Rest in peace, Bobimus.
On Saturday morning, I held our dear rat in my hands while Jeremy busily cleaned out his cage. I didn’t know then it would be for the last time. He ate a peanut, his favorite snack, and then nestled down into my Orange Bowl sweatshirt. A short time later, he fell asleep against my palms while we waited together for Jeremy to finish.
For Bob, the rest of the day was spent arranging his fresh rags around his cage in just the way he wanted. He covered his food-bowl with one, in the way we lovingly remark as his “lazy-stashing” technique. The other two, he pulled into his purple house and fluffed, pulled and fluffed again and again, until the entire house floor was covered with comfortable, clean bedding. He left a small opening at the top of his house door, to peer out on us as we unpacked the living room whenever his curiosity arose. This was his routine.
At one point last night, Bob grew tired and slowly made his way back to his house for the last time. He curled up in a ball as he liked to do, shut his eyes and laid down for rest.
Bob was three and a half.
I'm sorry it's a little depressing for a welcome back post. I've missed you guys and there will be more (uplifting news) to come.
Labels: Bob the Rat
Nyquil and Christmas Lists
Sniffle, Sniffle
I’m sick today. Just with generic sore throat, sniffle crud, and overall being miserable. I've gotten nothing accomplished, trying to sleep and accumulating a pile of Kleenex balls on the end table near my couch. Eeew... You’ll have to forgive me for a sloppy post: I’m on serious drugs.
But I did knock out my Christmas wish list, so Sheri: you’ve been asking and it’s here. Yay! Please don’t feel the need to clear the sucker out all on your own; if my Christmas is solely comprised of the new Batman on BluRay, I’ll be ecstatic. :)
No more Ads :)
I’ve also permanently ditched Google Adsense from this blog that earned me a whopping $13 in two years. Not even enough to receive a first check. I’m replacing it with just Paypal. That way, if I get a generous-feeling reader every now and then browsing Blogger, at least I can get myself a cup of coffee at Starbucks. No minimum payout there.
Mmmm. I love coffee.
Check out my nifty new buttons on the side-bar ----------------------->
New Series Coming Thursdays on Thia Loves the Summer
I'm tired of whining about how much I miss writing. So, I'm jumping back on the horse. Here's my plan: I’m tabulating a small collection of stories I’ve written over the past 18 months or so. As an experiment, I’m going to post them here kind of like a regular series, called: Unnatural Tales, I think.
I’ve picked Thursdays as a regular posting time. I’ll do this for eight weeks and we’ll see how popular it is with ya’ll. If you like it: I’ll keep it up. If not, I’ll likely scrap it in lieu of a Sci Fi soap opera idea I’ve been tossing around for a few weeks.
I’m pretty excited about picking up writing again. I hope I’m not over-committing the amount of time I’ll need to dedicate to do it well. I’m pretty soaked up with work and studying these days.
Anyway, look for a first installment tomorrow night.
Zero progress today on MS certification exam studying today. Ugh, I hate being sick. I'm going back to bed. See you guys tomorrow.
Love ya,
-T.
Gambling Anyone? Say it ain't so!
Hmmm... Gambling is too stressful...I'm the kind of girl that can't bring myself to drop a dollar in a slot machine. Nope, can't do it. Even though I've been to Reno and Vegas a handful of times. Something about losing my hard-earned money in a few seconds of lunacy elicits my gag reflex.
And then I found CentSports (thanks, Jeremy!). A site that lets me spend other people's money... for free. Say it ain't so! That would be a dream come true to oh so stingy but wildly competitive individuals like myself. But it's true!
So if you want to
play me, I hope to see you there!
http://www.centsports.com/?opcode=300548This is how it works. CentSports funds itself through a network of advertisers, not you. So, every person starts with 10 cents to bet on any college or professional sports outcome (I lost 4 cents on Louisville today, dang it!). If you're good, and make it to $10, you're a rock star and are eligible to cash out your earnings, for yep... real money.
If you lose everything... you get to start over at 10 cents (with again no cost to you).
So, I'm not so hot yet. But I believe I can get there with some risk-free practice! And I'm also completely addicted to messaging my friends to mercilessly mock their losses (just kidding!).
Let the games begin. YAAAYYY!!
Love,
T.
P.S. Thanks Nikki, for sending me and J more pics from the wedding. Otherwise I wouldn't have this gem from the Bachelorette Party. Ah, memories :)
YouTube Impersonation #2
Hopefully, this is a last post about this issue. I've been asked how it's going.
Unfortunately, not well. BeautyIsMe911 hasn't responded to requests to remove my images from her site. And, she continues to receive death threats for her trolling, even though she knows her user base still largely believes she is me.
Here's a message I sent to her inbox this evening. Additionally, I am looking for volunteers who can be added to a witness list on my behalf. If you have witnessed this user's impersonation attempts first hand or have been otherwise victimized by this user, please consider providing me with your contact information (just an E-mail address for now) and a short description of what you have seen.
You can send this information to me privately at my YT account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/thiamichelle. I *will not* share this information with anyone beyond my legal counsel, if I choose to take action.
Thanks so much!
-T.
The following is an actual letter sent to BeautyIsMe911 todayHello,
This is a courtesy mail to alert you that you are illegally using my digital property without permission and failure to respond may result in legal action against the user in possession of the YouTube account: BeautyIsMe911.
I realize that this is the third time you have been contacted by me requesting the removal of my digital property from your site, but I have recently received legal advice that it would be advantageous to my claim if I can produce as evidence that you have been clearly notified that I have not consented to your use of my property. You have deleted my messages to this effect, so I will retain a copy of this message having been sent to your user account November 30, 2008 and will post a copy of it to my personal blog.
Copyright of photographic digital property constitutes the following:
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright.
Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
• To reproduce the work
More information about this crime can be read at:
www.copyright.gov The property in question is my image I am showing as evidence originally posted to my personal Flickr account in July 14, 2005:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux_chick/26043311/in/set-72157594174429869/ This image was illegally used by your YouTube account BeautyIsMe911 from October 2008 and is still in use today.
Further more, if you are using this account to attempt to gain revenue by intentionally leading others to believe you are the individual advertised in your site images, it is fraudulent act. I am citing the following textual examples as evidence that you are knowingly leading users to believe you are the woman captured in the stolen digital property in question.
Screenshots from your website and messages:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux_chick/3072716785/in/set-72157609184983826/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux_chick/3032863915/in/set-72157609184983826/ Also as evidence that you are intentionally leading user to believe you are the individual as advertised in your website, you have deleted all textual comments that have attempted to correctly alert your users that you are not the person in any of the images on your YouTube website.
I’ve received counsel that advised me to do the following immediately:
1) Clearly request removal of my digital property from your site in a manner that can be produced as evidence, and
2) To begin tabulating a list of witnesses on my behalf
I will begin over the upcoming weeks tabulating this list. To date, I have two volunteers that I have added to my complaint.
This letter can be considered an official notice, that unless this matter is rectified promptly, legal action may be taken against you.
Thank you for your time.
Labels: BeautyIsMe911 Copyright
YouTube Impersonation
Recognize that girl? Yep, that's because it's me. Only it isn't.
A good samaritan recognized me on Flickr and tracked me down to Facebook to let me know that a woman(?) claiming to be "Amaya" had stolen my images in hopes to bump her own traffic and was harassing other YouTubers, making racist comments and overall sucking at life (Thanks, Diana for your diligence in finding me!).
Is your head spinning, yet? Mine was.
Apparently, the user claims to be somewhat of a hair expert and enjoys calling out other users for "fashion faux pas." One of her primary victims, Ateyaa, sent me a sweet note to let me know that she hopes I sort this out, since people now know who I am and believe me to be a "mean person."
I can see that I've also received some messages on my Flicker account. So now, I'm irritated that I feel I need to write this post to defend myself. In case it isn't obvious by this point, here it is:
I am not BeautyIsMe911, and I don't know who is. The profile pic is indeed my image, but it was stolen and used without my knowledge or permission. I'm not a part of the hurtful and ignorant nonsense spewed by this user and am doing everything in my power to wrap up the matter quickly.
I've reported the user to YT, posted on her videos and even J has demanded her removal of my stolen images. Fortunately for me, from what I've read today, it looks like YT takes copyright issues fairly seriously. We'll have to wait and see.
And as much as I hate to send my traffic her way, I'm eager that together we can pressure her to do the right thing before YT takes action.
Lame!
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautyIsMe911Amaya, if you're reading this: do the right thing. It's time to own up.
Labels: BeautyIsMe911, biracial, thiamichelle, YouTube Impersonation
The End of Our Pregnancy
Warning:
First thing’s first. I’m sorry for spending so long away, only to return with this downer of a post. I regret that it will be anything but uplifting, so I apologize and invite you to NOT read any further.
After I wrote this, I debated about whether I should even post it. But, I found other women’s stories so comforting, even if they were just venting that I decided to throw it on here for the world to judge. Who knows? Maybe someone will come across it Googling and hopefully walk away feeling a little less alone.
So, here’s what I wrote. It’s unedited, so be warned…
Yesterday
Yesterday, I wondered if I should be writing all this down. That if things did not work out like we hoped things would, if I would look back on yesterday’s moment and somehow be envious.
The thought was ridiculous at the time, I was so rapt with worry about the future of our unborn that any news (yes, even the most terrible of news) would have been a relief. Anything else I may have felt, I can’t remember now.
Today, I wish I could write all the things that yesterday I couldn’t bear to. But, I’m unable to grasp anymore the optimism that I used to cling onto: that everything might work out okay and the baby might somehow make it through this pregnancy.
The Miscarriage
I knew it was all ending, and soon. I sat on the toilet with the balls of my feet and palms of my hands against the tile floor. I was sweating and I wondered if I was going to throw up. There was pain. And with the pinching, everything in my body betrayed me and worked to expel our precious little one.
When it was over, I gripped the shower curtain beside me and sobbed.
Suspecting this would happen for nearly two weeks, didn’t really help. Knowing that 20% of all pregnancies end this way didn’t help. I was devastated.
I couldn’t speak. Crumpled on the floor, it took me almost an hour to tell J what happened.
Today
Aside from the bleeding, nothing in particular is different about today. An hour ago, I washed my face and looking in the mirror, I started to put on my make up. The routine should’ve felt more familiar than it did. It's after all just another day, but I was surprised that with all that had happened, I appeared totally unchanged.
But everything had changed. I looked down at my flat tummy, knowing it would never grow and grew angry. I wanted to yell at it: 'What's so wrong with you that you couldn't keep the baby!? You look fine! You're not sick!'
It’s utterly impossible not to feel that you’ve failed in some terrible and very fundamental way.
I must’ve aged a thousand years today.
-T.
Labels: miscarriage, pregnancy
Do Democrats Have Too Much Pride?
See how happy they look? Why can't we learn the value of good comradeship like these two? *sigh*
Democrats are... Defectors?
Now, I'm a Democrat and am probably going to catch all kinds of crap for this.
Let me begin with saying that I'm a Hillary supporter. Yep, I felt the sting last Tuesday when I watched her campaign chances all but dwindle down to zero. I'm still donating on my recurring campaign automated schedule and I'm behind her as long as she's in it (and today, it sounds like she is definitely in it to stay). But, I'm not in complete denial that pending a miracle, she's about done.
Okay, fine. So, it sucks... but we don't always get what we want. When/if she’s counted out, I'll give myself a couple weeks to sulk, then I'll start buying Obama buttons.
A significant number of us seem to disagree. I felt a wave of genuine nausea last Tuesday at a polling statistic touted by MSNBC. Only 48% of Indiana and North Carolina Hillary supporters would support Obama in the election should she lose. Less than half?!
If Obama wins, nationally, 28% of Hillary supporters will vote... McCain?! Obama supporters are a
little better at 19%.
Today, that number is up to almost 50%, with only 34% of West Virginian Hillary supporters willing to support Obama in the national election should he win the nomination.
What’s the deal? This is beyond Obama's image getting muddied over Hillary throwing a little dirt.
And it’s bigger than a demographic.
I am so tired of hearing that Hillary supporters are uneducated racists. I’m a college graduate, twenty-something minority female engineer. I’m sure that Hillary has a few bigots in her clan, probably as many sexists that have flocked to Obama. But I digress.
It's a Simple Question of Policy, Right?
When it comes down to policy, it’s a struggle to find any two serious candidate contenders more aligned than Hillary and Barack.
We’re saying (and by we, I mean Democrats), that after our self-professed general political alignment with the Democratic ideals, if we lose Hillary, we’d opt to prolong/send
more the war and make Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy permanent?!
Either, we haven’t been paying close attention to what Hillary plans to do in the White House, or something else is going on.
I’m going with door #2… and I think it’s pride.
We Need to Swallow It Down
We can all take a lesson from
Alanis on this one. Why? Because we absolutely
can lose this Presidential election if we don't get it together.
Some of us have been very invested in the campaigns and have listened to all the speeches. We think Obama is just great, (really, we think he's a nice guy). But we just aren’t convinced he would make as strong of a President compared with Hillary. Over time, that perception of him as “motivational,” “great” and all-round nice guy has become tainted. It’s probably not even Obama’s fault.
It’s the same reaction that happens when we see an evangelist on the street corner holding up a sign reading: “Jesus loves you.” Even fellow Christians cringe and cross the street.
See, no one likes to be preached to (in fact, by now, you're probably already growing sick of my rant), and there are a lot of Obama (and yes, I know, Hillary) zealots out there touting their candidate as the holy messiah to save us from all things unhappy.
I've felt it, too.
But, at the end of the day, I hope I can take a deep breath and realize that it’s the reason this dang nomination is dragging out so long: it’s hard for us to choose between two strong candidates.
And, our country needs a Democrat to clean up our current mess/disaster that Republicans seem to be in denial about. If Hillary doesn’t make it, Obama can and will be an excellent choice. The nominee is going to need our support.
So, if it’s pride (and I think it is), how do we fix it by November?
Comments? Leave them below.
On to other stuff...
I Was Dugg, Yay!
It's not a significant accomplishment compared with any serious blogger (I got a whopping 10 and 4 for two articles here). And it'll probably never happen again, but I was excited enough to add the Digg widgets to my blog.
So, now, I can be more easily mocked when I all my subsequent post diggs sit at zero :)
Donate, today to
HillaryClinton.comLabels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, West Virginia
