusion: "I need to be baptized," he said. "I want to do it right now." He wanted to be baptized in his parents' pool, so we got in the car an... 2008-09-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=578209 I find working with animals very faith-building. The other day, I was working near the cage of a yellow-naped parrot. Seeing me standing there (but ignoring her), she tried to get my attention. "Well, hi!" she said. I ignored her. She tried again. "Hello! Whatcha doin, huuuhh?" Again, I ignored her, on purpose this time. Her shrill voice strengthened. "Hello!" she called. I turned toward her, her little green-feathered head twisting so one of her eyes could focus on me, the small black pupil dilating and contracting as she examined me. "Hi," she said again. "What's your name?" I humored her. "Crystal," I said. "What's your name?" She puffed up her feathers triumphantly. "Lo-liiii-taaa!" She sang. She had my attention now, and she knew it. I gave her a small treat for responding correctly to my question, and she continued. "How are you?" she asked. "Fine," I said,... 2008-09-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=575561 By the way... we have just launched a brand new website for our online literary magazine, Calliope: Voice of the Writers. This was my first real attempt at web design, and though it's not the best website ever, I feel very blessed that everything has gone so smoothly with it. And more importantly, we have some very talented writers who are involved in the magazine... so if you have any interest in reading fiction, poetry, or really entertaining non-fiction pieces, please check it out! 2008-09-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/pokyribble?l=5&entryID=575216 2008-09-14