Cinco de Mayo

It's Cinco de Mayo and absolutely nothing going on here. I went to the gym last night, did another 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 on the elliptical, skipped the stairmaster, but worked on the stupid ball (why am I the only one who falls off that damn thing?) and did some ab work.

I am having the damnedest time following knitting patterns for the past week. I got about halfway through this one project yesterday during the BBB's meeting and then had to rip it all out as something was wrong. *sigh* And then after I got a bit done last night I figured out that I did something wrong again. ARGH!!!! It's ticking me off as this pattern is NOT hard. I need to give in and place a marker so I know which is the Right Side from the Wrong Side as I'm sure that's my problem. There are only two rows in this pattern and you'd think I'd keep it straight, but I apparently can't. Dumbshit that I am.

This weekend will be one of those hectic ones. Friday morning I'm going to the gym to get my Friday workout in, will be attending the 12:00 yoga class for the first time in damn near two months and then race home, shower, and then pile into my car with an overnight bag and head to Mom's work. We all (Mom, YS and me) will then head up to lovely Mt. Pleasant (from what I understand MP is not really pleasant or lovely) for YS's graduation Saturday morning at 9:30. Can you imagine??? I will have knitting to keep myself awake and somewhat interested during the commencement address.

Update on Stalker Asshole: He did walk past my desk again yesterday, but I was intent on my computer screen (legitimately) and he walked by and didn't say a word. Today I have a meeting when he'll be doing his thing, so I won't have to worry about it today. Next Stalker Report won't be until Monday. And if this is just his usual lunch routine (he fucking strolls, people, so this can't be an exercise thing, actually, I would call it slower than a stroll…what is slower than a stroll?), I wish he would change his route.

It's sad that normally this time of year, I'd be whole hog into the NHL playoffs, but there was no NHL this year. I should be ranting and raving about whatever happened in last night's game and bitching about Kerry Fraser and his ridiculous brand of officiating and wondering why the Red Wings keep drawing the ever-shitty Steve Walkom and Rob Shick as referees. And would Bill McCreary regain his 2002-2003 form when he was the best (read: fair) ref in the league, unlike 2003-2004 when I actually reached the point where I was hoping to see Fraser? It was a crazy 2003-2004 season.

And if there were hockey, Stephane Provost, a linesman with the NHL, might not have died two days ago because he probably wouldn't have been on a motorcycle. But if he had, I would have known about it before this. I only went to the website to check out some facts, and there it was. So sad. So young.

I still think that the owners need to fire Gary Bettman (PLEASE, DEAR GOD, PLEASE) and the Players' Association needs to fire Bob Goodenow, as it seems that the only time the two sides made any sort of progress was when their underlings were doing the talking. These two hate each other and refuse to give in to anything. FIRE THEM, for God's sake, JUST FIRE THEM! Gary Bettman has done nothing to improve the game since he was hired to be the commissioner. He got rid of all of the history of the game, i.e., The Clarence Campbell Conference with the Norris and Smythe Divisions vs. the Prince of Wales Conference with the Adams and Patrick Divisions, and replaced it with the mind-numbingly boring (if descriptive, kind of, considering that Detroit is in the Eastern Time Zone, but the Western Conference which means that we just get screwed during playoffs when the team has to fly across three time zones to get to their next game and all of Detroit is up way past their bedtimes to watch games that start at 10:30 p.m.) Eastern and Western Conferences with the Southeast, Blah Blah Blah Divisions. I mean, really!!! Why would you get rid of the history of the game???? That still pisses me off. For that reason alone, I'd dearly love to smack Mr. Bettman upside his pointed head and then send him back to friggin' basketball. (BTW, Go PISTONS!!!)

I'm pretty damn excited as I just opened my Detroit Zoo Member Newsletter and there was official confirmation that we're getting rhinos!!!! I believe that they're going to use the old Elephant Exhibit for the new rhinos, which we aren't getting until next year. We haven't had any rhinos since they put Rudy to sleep back in December 2001 at the age of 49. He had been the oldest living rhino in captivity, as most only live into their 30s.. As rhinos are the absolutely coolest, I'm geeked!!! It's been sad for me to visit the zoo these past few years and see any rhinos. Rudy used to have a small exhibit right next to the elephants but a number of years back they put him way over in the back of the zoo (up from the prairie dogs) and opened up the area to give Wanda and Winky, the elephants, more room. Now that the Detroit Zoo has shipped W&W off to the PAWS animals shelter in California where they can wander in grass and trees all day long, a much better option than our cold Detroit winters and our better-than-the-hideous-AZA recommended one acre exhibit, we can put the rhinos back where they belong, once we get them.

My favorite Rudy story happened while I was living in SF (so sometime between 1996 & early 2000). Some mentally disturbed young man managed to climb into Rudy's enclosure, and if I remember correctly, it was at night. Thankfully Rudy was so old that he just didn't care and nothing happened to the man, except that I think he got the help he needed. I remember that people were thankful that that was the enclosure he chose and not the lions or the tigers.

Other than that, the good news is that the Yankees are sucking canal water this year and if they lose tonight (let's hope and keep our fingers crossed that they do) they'll be in last place, which should send George Steinbrenner into apoplectic fits.