Girl Talk

Email to a friend

The good news is, we don't have to worry about my getting It tomorrow while we're out.

The bad news is, I got It today.

The good news is, that means I'm not pregnant! (Not that I ever thought I was, since there's no physical way I could be pregnant this month. Still, I wouldn't want to be pregnant so it's good that I'm not!)

The bad news is, since it wouldn't have been physically possible for me to be pregnant this month, if I HAD been pregnant, I could have been carrying the Messiah, and how cool would that have been?!

The good news is, if I had been spontaneously pregnant, and it wasn't the Messiah, it could also have been the spawn of Satan, and that would have totally sucked!

So really, when you think about it, it's a very good thing that I got this today.

I Am In A Bad Mood! (Updated)

For the most part, I want to keep this blog positive. But I am in a bad mood right now thanks to the good folks at Blogger.

I was working on a blog for a friend (who I've just sent an email to. I wonder if she'll read here first.) and that blog has been removed. I did not delete this blog. I did back most everything up. I don't know why it was removed or by whom. It's just gone. It's not at its URL and it's not in my dashboard anymore. The page I was working on when I stepped away for a few hours is STILL open in my browser (to prove I'm in the right place!) but it no longer works because it's really just a "ghost" of a page. A page that loaded before but is no longer really there. If I try to refresh that page or click on anything there I get an error message:

Blog has been removed
Sorry, the blog at [the URL I was working on] has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.

Did you expect to see your blog here? See: 'I can't find my blog on the Web, where is it?'

But possibly the most frustrating thing is that I don't even have an email from Blogger saying "We yanked this blog, and here's why." I mean if there's a reason, tell me! I am a very reasonable and cooperative person. I've read the Terms Of Service, and though I cannot find anything in there that I could have violated, if there was something problematic with that blog in some way, I would gladly make whatever adjustments were necessary. But I can't do that if they don't tell me what it is!

I've already written to Blogger. I'm sure I'll hear back in oh... six months. I could put up a new blog and start all over with the stuff I saved, but until I know why and how that first one disappeared, I don't want to do another one and have that disappear too! I mean if I don't know why it was removed, then how do I know if another blog I'm working on is going to be removed too! Or even this one?!

It's VERY FRUSTRATING!

And no, it did not have porn!

GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

Updated at 11:59 PM:

Ok it seems that some overzealous bot thought the site was spam. SPAM??? I don't even have a PICTURE of spam on that site!

I've submitted a request for a review by a human being, and if I don't hear back within 4 days there's a secondary request I can submit. I've also posted to the help forum and asked for information on what exactly was considered spam. Besides the main menu, there were no links on any of those pages! How the heck can I spam people when there's no links? That'd have to be the worst spam site in the world! So really, now I'm insulted, because not only do they think I programmed a spam site, but they think I programmed a bad spam site!

The good news is that at least now I know what happened. What I don't know is why. Hopefully a human being can lend some insight.

And for the record, I have nothing against robots. I met my first AI interface when I was ten years old and I have two bots of my own (yes I do.) It's not the robot I want an answer from. It's the human beings who programmed it!

Oh, and for anyone who's wondering, while I was searching around trying to find out what could have possibly caused that site to be pulled, I found out that porn IS allowed on Blogger.

Popcorn 101

You know what makes popcorn pop faster? When you pour the popcorn kernels into the popper instead of the bowl.

Guess What I Did NOT Get Today

A pigeon.

Thank you God for not giving me the pigeon.

I saw him as I was walking home, sitting on the ground alongside a building. Very still. All puffed up.

Still pigeon + sitting on the ground + clinging to a wall + all puffed up = Not good.

I stopped and considered getting him right then and there, but then decided I'd finish walking the half a block home, put down my bags, and then come back for him. All the while I prayed he'd be protected by "someone" (St. Francis?) and that he'd be ok and not drop kicked by some kids or eaten by a dog in the 5-10 minutes it'd take me to get back. All the while I prayed that he was really fine and would be nowhere in sight when I returned. All the while I prayed, very hard, that he was not "meant for me."

When I did walk back, I was afraid I'd see a half dead bird carcass and feathers everywhere, and I kept telling myself "if he was meant for me, he'll still be there." I really really really did NOT want a pigeon today. But I was ready to take the pigeon if needed.

When I returned he was still there. But he was no longer sitting. He was walking and eating.

Walking + eating = Good. Very good.

But he was still on the ground, not flying, and clinging to the side of the building. I approached him and he walked away. Also good. I followed him and he continued to walk away from me... more quickly. Again, good. Finally, I cornered him in a doorway and we had a little chat.

Baby pigeon. A little funny shaped but that didn't seem to be bothering him. Almost old enough to be on his own, but not quite yet. Possibly shoved out of the nest or abandoned. Almost full sized, but definitely still young. We talked a bit as I asked him whether or not he was ok. He didn't really answer. Then I reached down to get him and he panicked and flew a few feet to try to get away from me.

Good! Fine! Healthy! Buh bye! ;)

At least I hope. I think he could get away from danger if needed. Generally, if they're hard to catch, they're probably well enough to be on their own. I hope I was right and he's ok out there. But really, I am so glad to not have a pigeon in here with me right now.

Voice Change

When I called my sister's house yesterday, an unfamiliar voice answered the phone. I thought it was the baby sitter. When they asked who I was, and I said "Melissa," they replied with, "Oh my God! Aunt Melissa!"

I thought this was a strange reaction from a baby sitter. My first thought was "The babysitter knows who I am?" and then I thought, "why would a call from me seem like a big deal to a baby sitter?" Not that a call from me doesn't warrant a national parade and celebration, but why would the babysitter react so strongly to "Aunt Melissa" being on the phone? But then the voice said "Guess what?!" and started telling me about their day. And I realized it wasn't the babysitter. It was my nephew. His voice had changed.

I just spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. Saw him about 3 weeks ago. For 12 years this boy's voice has been exactly the same. He's gotten older, he's gotten taller, but overall his voice has stayed the same. But some time during the past two weeks, his voice totally and completely changed. -No "Peter Brady" awkward stage. (Or if there was it was short lived and I missed it!)

Once I realized it was him, I listened to his voice very carefully, trying to recognize some of his old voice in there. Waiting for the "Ah ha!" moment when it would sound familiar and I'd think "Of course it's him. I just couldn't tell from those few words in the beginning..." But that moment didn't happen. And I listened. We talked for a while, yet had it not been for the context of what he was saying, I'd have had absolutely no idea that I was talking to my nephew. ZERO clue. His voice has totally changed.

It's really nice. It's a beautiful voice. It's not deeper, (don't teenage voices usually shift to something deeper?) it's softer. Less gravely. Less strident. It has a calmer, softer, more even sound to it. It's hard to describe. It's really nice.

I wonder what caused it to change now? I know hormones are involved but his hormones kicked in a while ago. I would think it would be something more structural, but he's been a big kid for a while now. Young face, but tall. He's always been taller than other kids his age. Towered over them in fact. By the time he was ten I realized that if I was staying overnight at my sister's and wanted to borrow some clothes, I would probably do better to borrow from him than from her! He's been around 5' 10" for over 2 years. -But his voice shifted now.

It's going to be so embarrassing for a while when I call their house. If he answers the phone, I'm not going to realize it's him! I have a new voice to learn.

I Am Thankful For Opposable Thumbs

I was closing a container today with one hand and thinking about how cool it is that that's possible. It's a fairly complicated set of moves to accomplish that task. Manual dexterity amazes me sometimes. Opposable thumbs... they are very good things to have.

Of course then I started thinking about what kinds of maneuvers might be possible (through technology or evolution) if we had other types of attachments. Like what if we had something on our hands that spun 360 degrees? Or had fingers with more than 3 joints? What if all our digits could spin 360 degrees and had more than three joints? Or could retract. You know... like a turtle. Not using 'em? Pull them inside.

It could happen. ;)

Birthday Wish

During the past week, several people have asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I took time after some of those calls to try to really think about it. I thought there must be something I can ask people to get me. Something I'm hesitating buying for myself. But the same answer kept coming back to me. I really don't want anything. I've been trying to get rid of things. The only thing I really want, more than anything, would take an act of God.

If there is a God, then he/she/it/they know what it is. So, if anybody really wants to give me something today, particularly those of you with connections "up there," please ask him/her/it/them for that. Consider it like a registry. :)

* Photo by Theresa Thompson