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Oh, I get the man-thinking all the time. ALL the TIME. As I told a friend of mine--if someone can't take more than two seconds to make a judgement, it really says more about THEM than it does about ME, and I'm so so SO fine with that.

from iustitia :

Kari, you & Andy must adopt that little weiner dog just for its sense of humor. ;) I can't believe someone thought you were a MAN! How f'ed up is that?!?

from iustitia :

Donovan: is that a RABBIT? OMG, that is the funniest looking thing ever. :) Those dogs all look super cute, and ready for a good home and lots of love!

from aulkie :

Last year I volunteered for the Capital Area Humane Society for about five months, 40-60 hours a month. I learned alot about dogs during that time, and matching folks to their dream doggie. I found for example that many people come in looking for a puppie, when that's almost the exact opposite of what they really want. So I would sit down with them and ask some pointed questions, beginning with this one: Tell me all about your dream doggie-- is it calm? Is it energetic? Does it bark alot? Will it easily follow on a leash, or will it follow a fence line? Will it be with other animals? Is it all ready trained? Why? Because then I could match a dog-- a mut-- lets face it their nearly always mixed breeds to a potential owner... For instance, if folks wanted a quiet dog, that usually meant a medium to large breed. Small dogs have no girth to defend them, and their bite scares no one, so its the bark that indeed becomes worse than their bite. The incessient barkers tended to be the little ones. No yard? Then avoid wandering breeds like beagles and other hunting mixes. Shepherd mixes would hang around, and tended to handle that situation better. Want a trained housebroken dog who doesn't chew? Consider a dog at least 3 years old, as the teething stage has passed by that time, and calmer still at 5 years old. Its fairly easy to get an older trained dog-- that is what I've picked every time. Personalities are well formed by five, and its a much more predictable pick by then. Convincing folks to crate train the dog was another important task-- especially with younger dogs, as it keeps them feeling psychologically secure, keeps them safe from things they shouldn't touch, like electric cords, shoes and underwear, and the family happy. Its worked so far... five dogs to show for it... one big doggie family. So good luck with the dog search!

from iustitia :

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

from thisendup :

was really enjoying your diary but had to stop to drop a line. i was told that math was not for girls. i grew to dislike it. they told me i wasn't going to be any good at it, why bother? but i think that math is beautiful and strangely alluring and i wish that i knew more about it... so i could pick up guys. (kidding) i wish that there were more people who really WANTED to be math teachers and didn't just fall into it so they could also coach a sports team. best of luck & thanks for the entertaining read. your spelling IS above par, dearie.

from iustitia :

Too funny, Kari. :) When I was applying for law school, my advisor didn't remember me either... I sent her a picture, since I didn't have such a distinguishing story. Hee hee.

from aulkie :

So was that your essay? I think its great... math is the foundation of all life, everything has a mathematical relationship or structure to it, and math is the key... I think though if you tell folks that its the structure underneath everything, and the reason its not fun initially is that initial math classes sort of teach how to read the alphabet, but the great books come later: that I think is what calculus is in math terms, come later. I remember taking calculus and walking around calculating relative speed of things, like how fast a plane is going relative to the ground. Since then I have had the opportunity to study quantum physics, and I find it mind bending. Really interesting stuff.... but I never thought of this as liking math, but you know you are right, it is math.... and it should be loved as a language is loved... so I say good for you and well done!

from onthebike :

I haven't ridden in Critical Mass yet--these days I work Fridays until after 6, so I miss the start of it. I have, however, been caught in buses behind it, and cheer them on. And defend CM vociferously when folks whinge about it.

from jordanslost :

190 mile bikeride! holy shit thats awesome! go biking! my friend knows a guy biking from chile to san francisco right now. fuckin party! do you ride in critical mass?

from aulkie :

I wonder if anyone who doesn't ride a bike or have a llamma farm knows about them!

from onthebike :

that's so funny--there are so TOTALLY llamas in Wisconsin! I even took pictures because I was like, "Hey! Llamas!" How incredibly random!

from aulkie :

I am glad you didn't die... as for not riding in the next few days, its probably a good thing.... when I prepped for the bar exam they told us to stop studying at least ten days before the exam, so that we wouldn't freeze up. So I followed their advice and everything worked out fine, well relatively fine, anyways...I passed, and that was good enough for me... fortunately I never did sit down and figure out just how hard the test would be ahead of time. I do remember getting physically sick in the middle of the mutiple choice part. The bar prep people taught us to eliminate the ones we were sure weren't the answers, and then narrow our choices further by choosing the most likely. What ended up happening was I would read each question and think "My gosh! I can't eliminate any of them! This is a nightmare gone wrong! Any one of them could be the answer!" Seriously though, end of analogy, except that I think intermediate goals help here. If I can just make it to that bush, that tree, maybe that water station, then I will be full of energy again and can go still farther.... Then there are those marvelous times of second wind, when it seems on a bike, like you are suddenly flying, wing on a breeze. Colors seem brighter, and the sent of summer flowers drifts along. The scent of cows, pigs, llammas (do they have llamas in Illinois and Wisconsin) the sounds of the breeze, the burbling creek, the birds... ah its those reasons we ride a bike, isn't it... oh and raising money of course for the American Lung Association. Seriously though, Godspeed to you, and I'll say a little prayer for your personal safety to get this thing done!

from onthebike :

thanks so much, guys. Oh dear god, please don't ever let me have to do something harder than that.

from legalbeagle :

oh my god.... from one canine-lover to another, my heart is with you.

from iustitia :

*sniff* pass the Kleenex, please.

from iustitia :

What a great entry, darlin'. Hope you know you're a wonderful writer.

from iustitia :

Love the new template! It's as sunny as your smile. :) Now go biking!

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