Ode to California

I love California. That is my proclamation for the day. I went down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today and had so so so much fun. I took highway 1 down to Monterey and the drive was beautiful. Beautiful beaches. Farms by the shore. Sand dunes, trees, and fields. What else could a girl ask for?

Of course, I went down to Monterey for the aquarium and it definitely did not disappoint. I've been wanting to go there for months, just so that I can feel like a kid again and be mesmerized by the crazy jellyfish (my favorite exhibit!).

Sea anemones!

Jellyfish!

Anemones, looking like trees from another planet!

Birds through a peephole!

Sunset!
(If you can't tell, I was very excited about my day.)

Of course, like always, you can find more pictures at my flickr page.

Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space

Finally, pictures from my hike with my dogs.

Can you spot all 3 little doggies?
This is my fatty Lucy, who would stop and lie down at every shady spot along the way. She really believed that I was torturing her for something she did wrong.

The cows! Well, this is only one cow, but I just like the picture.
That's it. It wasn't a particularly pretty hike, just lots of dry grass, a big hill, a couple of dogs, and a few cows. All in a Saturday morning.

Weekend jaunt

I went on a hike through some open space near my parents' home today and took the 3 dogs with me. At first, I was only going to take one, but then my dad said taking only one would make the others jealous. So I took all 3.

In my hike, my dogs' personalities really shone through.

Lucy, the obese non-Pomeranian (my brother is convinced she's a German Spitz) would get into this pattern of laying down at every shady spot (not many on the way up) and looking at me like I'm torturing her.

Jackson, the timid one, got lost. Actually, I lost him when I turned onto a smaller trail and didn't check to make sure I had all 3 dogs. About a hundred yards later, realized I only had two dogs and had to go back, only to find him at the fork in the road looking really confused.

And Princess, who was a trooper throughout the hike and kept our path clear of cows. Every once in awhile, she'd run far ahead and I would lose her for a second. Then, when I would come up on her, I see a cow off to the side of the trail. Too bad she couldn't make sure our path was also clear of cow poopies.

Pictures on the way.

What about pigs?

There's been a whole bunch of controversy surrounding the whole, "lipstick on a pig" statement by Senator Obama. Here are my two cents: I think that it was mistaken by the Republicans, to think that he was referring to Governor Palin (I really doubt Senator Obama really meant to refer to Palin as a pig). Whether the Republicans really believe that Obama meant to call Palin a pig is another argument altogether. Either way, I think that it's dismissive of Obama to just say that he thinks the Republicans are just creating a sandstorm when there is no sand - I think he should just apologize for any misperception (but not for the statement) and move on. Why is it to hard to say "I'm sorry" in politics? Understandably, but saying you're sorry, there's a perception that you're admitting guilt - but we have been taught (or at least we in medicine have been taught) that this is not true and that it's simply an acknowledgment of the other party's feelings.

Oh well. I think pigs are getting the short end of the stick. Really, I hear pigs are really intelligent creatures. That's exactly why I cannot befriend a pig - then I won't be able to eat pork ever in my life.

Homo canines

I'm at my parents' home, which explains the blog posts and the frequent email-checking (yeah, still no internet at home) and as I'm doing some late-night work on the computer, I hear some snoring in the background. It's not some small snore, as you would expect from my small dogs, but rather a big snore, as you'd expect from a grown human. Of course, it's from one of my small dogs, albeit the largest of the small dogs (coming in at a whopping 16 pounds). Yeah, she probably has the canine equivalent of obstructive sleep apnea secondary to her obesity. You gotta love dogs.

Hypochondriasis

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a bit of a hypochondriac. Seriously. I had recurrent chest pain for a week and convinced myself I was having angina, only to find out I had costochondritis, which is just an inflammation of the cartilage in your ribs. So, after a 5+ hour bus ride to and from Mammallapuram, I have a souvenir that has lasted me 3 days. First, it was the sore throat. Then, the extreme exhaustion (to the point where, after taking a nap and waking up thirsty, I was too tired to roll over and get a drink of water from the water bottle sitting beside my bed). Then, the muscle aches and slight fevers. And now, the sneezing, coughing, and runny nose. I think in the last few days, I convinced myself that I had bird flu, dengue fever, and tuberculosis.

So, that's my long excuse for not updating this blog in the last few days. I apologize, and promise to be better about it, if I am feeling better.

On the other hand, Mammallapuram was wonderful. It's a small beach town just a little south of Chennai and is famous for its temple carvings. It was nice, especially to get out of Vellore, but to tell you the truth, I think Angkor Wat spoiled me in terms of temple carvings and nothing else can compare (much like when people ask if the beaches are nice and I can say they're "ok" because Hawaii has ruined it for me).

Also, I am getting used to living in Vellore. I have yet to really venture into town, which was my goal this week, but I have been so exhausted and lazy. I still have 2+ weeks, so that can wait.

Oh, a note on the wildlife here on the campus - it's amazing. There are bats, a dozen varities of butterflies, another dozen varieties of ants, a mongoose (maybe?), monkeys, many varieties of birds, geckos, lizards, and who knows what else I can't see. It's pretty amazing though. The coolest thing has to be the bats, especially at dusk, when you look up to the sky and you realize the black spots are not birds, but giant bats (wingspan of about 18 inches).

And thank you to everyone who has commented on my blog in email and on the blog... I really appreciate it!

Sunrise, sunset

For the last few days, I have been in the delta region, celebrating the lunar new year with my relatives (Chuc Mung Nam Moi, as we say in Vietnam!). Being in the delta, away from the city, means a different pace of life. I get up at sunrise, not by choice, but because everyone and their dog gets up at this time. Then, go to bed at an ungodly early hour (9:30 last night). You start off the day with breakfast, a walk around the market or neighborhood, and then sit and shoot the breeze with whomever is around. Then, lunch! After lunch, you take your obligatory nap and then shoot the breeze with whomever is around. Then, dinner! Again, shoot the breeze with whomever is around, and it's bedtime! Throw in a few showers here and there and you have my day for the last few days.

Oh, but a change of pace was staying up until midnight to watch the fireworks (a rather disappointing ten-minute show):

Other things that got thrown into the heap:

• Take pictures - lots of them. Apparently it's a new year tradition to take family pictures so I did that with my dad's side one day, and my mom's side another day.
• Go into an orchard of "mang" - which are these red fruits, crunchy and juicy like an apple, but almost tasteless. Actually quite addicting.
• Go to the museum, where I learned (as much as I could by "reading" the Vietnamese placards) about the history of Vinh Long province (where I am right now and where my family is from), what animals reside here (apparently lots of fish - makes sense, it's a delta, after all), and what people live here (turns out there are a good number of ethnic minorities here).

Oh, I did get to ride an ostrich. Yeah, an ostrich. Apparently, not as hard as you'd think it would be.

Tet flower festival

Tonight, I went to the flower festival, across from the New World Hotel and it was beautiful. So many flowers, some in the thousands of dollars! Totally outrageous, but totally fun to "window shop." I love Tet here - it's so much fun and so beautiful. It's also not outrageously hot outside, so it's bearable during the day (though the night is so much more comfortable).

So, these fish are actually from another flower festival, but they sure are ugly. And yes, the gold one is swimming vertically. Apparently, they're stupid as well.

Creatures of Maine

Can you spot the two moose? Or are they mooses? Or meese?

I just had to put up a few pictures of all 4 little babies.

Bad news

So, I got some bad news today and my response totally took me by surprise. Recently, my parents took in another dog (making the grand total 4 dogs and puppies on the way). However, my brother told me last night that one of the dogs was in the vet hospital because he couldn't move his legs. Turns out that the innocent doggie ate rat poison, on accident, at its previous owner's house (we only had him for one week) and eventually had to be put down last night.

When I called my dad this afternoon, I completely lost it. I started crying and my nose started running. And this is a dog that my parents have had for a week and one that I've never even met! But I think what made me respond so emotionally was the fact that the dog had suffered for a week because of the rat poison he had ingested.

So, a warning to all to make sure you don't have any poison around the house - where pets or children can accidentally ingest it.

pictures!

Each mark on the upperside of the ruler is one inch. The dark one hits just about the three inch mark.

puppies!

5 puppies!!!! And she even waited until I came back to give birth to them!!!!

PICTURES...