Star Trek

When I was a kid I used to stand in the basement and just look at the shelves. They were filled with book after book after book covering a lot of the available wall space. My dad loved science fiction, and he loved science fiction novels. Sometimes he bought two or three books at a time, and many of them he didn't even get a chance to read. He told me once that he'd read them when he retired. Well, he didn't make it that far. He died several years ago, and those books were left unopened. I couldn't help but feel sad and wonder which books he had on his retirement-to-do list. I was pretty sure that high on that list, if not already read, were his Star Trek novels. My dad was a fan.

When VCRs became somewhat reasonably priced in the late 70s or early 80s my dad bought one. It was absolutely huge compared to VCRs these days, but that was OK because so were TVs. That first VCR we owned was part silver and part fake-wood, but all plastic. It was a spring powered top-loader that made you think you'd lose a finger if you were too close when the 'eject' button was pressed. With all this advanced technology, I think the feature Dad used most was the remote. It had only one function - it let you pause while playing or recording. Best of all it was connected to the VCR with a 12 foot wire. With that VCR and the high-tech remote, Dad was no longer collecting Star Trek books - he was collecting Star Trek episodes.

I must have been around 10 or 11 years old when Dad started recording Star Trek off the CBC every weekend. We'd watch it as he recorded it, careful to pause recording during the commercials. I remember a few times he'd entrust me to man the remote, and more than once or twice he'd try to hide his disappointment when he realized I had paused it for the commercials, but forgot to unpause it when they were over. He was never upset about it though, because he knew it would be on again in the future.

As the time went by and we got more cable channels Star Trek seemed to be on more frequently until eventually Dad had every episode, mostly in order, with commericals edited out. During that time, my sister and I (and even my mom - although probably reluctantly) watched a lot of Star Trek.

When the newer Star Trek series came out like The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, Dad recorded them too. Soon he had to put up more shelves in the basement to hold all the VHS tapes.

He told me that despite the newer special effects in the new episodes, he still preferred the original series. He said that the characters of Kirk, Spock, and Bones made the show for him. He loved their personalities, interactions and relationships. I always preferred that series as well, in no small part due to the fact that I saw most of them with my dad.

When I found out they were making a new Star Trek movie, I was excited. I was even more excited to hear that they were bringing back the original crew, my dad's favorites. Some people were upset that they were using younger actors to play these iconic roles , but I didn't care. Afterall, my dad said it was the characters that made the show great, and I think he was right. My excitement over the new movie was tempered though. I couldn't help thinking that Dad would have loved to have been around to see it, and I would have gone with him.

That got me thinking. I still remember the day he took me to the first Star Trek movie, and I still remember the solemn look on his face when Spock died in The Wrath of Khan (I cried, by the way). It just didn't feel right to me, to go see this movie without him. It just seemed like something I should be doing with my dad, so I had an idea.

I asked my family; Mom, Jenn and her husband Nick, and of course Heather to save May 8th for me so that we could all go see this movie together. I picked up the tickets last week, and I got one extra. When we chose our seats in the theatre, we left an empty one in the middle of our group. I like to think that is where Dad would have sat if he could have made it. Dad would have loved that movie if he had been there, I know I did. Even better, it just felt special to me, having bought him a seat and surrounding it with his loved ones.

I wish you had been there Dad, it was a good time. We all thought about you and missed you.

Dad's ticket

P.S. Thanks to Heather, Mom, Nick and Jenn for adhering to my strict timetable, seat preferences and seating plan. It was perfect.

Plenty of Fish

I was very angry at plentyoffish.com for a while, but I've decided to look past our differences because it is free. It was extremely frustrating to have my profile deleted on a consistent basis, but so far I've been online with them for over a year without any trouble. Normally I'd probably want to take a stand and refuse to use a service who would delete profiles just because they are transgendered but, like I said, it is free. For those interested, I did find out from an administrator that it isn't PoF policy to delete transsexuals on sight, but it is their policy to delete all profiles that generate even one complaint. So, even though I have been enjoying the site for a while now without incident, all it takes is one complaint from one devout christian, and my "offensive" profile will be deleted. Until then, I'll just continue checking my mail each week.

Do you drink? Socially Marital Status: Single Profession: Programmer Smarts: Some college Hi there, thanks for checking out my profile but before you read any further, I'd like to make sure you know that I am a transgender woman (if you have any questions about that please ask). Other than that though, I'm just your average woman that likes to drink slurpees too fast and sleep too late in the mornings. I love to spend an evening in a coffee shop or out for dinner, (occasionally I like to go out for some drinks too) but mostly I'm a homebody. I am a smart, funny 35 year old who is looking for a smart local guy who likes to hang out, likes computers and the outdoors, and can make me laugh me with jokes containing 80's pop culture references.

My offensive profile on PlentyofFish.com

(clearly it hasnt been updated recently.

I wish I was still 35).

I don't go on PoF frequently, maybe once a week. It is fun to peruse the letters I am sent while I eat some lunch. Normally it is all the same old thing. I think I've mentioned before that I should keep a record of my responses so I can just paste them into new conversations instead of retyping it each time. For the most part I'd only need to keep a master list of 5 or 6 responses because I'd say 95% of people ask the same things with very little variation. The remaining 5% is a bit more unpredictable.

Usually the remaining 5% send me messages of an extreme vulgar nature that leave me speechless. For example, last week a guy named Mike said, "I am tired of trying to ask you out nicely that hasnt seemed to work, so _________" He said a number of rude and vulgr things about what he wants to do to me, then followed it with ,"Interested?"

Messages like this don't even deserve a response.

Today though I received a message from someone named Jamshid. It was nothing like any message I have received on PoF.com before. It made me LOL IRL.

Hello Sarah,I is me again, I have read your progfile and wonder if you can help me?
1.I receive the message: error on page, what should I do?
2.I have 7Mbps internet, but practically,the speed of my internet is too low. I am using router. Is the problem from router? or somthing wrong in my PC?
IF you don't like to communicate with me it is fine and accpetable. But I hope you can find answer to my PC problems.
Thanks,
Jamshid

Sarah is a Momma Again!

As you know, a while back I got a pet. I remember being very unsure if I should or not, and then Megan and Jenn W talked me into it. What started off as a nice lunch turned into them taking me to the pet store where I bought little Babies. I was surprised at how smart he was, and even more surprised at how much personality a bird has. I would spend hours watching his antics and laughing at the weird, random, things he does. It wasn't long before we became best friends. Probably the best thing I have ever done is get a pet bird, so several months later I decided that it just made sense to get another one.

I was cautious about getting another bird though because I live in an apartment, and noise is a concern. I've heard how Babies will reply loudly to other birds he hears outside (or on TV), so I was a little worried that two cockatiels in the same apartment might play off of each other and turn out to be infinitely louder than just one.

Despite my fears about noise, I always thought that Babies' life would be enriched by having another cockatiel around. They are social animals, and although I try to be around as much as I can, it isn't always possible. Even if I am home, I cannot always pay him attention because of work. I decided that I was reluctant to get my first bird and it turned out great, so I should just get over my reluctance to get a second. I found I began checking out pet stores for another little feathery companion.

The pet store I bougt Babies from is Petcetera. I do not like the condition of the cockatiels they have. They have ratty tails, and the birds are antisocial. Their water looks disgusting and the cages are dirty. Some people might think that you should buy your pet from a place that takes better care of them, but whenever I am in that store I find I want to rescue those birds. It was no exception when I was there on the weekend. I visited them on Thursday night, and again on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday afternoon I saw they had the same three birds as on Thursday. They had two friendly looking pearl cockatiels in a cage together, and above them was a small little grey cockatiel sitting on a perch all alone in his cage. The pearls had very frayed and short tails, but otherwise they looked beautiful. They both seemed to be very happy, and they were grooming each other. The grey cockatiel looked angry.

I asked the girl at the cash register how much the pearls were, and she told me. They were $109 each. I told her I wanted to get one. She said she'd be with me in a moment.

I walked back over to the birds and I watched the two pearls grooming each other. I couldn't tell which one was cuter, but I started to feel guilty about splitting up the pair. When the girl showed up she asked which one I wanted, so I picked the bigger one hoping he was male. (I love cockatiels, but I don't want little baby ones running around).

She had a flattened box in her hands and was trying to open it back up and tape it so it could hold a bird. To break the silence I pointed to the grey one in the top cage and said, "Last time I was here there was a sign up saying this guy was already sold."

She incorrectly called him a female and said, "Yeah, she was sold, and then they returned her. She's had it rough. She had a cage buddy for months and then we sold him and she was all alone. Then we sold her and they took her home, got her wings clipped, then brought her back because they didn't want a female. She's been depressed ever since." Then she opened up the bottom cage and said, "Which of these two do you want?"

I just felt bad for this poor grey bird. I found myself saying, "I changed my mind. I want this guy instead." Before I knew it I was at home with my new bird. I named him "Buddies".

I opened the box and tried to release him into the big cage, but he was refusing to leave. Babies looked very interested and came right over. When Buddies finally came out Babies went over and stood next to him, it seemed like they were already best friends.

The first picture of Buddies

Babies (left) and Buddies (right) eating lunch

Buddies (left) and Babies (right) goofing around

Buddies enjoying his first shower

Find the Smell

A few days ago I made a mistake. I didn't even discover my mistake for 3 or 4 days, and when I finally did, I felt sickened by it. It was the kind of mistake that makes me seem airheaded and lazy and slobby all at the same time.

What makes me feel airheaded is that I couldn't even remember what I had bought from the grocery store. When I shop, I just get a few items at a time. I usually only get enough food to last a half a week and I rarely walk out of the store with any more than 2-3 bags of food. A few days ago was no exception, yet I couldn't seem to remember what I had bought.

It normally wouldn't matter if I could remember or not, but in this case it sure did. While I was shopping I remember considering buying some pork chops. I had been craving pork chops a few days earlier, but once they were in my hands I no longer did. I remember assessing my future pork-cravings potential before moving on. When I got home with the groceries I was putting everything away, and I didn't notice any pork chops. I paused over it, but despite that I could remember my internal debate over them, I really couldn't remember what I had decided - so I assumed I just didn't buy them. That was my mistake.

The problem was further complicated because I was lazy. When I was unpacking I put the fridge stuff in the fridge, and the freezer stuff in the freezer. I had cupboard stuff too but I was too lazy to put them in the cupboard. Instead I just dropped the bag onto the floor near the microwave, somewhat near the cupboard - and that is where it stayed for a few days.

A couple days later I came home and smelled an odd smell. It was sort of sweet, yet sour. I sniffed around for a bit, but could not determine the source. I decided that it must be from a neighbouring apartment. Before long I became accustomed to the smell and didn't give it another thought. I often smell things that nobody else can smell (except my sister), so I wasn't too concerned.

The next day when I came home the odd smell was back. It was less sweet, and more sour. Again I tried to find the origin, but it was just too faint to pin it down. I figured it was maybe coming from the dishes in the sink or the garbage underneath. I sniffed them and while it certainly wasn't a good smell, it didn't seem like the same smell. I did the dishes and took out the garbage, and I hoped I had removed the source. Still, despite cleaning the kitchen, I opted not to put that bag of cupboard stuff into the cupboard. Oh I saw it there, but like I said, I'm lazy. So I left it there.

The next day was Saturday, and I was out most of the day. I didn't get home until around 2:30am. I opened the door to discover the smell was still sticking around, and it was worse. It was still far from a stench. If I had to guess, I would say that this was the first day anyone with normal smelling ability could have detected it. Still, for a smell-o-phobe like me, it was a little distressing. Not only was it offensive, but I just couldn't think of what was causing it. It was late though, and I was too tired and too hungry to search for the source again. I just wanted a snack and my bed. I put a couple pizza pops on a plate and stuck them in the microwave.

Being as tired as I was, I didn't stand while I waited for the pizza pops to cook. I knelt next to the counter in front of the microwave such that the bag of cupboard stuff was right at my knees. I realized the smell was stronger in that position. I looked inside the bag and among the cans of tuna and boxes of macaroni was another bag. It was wrapped around itself and around its contents. Without thinking I picked that bag up by the handles so that gravity unwrapped it, then I held it to my nose. It was a good thing I was already kneeling because had I been standing I might have fallen over. That bag contained only 1 item - a package of gray, slimy-looking, rancid pork chops!

It was like opening a Pandora's Box of stink. That bag had done a good job of containing everything, but once I opened it and jostled everything about, my apartment smelled like a slaughterhouse. I quickly ran that bag straight out to the garbage. Even outside in the cold air I could still smell it, like it had attached itself to the insides of my nose.

As I was trying to recover from the olfactory assault I got mad at myself. If I wasn't so airheaded that I couldn't remember what I had bought 15 minutes earlier then I would have looked specifically for the pork chops and put them in the freezer. If I hadn't been so lazy that I couldn't put everything away I would have found them by accident and put them in the freezer. If I hadn't been such a slob that I thought it reasonable that dirty dishes were responsible for the smell, I might have at least searched harder and taken the chops out before they got so completely rotten. It was a good lesson I thought. I learned something over this all.

Of course a couple days later, sitting here at the computer writing this, if I look over at the microwave I will see that the bag of cupboard stuff is still sitting there on the floor below it...

7-11 in Progress

I work at home on a computer all day. It has it's conveniences for sure. I can put in a load of laundry to wash while I am working. I can listen to loud 80s music. Some days I even work in my pyjamas. Still, it is boring and sometimes maddening to be cooped up in here all day long. For that reason I like to head out at some point to buy a diet coke from 7-11.

Today at about noon I headed out for a little break. I drove to 7-11 and pulled into the parking lot right behind a police car. I walked into the store with the two police officers right behind me. The policewoman poured herself a coffee and the policeman got a diet coke right after I did.

When I took my place in line the woman was already there, and a moment later the man stood behind me. While we were waiting there we heard a loud, solid, 'Beep Beep Beep'. The police woman quickly put her coffee down and pulled out her walkie-talkie. Instead of talking into it, she looked at the display on the front. I tried to read it, but it was at a bad angle. She then turned around and frowned at her partner. Her expression indicated that she was surprised at what she saw. I assumed there must be a '419 in progress' somewhere, or something.

In response to her expression the policeman pulled out his walkie-talkie and looked at the display too, and then he shrugged and said, "Wasn't me."

The policewoman said, "Wasn't me either. That's weird."

At this point I pulled my phone from my purse. After looking at the front I said, "It was me."

Apparently the default ring tone for text messages on an LG Voyager phone is the same tone that the Saskatoon Police Department uses on their walkie-talkies.