Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch….

Haven’t written anything in awhile, since we’ve been without the Internet, so I thought I’d post an update on Parks life.

 

After Tanner’s sudden, but thankfully brief, bout with the mystery stomach affliction, we were able to retrieve Granddad Howard’s truck from the mechanic’s and use it to move everything from one end of University to another in two fell swoops. Tanner was an unpacking maniac. He had everything into our new place probably within an hour.

 

At one point he lifted a 6’ particle board bookcase above his head (something I would consider a two-person object) and nonchalantly walked into our apartment. The kids who live above us, who were watching the entire unloading process, remarked something about my husband being like the “’Credible hulk.”

 

We are so much happier in our new place. Even though we were at the Grove (my old apartment) for a month by ourselves, Tanner always remarked it was never really “ours.” I understand it a little better now; it’s good to start out with a place that’s new to the both of us.

The community here is much quieter, definitely more family oriented, than the frat boy infested population at the Grove. We have a pool we can actually swim in (the one at the Grove was a 3’ deep wading pool whose chlorine waters were usually heavily mingled with beer), a laundry room, gym, an extra bedroom and bathroom, and this really awesome built-in bookcase in our living room that currently houses all of Tanner’s DVDs and action figures. Tanner’s bike commute to work has been diminished to just 15 minutes.

Yay!

 

Mourning Butch

 

We have a 25-gallon aquarium stocked with fish with the craziest survival skills. When we went on our honeymoon, the tank was full of snails, what I consider to be the rabbits of the sea. When we were dropped off at the El Paso airport, I neglected to pass on the apartment keys to Sofia, and so we feared we would return home from Orlando to a tank full of dead fish.

When we did get home, the fish were alive. The snails were gone.

 

 

These fish have survived various road trips, tank cleanings and unfortunate periods of neglect, as well as over-feeding. Over the years, there have only been three deaths: two of our black tetras (all five were collectively known as “Doug”), and an angel fish, Sundance.

Sundance got his name merely because of his tankmate, a black angel fish named Butch. There’s also a humongous sucker fish named Earl, a silver-dollar looking thing named Fido, and two spotted ones we just call “the Twins.” Save for the tetras, all of our fish have grown to the 4 to 5 inch range.

 

As it happens during household moves, we find excuses to go to Wal-Mart to pick up things we need, like clothing hangers and screw-in hooks for our spatulas, and end up with impulse purchases…in this case, it was another angel fish.

 

This one was pale and yellowish, just like Sundance was. I knew he’d be dwarfed by Butch, he was practically the same size as out 1 inch tetras. On the way home, Tanner named him everything from “Shark-bait” to “Spanky.”

When Newbie was finally introduced to our tank, Butch greeted him with a head butt. Butch continued to harass him, and, out of fear for the new fish’s life, Tanner would tap on the tank and yell at Butch to leave the new guy alone.

 

The more I think about it, Tanner yells at the fish a lot.

 

The new guy lasted a good two days. I came home from work one day and when I went to feed the fish, the Nube has sunk to the farthest corner: dead.

Tanner came home and flushed him. We lamented the fact that he never was properly named, and didn’t give the fish a second thought.

 

The next morning, Butch had gone belly up. The rest of the fish were lethargic, tilting sideways, bumping into the walls of the aquarium. That Wal-Mart fish had given it’s tank mates the under water equivalent of the black plague. Or fish AIDS. Or fish SARS. Or something.

 

In a last ditch effort we transplanted the sickly fish into a bucket and drained the tank. We filled it again and replaced the fish. Fido seemed to be the worse out of all of them. Finally, the poor thing stopped swimming and settled on the bottom. His gills stopped fluttering back and forth. His scales began to molt.

“Babe, I think he’s gone.” I said.

Tanner squatted beside me and we watched him sit there. We sighed and cursed the dead Wal-Mart fish that had doomed his tank mates to slow deaths.

 

Then Fido got up and swam around the tank.

And proceeded to sink to the bottom again.

 

Fido led us on emotional roller coaster for the next few hours, but managed to make it through the night.

The moral of the story: Don’t buy Wal-Mart fish. They have AIDS.

 

University and Solano Has It Out For Me

 

As I mentioned before, we had the truck fixed and had it in time for our move. Tanner really wanted me to become more comfortable with driving, so I had been driving to work and various errands for about a week after our apartment move.

 

It’s ironic that that truck had spent so much time in the shop, only for me to get it in a minor fender bender a few weeks later. It scared the crap out of me and it made me feel like an enormous idiot, but all I can do is thank God that it was so small. No one was hurt, the cars are hardly damaged, and it could’ve been so much worse.

 

I only write all this because that intersection has it out for me. The day after my accident I was crossing the street to meet the bus, I was in the crosswalk with another pedestrian coming my way, the countdown had just started, and a woman on her cell phone rounded the corner and almost plowed me over.

I made a face that said, “Hey, you almost plowed me over!”

And she rolled her eyes at me.

 

What Else?

 

Other than that, school starts on the 21^st. I’m taking English 307-Writing Creative Non-fiction, History 398-History and Historians (this class in only on Tuesdays but it’s three hours long!), History 472-China in the Modern World, and Music 101-Intro to Music, just fill an art requirement.

 

I’m really excited about my English course, it’s being taught by author Craig Holden, a guest professor I had a couple of semester ago. He is one of the best instructors I have had at State.

 

Tanner’s birthday is on the 13^th, if we both get the day off we’ve made tentative plans to hang out by the pool and probably eat steak. I got him the coolest belt buckle ever.

(He doesn’t read my blog and I’m pretty sure he already knows what I got him any way).

 

Mom was in Socorro this summer taking a survey of Chemistry at New Mexico Tech because she plans on doing chem. with Russ and Craig this fall. Her professor has offered her use of the lab this fall (since she can’t have chemicals shipped to the house!), which means I might be seeing more of my family this semester.

I hope so.