Aortic Stenosis, Sub Aortic Stenosis......

Musings of a wannabe-vet. In case you want to know, Aortic Stenosis and Sub Aortic Stenosis are caused by a a narrowing of the main blood vessel, or the aorta, as it leaves the left side of the heart, in a dog. Because of this, heart must work harder, causing problems as severe as death. It is hard to detect. With more severe versions, exercise must be restricted. AS and SAS are very common heart diseases seen in large breed dogs such as Golden Retrievers, Newfoundlands and Boxers.

That is part of my dog essay, the one that I'm writing for my mom. It's 21 pages long and I'm only on the 4th page of the layout-not even halfway through. But almost.

And about the vet thing- well, ever since Thanksgiving (when I observed my aunt's naughty German Shepherd) I have wanted to be a vet.

How were your Thanksgivings?

Alphabet Thanks

I was inspired by a One Minute Writer blog post about "alphabet thanks." So I've decided to do one of my own. Everyone is welcome to make a post like this of their own- list at least 26 things you are thankful for, one for each letter of the alphabet. Post the above picture and add a link to this post. Leave a comment on my blogso I can check your thanks list out.

A- animals because they are humbling, amazing little creatures

B- blue skies because blueness is happiness

C- crazy ideas, because without craziness life would be blah

D- dancing and dogs because who doesn't like having a little fun?

E- eternity, because heaven is forever

F- friends because they are always there

G- ground because it is solid and dependable

H- home, because it is my solace and my... home

I- invincible, unconditional love, because we all need it

J- jokes, because my dad is the best joke-telling dude the world has ever seen

K- kisses, because who cares about a little lipstick smear on their cheek?

L- laughing, because splitting your belly and almost peeing in your pants is the funnest, funniest and healthiest thing there is

M- mother, because you raised me and will give me a dog

N- noses, because one eye said to the other, just between us, something smells!

O- Our Father- God, because He is amazing and I very much believe in Him

P- pierogi, because we all need some delicious cheese or fruit or even kapusta! in between some heavenly dough

Q- quintessentiality, because I made up a new definition for the word, it means you can't live without it, aka dogdom

R- randomness, because without a few pretty birdies in the window and a blooming petunia outside then randomness would be complete normality

S- Shinderalla and the Seven Pairs of Shoes, because my ideas are awesome even if they were part one of my weirdest stories

T- tsk-tsk, because it infuriates me enough to actually think of a good comeback to my brother

U- underlying meaning, because mysteries thrive on it (or at least I do)

V- velocity, because I love running

W- windows, because blank walls give blank stares, and anyway, it's like talking to a brick wall

X- xoxo, because hugs and kisses make the world go round

Y- youth, because its a carefree and fun time

Z- zest, because oranges are good and so is zest for life

Count Your Blessings

Okay. Christmas season can start whenever, I guess. Daley Plaza's giant tree was lit yesterday, and the Holiday Light radio station is already playing their songs(which I was listening to). I just want it to snow.

I am thankful for....

my wonderful family, although lacking in a canine

God, of course

the dark eyed juncos and mourning doves and house finches and even the house sparrows in my backyard

doing well in school

having the time to write

the amazing summer and fall I had so far

my garden

my dog books

Christmas

Thanksgiving

your comments on my posts

and many more.......

Doesn't Christmas Season Start AFTER Thanksgiving?

What? Am I not supposed to wonder why some people have trees twinkling through their windows when the turkeys haven't been cut yet and eaten with the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce and other Thanksgiving yumminess?

But onto other topics....

My mind is getting numb from all the dog-related information I have been soaking up in terms of my dog essay. In case I haven't Blogged crazily about it yet, I really want a dog, and my mom is the only thing (er, person) standing in the way of my dream. That, and her pickyness and refusal to see the good in a perfectly perfect mutt that I loved. *ahem* Anyhoo, the present I am giving that certain Mommy for Christmas is.... said dog essay. Layout = 9 pages. So far, I have 14 pages of info typed (2 pages of layout) and am halfway through the third in my notebook. Ah, the dogginess.

OOOOOHHHH, random thought! "Dogdom Daily!!" The perfect daybook for all us doglovers out there. And we are many, are we not!

Twenty Four: Random Excerpts

"His echoing footsteps fell fast and short- a staccato beat ricocheted throughout the attic as he climbed higher and higher, until he could look out of the window and see the bustling city below. From his prison he could see Oakhill Street directly to the west. Amidst the commotion of the city stood a tall, gothic mansion. Gathered before its doors were a group of black-clad men- one of whom bore a striking resemblance to the hunch-backed leader from two weeks ago, even from such a distance. Suddenly Jay knew what the code on the paper he’d found meant. The realization came with a churning, sickly feeling in his gut, the kind of unexplainable pain that is commonly found among criminals."

-------

"In a darkened chamber high in the third tower, a figure was slumped on the ground. It stirred for a moment, and the guard worried that it might wake, but then it lay still. Five hours were left until he would be needed. The guard settled onto the ground across the room from the figure, and slept. Above them, four windows let in what little light there was. Had anyone bothered to look out of them, a familiar sight would have met their eye: Alemany Middle School, with one grimy crusted window high above all the others. "

------

 "Guards are notorious for sleeping through half of their shifts. At least, the one slumped against the door of Jay’s prison was. Beneath the trademark navy blue cap, a drip of drool slid down the guard’s chin and neck. A ridiculous snore issued from his flared nostrils. Jay crept around the sleeping beauty, a silent snicker glued on his face. His captors had made it very easy for him to escape."

©Copyright Kiki O, 2009
(ish but not really, just because I don't feel like trying to publish a book that some random stranger already did because of some excerpts he found on the Internet)

I Had NO Clue...

 So before anyone thinks that I mean, a), I had no clue that I stink like a walrus(I do not stink and neither does a walrus), b), that it is hard to act sophisticated when you trip over your own feet, or c), that I only need to get two more things approved for science fair, let me explain. Okay, fine, b and c are true. But that's not what I meant. Oof I digress. Anyhoo, I had no clue that.... I actually write better than a random toddler that you pick off any random street in any random middle-of-nowhere kind of random place. (Could you say I'm random? But I digress...) Remember my "novel" Twenty Four(I actually think I'll need a better title. Mimi suggested Out of Time, but I'm not sure yet.)? Well, I haven't looked at what I've got written for almost a month, and when I read it today I was surprised that my writing was actually pretty good. Well, not phenomenal, like Kirsten Miller's, but better than the suspense-less, drab, not-making sense junk I'd always deemed it to be. Just like my teacher says, I think my work is worse than it really is.
Now I've gotta go read some other stuff. Wait, two more things.
1. Have any of you read THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins? If not, you are doing yourself a real displeasure. You really should. Also the second book, CATCHING FIRE, which I have not been fortunate enough to get my hands on yet.
2. Has anyone read Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Pit and the Pendulum?" The one where the guy is imprisoned in a dungeon with(you guessed it) a pit and a pendulum and it happens during the Spanish Inquisition? If yes, then good. If not, then bear with me. Yesterday on our evaluation(my teacher's fancy way of saying test) question number seven read, "How is a fish like a can of condensed milk?" And I thought, how does this have anything to do with pits or pendulums or the actual story? And so our teacher started walking around the room, checking out everyone's answers for number 7, and he said "no" for each one. Well by the end of the period he had everyone stumped and he collected the papers with my number seven answer being only, "A fish is like a can of condensed milk because." As soon as the last paper was in his hand, he said, "The answer to number 7 was..." then he paused, "that neither can ride a bicycle."
I'll leave you to ponder that and whether number seven will count for the grade. I can only hope not.

Long Time No See

I haven't posted for a while but I've got lots to share. That's not to say I feel like sharing them now. On account of today being a day off from school, I am feeling particularly lazy towards anything and everything I wanted to do, except working on my dog essay. So far so good. I'll post a longer one tomorrow, ok? Or maybe even later today.

Toodles!

"Dzisiaj Wielka Jest Rocznica: Jedenasty Listopada!"

Dzisiaj wielka jest rocznica:

Jedensty listopada!

Tym, co zmarli za ojczyzjne,

Hold wdiecznosci Polska sklada.

Today is a great Polish holiday. On November 11, 1918, at the end of World War I, Poland was finally free after 123 years of occupation from Russia, Austria and Germany. For over a century there was no Poland on the maps of Europe and the world, but our forefathers persevered through the hardness and although Russia and Germany tried to turn the Poles into their own people by killing or imprisoning anyone who spoke or taught or prayed in their own language, they stayed true to themselves and their culture.

That jumble of letters and words above that must seem like a mess of randomness is really the beginning of a Polish poem, roughly translated to:

Today is a great holiday:

November 11th!

For those, who died for our country,

(then this line, I'm not sure exactly, but it is saying that Poland is thankful and grateful for their freedom)

Another poem about this event, I'm not going to translate it:

Tam od Gniezna i od Warty

Bija glosy w swiat otwarty

Bija glosy, ziemia jeczy

Prusak polskie dzieci meczy!

Za ten pacierz w wlasnej mowie

Co ja zdali nam ojcowie

Co go nas uczyly matki

Prusak meczy Polskie dziadki!

Wstal na gniezdzie Orzel Bialy

Piora mu sie w blask rozwialy...

Gdzies do Boga z skarga leci...

Prusak meczy polskie dzieci.

I didn't write these poems, I'm not sure who did, but they are now part of our tradition and so beautiful I have to share even if you can't understand them. Mimi will be able to though.

Right now my Polish flag is flying proudly in the wind, hung on my balcony in the front of my house.

I am Polish, and proud of it.

Oops... my bad

Actually, it's "Freud." At least I think so.

Anyhoo, onto more recent news. Yesterday, after getting an assignment in my digital photography after-school program to photogrpah your pets(of which I have none, unless you want to count twenty decomposing fishy bodies in a make-shift burial ground that somehow lost its crosses), I went nostalgic and sad and almost cried. Because guess who was the only person there without a pet or without a close friend with a pet? If you guessed a)..... well, if a is me, then yes, you've guessed right. *sigh* So I relucxtantly decided, on a stroke of evil(but confused) genius, to photograph...drumrolll please...... THE STONE DOGGIES!! If they were not slathered in ridiculous Thanksgiving costumes then it just might work. Actually, it will because the stuff isn't on the dogs, its on the little fence. Oops, you're probably confused by now. There's a house at the end of my block with these two stone German Sheperd-like dogs(life-size) that stand(sit, actually) behind a little fence. A fence that is decorated for the holidays. Sometimes the dogs are wearing little bow ties and stuff for different holidays... but I digress. Even if I don't.

In case you don't know, I'm crazy about dogs and REALLY want one. (Visit my dog blog.) In the spring I went insane(ish) and started revolving around dogs. I started making a layout for an essay(which I stopped but now have resumed working on, its about 7 or 8 pages but still far from done), researching shelters and adoptable pets and prices and costs and vets and oh my gosh everything in between. Oh and I've collected nearly 400 bucks. Yep... what a gal'll do for some puppy love. I sold half of my favorite books but got only a measly 15 bucks. Still better than nothing. I came so close to getting a dog this summer... so close, so close. I fell in love with one little mutt, nothing more than a scruffy, plain brown pup with a wildly wagging tail. A dog lacking in a pedigree but with a heart bursting with love. A little girl, so gorgeous, my heart wanted to burst. She sang so loudly, she sang her heart out in that dirty cage in the shelter, peering out from behind the bars, sang for my mommy, but my mommy didn't care, couldn't appreciate any of her. She was perfect... I cried for so long after that. I wanted her so much, a dog to love and teach and play with. That was in June. When I came back to the shelter in July, she was gone. And all of my hopes evaporated, even though I knew that the chances for such an amazing dog to stay at the shelter for over a month were so slim, too slim.

I have to stop writing about her. Right now, I'm trying so hard not to cry again, like I did so many months ago.

All I want is a mutt

All I need...

I don't care about a pedigree or

a curly tail,

all I want is some puppy love,

a little dog to hold.

that is all,

I'm sure a lot of pups will fit my call

but they will be gone

one more thing before I go.....

I WANT A DOG!!!!!!!!!

FROID IS A DOOFUS

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with a person called "Froid"( I most likely did not spell that right) who, in case you didn't figure it out yet, is a doofus. A majorly dumb, stupid, idiotic doofus. I mean, really, what kind of person can come up with such stupidities as "once kids find out that they are either boys or girls around age seven, the girls long to be boys throughout their entire lives." REALLY, no self-respecting girl, or ANY girl for that matter, would ever dream of being a boy. When this dude lived, women had less rights, and there is no doubt that women wanted freedom like that of the men- but not a single one of them wanted to be a boy. Maybe be LIKE a boy, but not A boy. Only a guy could think of something like that! Even though some people say he was gay, 1) that does not make him like a girl, and 2) there is no way to know for sure, since when he lived you'd be killed for saying you're gay. And he came up with some other ideas that, frankly, have no evidence to support them. I mean, how would an oldish guy know what a baby is thinking when being fed by his/her mommy? And stuff like that.

*sigh, shake head and do the tsk, tsk sound, if you want to be like me at this moment*

Sorry, but my brother is taking a psycology class in high school, and apart from thinking of all the things that are wrong with me(of which there are so many they could fill and entire book) , he brings home a variety of Froid's ideas. Please, all you gals, stand up for yourselves. What kind of doofus WAS this guy.......

 

Hi

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long. My laptop died or something, so I'm on my brother computer. And since I get home late, my brother has the opportunity to get on it first and hog it till I make a fit.
Soooo... where was I. Oh yes. Halloween was AMAZING!!! My BFF Mimi came over, and I planned so much stuff, most of which didn't turn out, but we told scary stories, which was awesome. We were under a blanket, so it was pitch-black, and we had a flashlight. When we out our hands on it they turned red, and Mimi's had these weird lines that formed letters like I and Y. It was VERY scary, but turns out they were just veins.
In related news, we "stalked" five up-to-nothing-that-would-look-good-on-a-resume teenage boys who were either vandalizing, or just hanging out, my neighbors Porta-Potty and construction site. Dressed in black, with the look of delinquents(albeit good-looking delinquents), they came once when it was light, then agin when it was dark. Unforutnately our adventure ended when we were refused permission to leave our block.
Plus, we dressed up really cool, in wigs, and masks, and flashing Rudolph noses, and tried to scare people. You know that trick where you stay really still, and trick or treaters think you're a dummy(not the dumb kind, the kind stuffed with straw), then when they reach for candy, you jump out and BOO! Well, it didn't work out- we kept laughing, moving, itching, etc. The only thing we accomplished was looking like horribe comedians, or something of the sort(which I guess we might be).
How was your Halloween?