I feel SO tired. It's not even like I didn't get enough sleep, I got a decent amount. It's just one of those days when I just feel like I'm DRAGGING. I went and got an Americano but I don't know if it's going to help. I am such a wimp, I put 4 sugars into a tall Americano and it still barely tastes sweet to me. I don't know how people can drink unsweetened coffee.

Maybe if I work myself up I will start to feel more awake. With that, pet peeve #43: People who do not leash their dogs at parks that have "leash your pets" signs posted. It's selfish, inconsiderate, and downright dangerous when people ignore that, thinking they are the exception to posted guidelines. Every time I see another dog at the park, there's a 50/50 chance that it won't be leashed. This is totally unacceptable. That sign is there for a REASON. I don't care how well behaved your dog normally is; I don't care how under control you think you have your pet. YOU DON'T. Unless you are Cesar Milan, YOU DON'T. (And if you were Cesar, I'd be on you like a rabid fangirl.) Dogs are not predictable except in one thing: that they can and will be unpredictable. If they see another dog, THEY GET EXCITED. Most people think that all they have to do is call their dog's name and it will obey. I have encountered dozens of dogs at the park and maybe ONCE I have seen the dog obey. Usually it takes many such calls, and by then it's too late. When they see Talis, they INEVITABLY bound over -- especially unleashed dogs. You could have the sweetest dog in the world, but if it's unleashed and bounding energetically over to my dog, who isn't a big dog at all, you know what he gets? Scared. He feels threatened. Which means that he will bark and growl and even bite at the dog he sees as a threat. So you know, that sign to leash your pet isn't for OTHER dogs' protection, necessarily. It's also to protect YOUR OWN DAMN PET. I always have my dog leashed, but if your unleashed dog runs over to us, TALIS COULD BITE HIM. Most dogs leave him alone when he gets all defensive, but one day there could be a dog that bites back, and then where will we be? SO LEASH YOUR GODDAMN DOGS unless you're at a dog park and there are signs explicitly saying that you don't have to use a leash.

I am in love with my new macro lens (the bokeh is amazing), but it is REALLY heavy. Especially for my little D40 body, I feel like the lens could possibly break off (I'm sure not though, or Nikon wouldn't have approved its use with my style of camera)! Plus, I'm not tall enough for it, lol. I'm too close to my subjects (usually food), and even when I stand on my toes it barely helps. I need to get a little stepstool or perhaps move my subjects to ground level to photograph them.

One of my big pet peeves: people who rush into an elevator when it opens. By "rushing" I mean "can't even wait for the people already in it to get off." I work on the top floor. If you're waiting for the elevator on that floor and there are people inside when it opens, most likely they need to get off (it's rare for people to have gotten on the 'wrong' elevator going up when they need to go down), because there's nowhere else for them to go. Even on any other floor, pause before entering to make sure no one wants to get off. Because you know what? Even if you're an asshole who rushes into the elevator before anyone can even exit (which I find extremely rude), YOU'RE STILL NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL THOSE PEOPLE HAVE LEFT. So now you're not just a rude asshole, you're also stupid. It saves you NO time to be that rude, so why do it?

I made a shepherd's pie recently, and S. liked it so much that I was 'forced' to make another one 2 days later. It's easy and delicious. I mean, what's not to like about ground beef mixed with veggies then topped with a layer of mashed potatoes and baked?

A week from Tuesday, I'll be boarding a plane for LA. How crazy is that? I guess it probably feels more crazy to me than to you. :)) It just seems so SOON. Officially I'm going to be on vacation for 2 weeks, until the end of December, then the first week of January I'll be working remotely from LA. But that'll be fine because then I can still have lunch/dinner with the folks down there, and it'll be sort of like a vacation without actually taking up any of my vacation hours. Though I do have a ton of those. I just have to remember to take Talis to the vet to get his health certificate after the 10th but before I leave, so that I can use the same certificate going and coming (otherwise it's another $70!).

I had my first physical therapy session for my back (from the car accident) on Monday. Hopefully it's going to go well. It's not like the pain is severe/debilitating, but it's there, and after hearing all the horror stories about people who have life-long problems with their backs after an accident I'm not taking any risks.

Re: Amanda Knox. A verdict in her trial is supposed to be announced in about an hour. Obviously I haven't heard everything the jury's heard, but from the details I've read I'd be surprised if she weren't guilty (whether there's actually enough hard evidence to convict her, I don't know). I mean, changing your story multiple times (in big ways) is just a terrible move, whether you're guilty or not. It makes you look guilty as hell. Motive and opportunity are also easily established with her. I do have to admit though that I might be biased because I just plain don't like her. She seems like a really selfish, stupid, and airheaded person. That doesn't make her a murderer, of course, but it sure doesn't make me bleed for her. Edit: She was found guilty. Her sentence was 26 years, which to me is weird. It's like the jury is saying, "We're pretty sure she's guilty." Because if she actually did kill her roommate, she and her ex-bf/accomplice deserve the maximum penalty, since it wasn't like, manslaughter. But if the jury had any doubt about whether or not they were guilty, the two should have been acquitted. So the 'short' prison sentence for murder seems weird to me. Of course, they're appealing, so it may not even be that eventually, anyway.

I'm sorta sad about Dollhouse being canceled. The show was progressively getting better. But I do think that the execution (whether Joss's fault or the network's) wasn't nearly as good as the concept. The worst part was unfortunately Eliza Dushku in the lead role. She was a serious disappointment.