Phoenix Rising Productions Now Online

My other half and I have finally gotten our website up and running. Phoenix Rising Productions is now open for business. We specialize in bead and crystal jewelry. Tara is a master at creating a unique, custom designed piece for each individual. Please go check us out. The website has a few bugs yet but I am working on them so you will see things change and improve through the next few weeks. We are taking better photos this Thursday and I will be programing in larger images for each item. We also have a selection of T-shirts as well. The sight is linked to PayPal so you can pay by credit card or through PayPal or send us an order. You can also call and have a piece or set designed just for you.
http://www.phoenix-rising-productions.com

Feline Elizabethan Hades

My smallest cat, Cali, a tiger stripped calico with an average weight of 7lbs is an obsessive cleaner. Maybe it comes from the abuse she suffered as a kitten, maybe she's just really fond of cleaning her fur, whatever the cause she will clean her self to injury.
She has been really good for over a year now, keeping her fur clean and neat without balding herself but a few weeks ago she got obsessed with her hind quarters. Now her whole backside is bare and raw and sore. Every time it starts to heal it itches to back to obsessively cleaning she goes. I tried anti itch sprays and antibiotic creams but the end result is the only way to heal her moist dermatitis is to keep her from cleaning it while treating it until the raw skin heals.
So my poor cat is suffering through a week of wearing an Elizabethan collar (the thing that looks like a clear lampshade inverted on her head).
She is REALLY NOT HAPPY WITH ME. I've been making sure I pet her and scritch her ears for her which prompts her to purr at the same time she is giving me the I REALLY DON'T LIKE YOU look. The plus side is the antibiotic cream is working really well and her backside is healing quickly. The downside is she is going to be stuck in that collar for a few more days until the healing is complete otherwise we'll just have to repeat the whole process again.
I'm positive she will find some way to pay me back once that collar comes off for the indignity of having to wear it for a week to 10 days.

Native Wildlife

Driving home from Raleigh yesterday we were coming up a 4 lane road level, with a 45MPH speed limit and an unlimited view for at lease half a mile. Up ahead in our lane we spotted a LARGE land tortoise slowly making his/her way across the road. Not the safest endeavor for a tortoise but he was at least 2 1/5 - 3 feet long and over 1 1/5 feet wide, brown and difficult not to spot. I thought he might be a non-native former pet on the loose.
We easily went around him and started looking for a spot to turn around and at least move him off the road when in the rearview and side mirrors we witnessed a white, early 90's sedan swerve....
to hit the tortoise...
It was a very intentional move. There was no one on the car's left and plenty of time to see the LARGE tortoise in the road. It's not like it was going to dart out in front of the car but the driver chose to swerve in such a way that two tires hit the tortoise and we witnessed it all.
We turned around. I was desparately hoping the shell protected him but he was really, really dead when we got up to him.
I found out today this tortoise is a native species to the area. I'm still really angry about that. It was a gopher tortoise and it is federally protected!!!! http://www.gophertortoise.org/tortoise/faqs.htm I had a mean thought that if there is any justice a piece of his shell wedged in both of the tires that hit him and that driver woke up to two flat tires this morning.
You certainly shouldn't put your life in jeopardy to avoid hitting wildlife with your car but you REALLY shouldn't aim for them either. A tortoise that size had to have been on this planet for quite some time and all it would have took was a tiny bit of consideration to keep him here instead of making him road kill.

In honor of Uncle Gary

On May 3, 2008 I plan to walk 3 miles in the AIDSWalk +Ride. Supporting this cause is important to me. In the spring of 2005 my Uncle Gary died from complications of AIDS. The last time I spoke with him he was still working, doing okay but his T-cell count was 17, basically meaning he had no immune system. He was unable to take the drug cocktail to combat HIV stating the side effects were too strong. Overall, he was lucky. He came home from work, sat down to read and had a fatal heart attack. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National cemetery.
His death prompted me to join a group in college called the AIDS Action Team. This is where I got my start in training. I became a certified HIV/AIDS instructor teaching at middle school, high schools, universities, drug and alcohol treatment centers, etc all in an effort to prevent others from contracting this disease. I also wanted to teach others the truth about HIV, how it is contracted and why they should treat those with the disease as human beings, not pariahs. As part of this group in the fall of 1996 I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC to see the AIDS quilt laid out in its entirety for the last time and my Uncle's spot in Arlington. The Quilt took up the entire Mall. The curvature of the Earth prevented you from seeing all of it if you stood at one end and looked across. They cannot lay out all of it at one time anymore because it is too large. Sections travel the country to help promote HIV/AIDS awareness and education. My Uncle’s name is on one of those panels.
Currently, many of the grants and government funding programs for HIV/AIDS services nation wide in the U.S. have been reduced or cut completely making it difficult for those dealing with HIV/AIDS to get the help they need. Medication and treatment are exceedingly expensive. Those dealing with the disease cross all age, sexual orientation, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Some of the fastest growing populations are young adults and women. Funding needs to be there for both education to prevent further infections and care for those already infected.
This year I am walking with a team from my church, St. John’s MCC to raise money to assist those in North Carolina dealing with this disease and I need your help. Click the image at the top of my blog and you will be sent to my donation page were you can donate whatever you feel capable of giving. It only takes a few minutes. If you know anyone else who would be interested in donating, pass it on.
My Uncle Gary was a great man. Smart, funny, well spoken, and someone I looked up to as a child. One of my favorite stories from him was a discussion we had on books. Someone asked him if he had ever read Stephen King. He explained he tried once but decided that wasn't wise for him or his health. Gary owned a large, long-haired gray fluffy cat that was very well trained and well behaved. The cat was not permitted in the bedroom let alone on the bed. Uncle Gary started reading Pet Cemetery on the suggestion of a friend. One night, lying in bed, reading Pet Cemetery, right at a particularly suspenseful part, his large gray, fluffy cat ran into the bedroom, onto the bed and did the frightened cat routine where he puffed out completely, stiffened up, arched his back and meowed loudly. The cat then jumped down and ran off. Uncle Gary took that as a sign, put the book down and never picked up another Stephen King book again.
I want to raise money in honor of Uncle Gary and all of the people I have met over the years infected and affected by this disease. I know the economy is in terrible shape right now and money is tight but even $1.00 is helping. Reach into your heart and into your wallet and take a few minutes and donate. Feel good about helping make a difference for a lot of people. If you can't donate right now, send some positive vibes and prayers out to the team from St. John's MCC that we succeed in our goals for helping others.
Thanks all

Tag, You're It! (Loss of Childhood Lessons)

I just read an article where a principal at an elementary school has banned tag at recess. She stated that students were becoming too aggressive and too many students were ending up in the nurses office. The funny part of the article is how many parent complained that tag should not be banned and I agree. Many schools have either removed recess all together or placed many limits on the games played. No more dodge ball, red rover, tag, etc. All in the name of protecting kids.
I'm all for keeping kids safe however, children need to run into some obstacles in life to learn how to cope and grow and work within groups. It seems to me as a society we are being way too overprotective. Kids need to take some knocks in the process of learning. It will make them stronger. You learn to get up when you fall and keep going.
I had a horrible time in elementary school. I'm a geek; always have been, always will be and as an adult I'm proud of it. I was the quiet bookworm. My parents moved my one older brother and I to a private Catholic school when I was in 4th grade. My brother wasn't doing well in school and they thought the better school would help and it did. We both got wonderful educations but I also ran into a lot of social issues. My family wasn't rich, many of the other students were. And I was far from cool. I didn't have the latest clothes nor was I good with quick come backs. I was picked on. When I switched schools again in 6th grade I ran into the same sort of problems of not fitting in. Was it painful? Yes, but I also learned to cope and grow and still gained a few friends along the way. The skills I learned on the playground have served me better in some ways than the book knowledge I gained in class.
We played all the standard games. I have been clotheslined trying to break through in red rover and I've been to the nurses office for the standard gel ice pack to reduce the swelling from getting hit in the face with a dodge ball (my school had the balls with the crow's feet pattern). All the times I was picked on, I learned. I learned to stand up for myself, to speak out when there is a problem, to think fast on my feet and I learned that there are ways to win against a bully. In the end, I learned how to navigate through life successfully. By the time I was a college freshman I wasn't the odd one out anymore. I was a mature, young adult able to handle a lot.
As an adult, I have friends I can rely on, acquaintances I can hang out with and people with whom I connect. I found out I'm not the only geek on the planet. I can proudly say I like science fiction and usually find quite a few others who agree. I can also handle the curve balls that life throws. Despite the pain of getting picked on, I wouldn't change it if I could go back. If I did, I wouldn't be the strong adult I am today. Our experience prepare us for the road ahead and I think my experiences have equipped me well.

Beware the Penguins

NHL hockey playoffs started this evening. I'm a Pittsburgh Penguin fan... I even have the Sidney Crosby jersey. I grew up watching the Penguins and even went to games on a fairly regular basis with my Dad when Mario Lemieux and Jamir Jagr played together and the Penguins won the cup. I've been waiting for awhile to see a good Penguin team again and here they are.
One of the few downsides to moving to North Carolina is I don't get to see many Steeler games during football season and even less Penguin games during hockey season.
I was really excited to watch the outdoor game between the Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres on New Years Day. Now the Playoffs are here and the playoffs are on cable.
The game has been very good tonight though the Penguins need to be smarter on the penalties. Give a team a power play over and over and eventually they are going to get the puck in the net. I'm looking forward to the whole series against the Ottawa Senators and I'm very hopeful for the Penguins to continue. I really want to be sitting in front of my nifty new LCD TV in my Crosby Penguin hockey shirt cheering on the team.
Beware the Penguins!
Go Pens!

House Cleaning

We helped a friend this past weekend. She moved in a bit of a rush and left a lot behind in her house. It's hard to list a house if it is't clean so a group of us got together and cleaned. The downside, the electric and water was shut off. Cleaning was a challenge. At the very least, we were able to remove the few pieces of furniture and other various junk left behind. The plus was I added to my book collection and picked up a few other nifty items proving once again that one person's trash is another person's treasure.
The house is a nice split level with a two car garage but it needs some work. The wallpaper is outdated, carpets need replaced, some minor roof repair and a new sliding door but it has a lot of potential so hopefully she can sell it successfully versus continuing to pay a morgage here and rent in her new town...
We are looking in to one more repair/cleaning day to help her out.