 gone fishin'
posted by Christopher on 9.12.2004 - 4:17 pm
we just picked up a fish tank yesterday and got some fish for it today. i never really saw myself as a fish owner, even though they've always fascinated me.
growing up, we had a few pets here and there. when i was very young, we had a sheepdog that we couldn't keep when we moved, so he went on to live w/ my aunt. later on we picked up a sheltie, which nobody really took care of, so it was given away. the next venture was a bug that i found at summer camp. it managed to escape its cage, leading to its immediate extermination upon discovery by freaked out parents. then there were the hamsters, which bought it pretty early on due to improper care. finally was the stupid whiny cocker spaniel in college, that was luckily more of my roommate's dog than mine.
basically, all pet experiences i had growing up were failures. i love other people's animals, but never really found myself being willing to take responsibility for one. eventually, i just decided that when everything in my life was finally settled, i'd get a dog, but until then, no pets.
i'm not sure what gave jenny the sudden desire, but maybe two weeks ago she approached me w/ the idea of having a fish tank. i didn't know if she was serious or not, so i gave her the noncommital 'yeah, we can look into that'. she kept on it over the course of the two weeks, so finally we headed out to actually look into it. Two hours later, we pretty much decided on a tank, and within two more we were home w/ a whole setup (minus the fish).
i can pretty much pinpoint the moment i was sold on the idea. it was when we were wandering through an aquarium store looking at the salt water fish. right then, as i was looking at the really vibrant blue, yellow and orange ones with the sleek shapes, and then noticed that they were only like ten bucks, i thought "wow, i can actually have a living creature this pretty in my house without dropping a fortune on it, or having to devote a ton of time to it." after talking to the guy in the store and seeing that it wasn't a huge deal to take care of them (feed twice a day, change out 25% of the water each week, test water each month), i really wanted to try it out.
we went with a 12 gallon tank, a nice rock and some fake plants, and three orange platies, which our research showed to be pretty hard to kill and good for beginners.
i'm writing this three hours after introducing the fish to the aquarium, and already i'm glad jenny brought up the idea. these guys are just as interesting to watch as the big ones in monterey, the whole setup looks really nice, and it's a super calming thing to have in a bedroom.
i'm hoping that training myself to take care of something like fish will make it a lot easier to be a good dog owner when that time comes. guess it's never too late to learn how to be responsible.
|
|  Untarnish your 'special day' --
posted by Dante on 9.16.2004 - 9:25 am
We were in Las Vegas over the weekend celebrating my birthday (9/10). It was a truly sublime experience, and a rare opportunity to spend time with distant friends. There might be tales from that trip that I'll regale you with later.
My special day still has nothing but positive connotations, but if I'd lingered inside the womb for another 10 hours, then everything would have changed. Not 30 years ago, more like 4. Suddenly 9-11 isn't really anyone's "special" day anymore. It can't be. Even years removed from the actual events, people still have a powerful gut-reaction to that date when uttered aloud.
There were people in Vegas though. Getting married, creating positive memories ... trying to look beyond the past. I don't know if those people picked that date specifically, or if it was just their bad luck in the lottery for the event location (anyone who's never tried to arrange an event for a popular venue wouldn't understand). I respect those people, because we aren't supposed to stop living on that day, just because.
If we were to forever set aside a calendar day for rememberance or fear because something terrible happened, then the 'holiday' calendar would be PG-13. If we abandoned the every site of tragedy as a memorial for the lost, there wouldn't be room enough for people to populate that embittered world.
I guess its because I was at a firing range in Las Vegas this September 11th-watching the 'Osama' targets fly off the shelves and be decimated by a hail of bullets. Were those people going to the range because it was 9/11, or were they just more partial to that particular target that day.
Maybe soon that consideration won't have to enter our minds any longer. It will become a terrible event in our past, but it won't be a reason for fear or reservation. The process has obviously begun, and its probably a good thing.
|
|
