These Great States

Or something similar.

We just got back from a driving trip to South Carolina. I have a lot of stuff I want to share that I wrote down on the drive, but here are a couple.

First, if you want to see if you can stand being married to some one, spend 12+ hours alone in a car with them. I think Paul Rieser once said that's marriage at high speed. Seriously, you realize how different you are when you spend that much time together.

Second, I think I have figured out the directional issues. It has to do with every one's complete lack of manners in general. Fuckers don't realize that there are people on the road that can't read your mind. Contrary to popular belief. And it's not localized to one state, it's fucking everywhere.

Last, if you are vegan and travel, make sure you fucking plan.

Have a great day. And word to your moms.

What the Fuck?

Seriously. I made the mistake of going out in public again today. We're leaving on vacation tomorrow and driving, so I wanted to make sure I had some food to eat. It's relatively nice here (like 50 degrees or so) and I made the mistake of thinking that people would be out doing fun things in the nice weather.

I was completely wrong. Everyone was shopping today. I would have to assume that it has something to do with Easter tomorrow. No manners, kids fucking running everywhere, and throngs of people wandering aimlessly. I know I am going to sound like a cranky old lady, and that's fine but what the fuck is going on with kids? If I behaved the way I see most kids behaving, I would have been taken to the car slung over my mom's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I am not sure what's happening, if creating free thinking kids is just leading to a general lack of respect or if parents just don't give a fuck anymore.

Another thing...stop wishing me a happy fucking Easter. The blind assumptions are really starting to piss me off.

**for all the parents I know reading this blog, I'm not talking about you!**

The good news is I am going skating outside today so that may improve my mood. I hope. I also may be getting my tattoo touched up, but we're working on that.

Pretty much, the vast majority of you can fuck off today.

Love, Love, Kiss, Kiss.

Odd

So the step-kid is going to Hawaii. D and I didn't so much agree with this decision, but we often don't have much of a say. We think that she is too young but she's checking in every day, so it could be worse. With text messaging and cell phones and face book and everything else, I am sure she'll be fine.

My point is last week we went to her high school to watch them perform what they will be performing in Hawaii. I always feel so completely out of place at DE's events. I am a little younger than most of the parents, but it's more than that. It's very hard to explain, but it's a constant reminder of how constantly out of place that I feel.

They played a couple of songs. I don't remember most of them, but I remember they played Holiday by Green Day. Then the band did a tribute to each of the Armed Forces, playing each of the branches fight songs (I don't know if that's what they are called) and having all vets from each branch stand when the song is played. Now I know Green Day isn't even close to being punk or anarchist or even that cool. BUT - and there is always a but - they have come out very anti-war, very anti-Bush, and very anti-government in general. I have to wonder if the parents even knew what they were clapping along too. I wonder if the kids' instructor realized what he had done.

More importantly, I wonder if any one but me cared.

Risotto

Risotto is my new dream food.

If you are vegan and you don't know how to make this, do it. Now. It looks hard and some times people make it out to be worse than it seems. I know the dude on Hell's Kitchen is always yelling at the contestants because they wrecked the risotto. I think the key is not to have too much going on at once. It's a lot of pouring and stirring, so if you were cooking a main dish or other food, it could get dicey.

I made a very easy version, combining a couple of recipes. It was a very basic garlic, mushroom, and onion risotto. What I liked about the risotto was, for lack of a classier term, the creaminess. It was the best comfort food I have ever had. It reminds me a little of a hash brown casserole that I used to love before I was vegan. I would have taken a picture of it, but I ate it all.

Risotto. Do it. Now.

Broken Vegan Record

I can't even believe I am going to type this but fish don't grow on trees.

Green Bay has a very large Catholic population. It's lent. So there are people that give up things for the period of lent and of course, don't eat meat on Fridays. Again, I am not sure where we have gone wrong. Last I heard fish still have brains, nervous systems, and a blood stream. I am pretty sure that those describe and animal and not a vegetable.

I started to wonder how this tradition came about. I understand the fasting and giving up luxurious thing, sacrifice, and blah blah blah. What I don't understand is how fish suddenly ended up in the mix. I did what every good blogger does and looked it up on the interwebs. I found a couple of different answers at this website. The actual Code of Canon law says abstinence of meat and doesn't actually define meat. Another answer said that it was easier and less expensive to fish than it was to own and butcher cattle. This mean that the rich were eating "poor" food, thus sacrificing.

I also remember reading something about how the Catholic Church had many followers who earned a living fishing. When it was clear if the fishermen weren't making money, then the church wouldn't make bank, the Pope or God or some one decided fish was okay on Fridays. This way the followers had more money to give to the Church. I can't find much documentation on this, but I am reading a Howard Zinn book, so maybe I'll come back to it.

My point (I think) is that the entire building smells like fucking fish on Friday afternoons. I hate it when people assume I am not eating meat because I am Catholic. Twice I had people tell me the Tuna Casserole was delish and I would probably love something because "of that weird way you eat". (FTR - Tuna casserole has made me ill since about the time I was five. Fucking Gross)

Fucking clueless.

Cats...I know right?

An issue has been under my skin lately. It has to do with the large amount of cats in shelters and the large number of cats that are killed in shelters, simply because no on wants them. In fact, I have heard that most shelters will immediately put any cat not using it's litter box to sleep. Again, this is something that I have heard and it is probably impossible to find statistics to back this up.

A lot of the reason that a cat may not use the litter box is completely preventable. Most cat behavior problems are fixable if not preventable. A lot of people declaw cats as an order of convenience. In fact, I have heard people ask "Why does this cat still have it's claws?" as if after a certain age, the claws just fall off. (I will admit that I ask why dogs aren't spayed or neutered if I notice).

Here's the deal. Declawing cats (or the medical term onychectomy) is not just a removal of the claw. It is the removal of the entire first digit of the toe. The Paw Project is an organization in CA that is dedicated to stopping the mutilation of cats. They give a pretty detailed explanation of the declaw procedure. (I do understand that this will be biased, but shit, so am I). Another website that outlines this information is Cats International.

Here's what gets me: Declawing a cat is simply a convenience measure for the owner. I have literally heard people say "Well, I'd rather have that then have them scratching me (the furniture, the walls, etc)". This floored me. Sometimes I am still surprised at the lack of compassion that people have for companion animals.

I think that cats have it worse. So often cats are portrayed as not fun, serious pets, and assholes in general. If you have ever seen a playful kitten, you know this isn't true. I suspect that people who want a "low maintenance pet" adopt a cat. And in many ways a cat is more self sufficient than a dog, but they still may need attention. They may need training. They need vet care (YES even if they are inside all the time). Cats definitely need to be spayed or neutered.

Love your cats please.

Another Questionable Commercial

I have been off work the past couple of days. This means that I have been watching entirely too much tv. Which means that I am seeing a lot of commercials.

The one that is currently driving me insane is for a product called FurReal Friends. I must warn you when you access this, it's scary. I wasn't aware that this product line had so many different options. I understand the theory behind these toys. In fact, I am pretty sure that if you consider one of these for your children, you should never have a live companion animal.

Here's what disturbs me. Hasbro has the Farm Animal Line. I do have to say that I am thrilled that there isn't a cow or a chicken, but a pig? Come on. What do you say to your children. Okay, you can name this piggy Babe, but in about a year we'll have him for Giftmas dinner? I really struggle with the logic behind this. And what's with the fucking parrots? I have never seen those in a barn. Maybe it's a tropical farm?

Lastly, this country already has a very disposable mentality when it comes to companion animals. I have actually heard people say "Oh, my dog was a purebred so when it ran away, we weren't too worried". I have heard this more than once. I also love "The dog kept running off, so we decided not to go looking". Leash any one? I was making a point. Oh yeah, I hope that toys like this don't increase this countries apathy towards companion animals (well, animals in general). I would love to see toys that encouraged children to take responsibility for the companion animals in their life.