Ang's Journal

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This is the big month. I'm having friends & family descend upon Ouray County starting June 11th. My parents arrived on June 13th & they are planning to move out here! They're looking for a house in Montrose, the "big city" of ~20,000 located a half-hour north of Log Hill Village.

June 16th is Mom's birthday. We're having a dinner at my current favorite restaurant, the Lazy Dog Saloon, to celebrate her birthday & kick off wedding festivities.

The BIG DAY is June 17th. Wedding is at 11 AM, reception will run from noon to 3 PM. Alan & I will spend the night at an undisclosed location. This will also be my parents' 57th anniversary.

Sunday June 18th is Father's Day & we're having a good-bye brunch at our house.

My five-year sobriety anniversary is June 20th.

I'm actually calm (so far). Work is crazy, but work is always crazy. I'm in decent health & decent shape - I actually weighed myself this morning & I'm at the lowest weight I've achieved since moving out here in August 2020. The wedding planning is nearly complete. Money is tight, but I think we can get everything paid for without too much stress (or borrowing).

I'm ready to become Ms. Angela Todd.

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I haven't posted in a while, but I'm excited for this: Jim Butcher is doing an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit this Saturday 8/22 at 10:30 AM MDT.

Now, to dig through my notes & see what questions I've been stockpiling in my head....

OK, who has read Max Brooks' book World War Z? I'm not usually a fan of zombie-related anything, but this book was a good read.

Now I read that Brad Pitt is starring in the movie version of the story. They are filming in Glasgow, even though according to BBC News "the film is set in Philadelphia".

This brings up a swarm of questions:

1) I didn't think the book was set anywhere in particular. It is a series of interviews describing events that took place all over the world.

2) Does Brad Pitt have a thing for the city of Philadelphia? He's already acted in Twelve Monkeys, which took place in Philly.

3) If the movie is set in Philadelphia, why aren't you filming it in Philadelphia? Admittedly, when I visited Glasgow, one of my first comments was that it reminded me of Philadelphia. But even so, Philadelphia itself would be a better stage for a story supposedly taking place in the City of Brotherly Love. Besides, your extras in Glasgow are going to have the wrong incomprehensible accent.

Wow, weirdest dog walk ever.

I just took Shadeaux out for her final trip outside tonight. She was wearing her harness & a leash, but I took her off-leash near the end of the trip so we could do some quick obedience work on sit-down-stay-come. She was in a down-stay, when suddenly she bolted past me.

She had spotted one of the Indian residents in our community, one of the guys who are just terrified of dogs. So I lunged at Shadeaux as she was accelerating past me, & I just managed to grab the strap of her harness that runs over her back. But she had so much momentum that she pulled me off my feet. When I felt myself falling, I leapt toward her, gaining enough energy that I rocketed over her. Maintaining my grip on her harness, I went into a near-perfect aikido roll. I rolled down my right arm, over my right shoulder, my back, my left shoulder, & slapped the lawn with my left arm. Unfortunately, this meant my right arm (still hanging onto Shadeaux's harness) had a ton of speed. Shadeaux whipped over me & flew right out of her harness. She flew a good ten feet & bounced another six before coming to a halt, looking astonished.

I clambered to my knees & said, "Shadeaux, COME." She tottered to her feet & came right to me. I put her harness back on her with shaking hands. I remembered the cause of the whole fracas & turned back around. No sign of Indian Neighbor Guy. Reviewing the whole situation from his point of view, it must have looked like I threw my dog at him. No wonder he ran....

I haven't been on an aikido mat since 1998, when I broke up with Daaaaave. I am frankly amazed that I remember how to do a forward roll. It was pure muscle memory.

Edit:: Here's a YouTube video showing a forward roll. Just put a dog in the sensei's right hand & you'll have a good idea of what happened on last night's walk.

1. What was your first Halloween costume?

When I was eleven days old, my mom dressed me up as a bumblebee. She's got photos - silly, embarrassing photos.

2. What was your best costume and why?

I like my astronaut jumpsuit a lot, because it's very realistic looking & because it reminds me of Space Camp.

3. Did you ever play a trick on someone who didn't give you a treat?

No, but I have played some tricks on Mischief Night.

4. Do you have any Halloween traditions? (ie: Family pumpkin carving, special dinner before trick or treating, etc.)

ALWAYS carve jack'o'lanterns, even here (the other students were fascinated with this display of strange American folk art).

5. Share your favorite scary story...real or legend!

The Horror of Blimps, as told by Scylla (see my post for the original reference). Terrifying but true. Well, not really terrifying.