Cute! In a foamy kind of way...

Or as it was to be titled, "In which I battle the bloodsuckers!"
But the new title is much more catchy... Don't ya think?


Today was the day I was going to keep my word and go get blood drawn. I'm not going to lie and say I was excited, or even willing to go, but it was just one of those things that needed to be done. Besides, I couldn't suppress my curiosity at what my NP was looking for. She scheduled tests for me that made the tech sigh and express her impatience with those little known diseases she needs to search for in the computer's database.
I arrived at the office relatively early and burst through the double doors to face my challenge. Actually it was more like easing them open with great force since they were automatic and apparently protesting against neurotic youths in a hurry (I'd protest too if one side of me was perpetually freezing from Air Conditioning and the other half was baking under summer sunlight). I got into the queue of nervous looking elderly people and waited my turn to be sapped. Fortunately my Gerbil got a day off and could join me there to keep my hands busy signing until my time was up and I was called into one of the little gray padded cubicles of mental anguish. It seems like time flies and I actually enjoy the wait when I'm using ASL with someone. It's my secret calming weapon and as usual it worked. Then my name was called. I stood up bravely, turned to face the life-fluid removal technician, and in a strong clear voice, asked if Gerbil could come too. She snickered and accepted the extra audience member.
For someone who has donated blood and been pricked a number of times recently, I get insanely nervous when it comes time to have more blood drawn. Something about it just makes my insides feel like they're squirming in an unnatural and mildly disturbing way. The only redeeming part about having blood drawn is that it always goes relatively quickly. Usually. Suffice to say that it wasn't my best blood draw ever and there better be some good news at the other end of it or they're getting a strongly worded letter.
After my brave moment for the week I felt... Well... Drained. Drained and downright bitchy. I hadn't had any coffee or food all morning and my closest friends all know that means "RAWR!" So the intelligent ones supply me quickly with nourishment. Gerbil is one of the bright ones and got me some nice icy coffee from a little coffee shop near by. He probably saved his life. And it was a darn good coffee.
When my hostility had been appeased we set off to find someplace to hang out and ended up by the local fish ladder. There was a lot of people there enjoying the view and talking with their friends. We found a nice shaded picnic table and settled down to watch the ducks nearby. Or at least I started watching the ducks nearby, but as usual ended up watching the people as they passed, and then one particular person who didn't pass, but sat at a picnic table across from ours. He was probably in his mid-sixties and was alternating between consuming large chunks of a pastry from Dunkin Donuts and large mouthfulls of cigarette smoke. He was paying attention to neither, but rather staring out at the water or absentmindedly eyeing the people strolling by. Usually people who sit like that for hours look the part. They always seem to have some reason for being there. Perhaps they're waiting for a friend, or remembering a friend who sat beside them. Maybe they're retired and bored, homeless or crazy, happy, sad, content, nervous and so on. But this was a pretty healthy looking man who was well dressed and had nice sunglasses. It wasn't lunch time yet, but wasn't really breakfast so unless he worked somewhere with amazing cigarette breaks he probably wasn't working. His posture wasn't dejected or listless, and it wasn't quite upright. So what led him to sit next to a river on this particular day? Why did he sit so near people if he wanted to be alone, but give a hands-off vibe when someone happened his way?
Things like this always interest me, and on a different day I may have ventured over to mention the weather to him just to see the reaction. But today I let him keep his peace (or lack thereof) and reluctantly said 'see you later' to Gerbil and headed off to work.

I bet at this point (if you're still reading) you're pretty much about to give up on the foamy part, right? Well hang in there!

Shortly after returning home there was a bit of a commotion up by the hen house. Not made by the hens mind you, but by my mom who swore she saw something on four legs moving by the yard. I'll admit, I had my doubts. After all, the hens were quiet and they start up at nothing. I learned today that means they don't start up if it actually is something, since on closer observation...


Prepare for an "awwww" moment...

This baby raccoon was out by the chickens. They didn't care one cluck about the masked marauder and kept on scratching for bugs. The raccoon however did care about them, though I think he was so young he didn't know why just yet. Hopefully he was so young that the fact he was out in broad daylight is forgivable as opposed to a sign of a scary illness. A person just can't deny that face as adorable though. Chicken eater or not. So wherever it is, I wish it good luck and good health.

The evening was wrapped up with my grandparents coming over for dinner, a great detailed discussion of my workplace and a most awesome toad I found on the steps while walking Gerbil to his car:

After saying goodnight to my human companion I raced in the house and snagged Mom's camera, then ran back out to stalk my prey. Unfortunately it was dark by that point and I almost gave up on finding him again, but then my finger rested on the capture button and an amazing thing happened! A small red light came on and illuminated a small section of the ground in a very convenient manner! I used the light and came across the toad in hardly any time at all. Unfortunately he was covered by the low growing bushes and grass in that spot of the garden. This called for drastic measures. After all, I'm a blogger now right? And bloggers need pictures. But no matter how many times I reminded him of this, he kept burrowing further and further into the undergrowth and was in serious danger of vanishing completely without ever making a debut online. That was a tragedy that could not occur, so over the railing I went in search of the toad. It wasn't as disturbing as I thought to watch my feet and ankles get swallowed by the dark green foliage, and honestly I was so wrapped up in the hunt that I almost completely ignored the prickers I found myself in. There were multiple attempts to corral the toad and eventually one method worked and I lifted him up and over to the mowed lawn to photograph him. I can't find his name anywhere. If anyone knows the type of toad this is please let me know! He's very cool and was reasonably good natured about having his picture taken.

Now it is late, and tomorrow is another day to try and find something interesting to write about. I could get used to this blogging thing. :)
Night!