mumbo jumbo

meet Milhouse.

musie — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:52:52 GMT

how could you not love that face?? it makes me totally happy. more information about Milhouse can be found here, on his petfinder page: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13322481 This guy is one happy camper! Milhouse is a high-energy dog who just can't get enough exercise and playtime. He's eager to please, although he does need to learn his manners (he still thinks that jumping up on people is fun), so he's looking for someone to help him learn the ropes. His great pyrenees and border collie heritage gives him his beautiful wavy white coat, as well as his adorable face and infectious smile. If you've got the time and energy to give this incredible boy, he's sure to reward you with all his love and loyalty. Milhouse is in the back, so please bring in his ID#, 20700, and ask for him at the front desk. Milhouse is id # 20700 at the Oakland Animal Shelter.

Sign Up to Help Kittens!

musie — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:14:41 GMT

Each spring the Oakland Animal Shelter is inundated with litters of kittens as well as mom cats with their babies because unaltered cats in the community breed. The result is hundreds of orphaned kittens and moms with their kittens with nowhere to go but the Shelter. We will need people to volunteer to foster kittens. If you're interested, please go here to fill out the sign-up form: http://oaklandanimalservices.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/its-kitten-season/ Thanks so much! :)

Parade for Dogs!

musie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:34:58 GMT

Barkus presents the "Bones & Beads Dog Parade" Join us for the First Annual "Beads and Bones" Dog Parade hosted by and for the launch of the community's new business, Barkus Dog Group. Proceeds to benefit Friends of the Oakland Animal Shelter (FOAS). Registration for participants is $15 (does not apply to OAS volunteers or Rescue Groups). We encourage everyone to costume with their dogs and let loose! This will be a large sidewalk parade led by a band through the streets of Temescal and Rockridge ending back up at the Studio One Art Center for an after party. There will be lots of goodies and giveaways along with pet vendors and dogs for adoption from the Oakland Animal Shelter. We hope to see you there! Host: Barkus Dog Group/Tammy & Freba Location: Studio One Art Center, 365 45th St., Oakland, CA 94609 US When: Sunday, March 8, 10:00AM Phone: 510.387.1052 Cost: $15.00 per person http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=UMOFISUHAHYIGLOEKFIV&inviteId=OXNKPNKJBTTIHSPWHMYD&showPreview=false&x=370261442

poor little puppy!

musie — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:45:01 GMT

i just got word of this in my volunteer newsletter. i hope i get better soon so i can go give her some lovins! http://oaklandanimalservices.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/man-charged-with-two-counts-of-felony-animal-abuse/ Pomeranian puppy suffers broken front legs. The Oakland Police Department arrested Kem Eap on February 20, 2009, for breaking both front legs of a four-month-old Pomeranian puppy. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office has charged Eap with two felony counts of animal abuse. Oakland Police Department’s Criminal Investigation and Oakland Animal Services are investigating the incident. An anonymous caller informed the Oakland Police Department of the injured puppy, and both police and animal control officers responded. Baby Chloe, who was found hiding under a television set when officers arrived, was unable to use her front legs and had to depend on only her hind legs to stand. Baby Chloe has now had extensive surgery to repair her fractured legs. Friends of the Oakland Animal Shelter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to helping improve the quality of life for shelter animals, is collecting donations to pay for Baby Chloe’s surgery and for the veterinary care of other injured shelter animals. Donations can be sent to Friends of the Oakland Animal Shelter at PO Box 3132, Oakland, CA 94609, or online at www.oaklandsanimals.org. “We are focusing on assisting with the investigation of this case and ensuring that this puppy makes a full recovery from her serious injuries,” states Adam Parascandola, Oakland Animal Services Director.

Carson needs a foster home!!!

musie — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:40:20 GMT

This is Carson. He desperately needs a foster home. He has been at the Oakland Animal Shelter since last March but just hasn't found his forever home yet. Despite all our efforts to pay extra attention to him, Carson is showing a lot of kennel stress and is deteriorating at the shelter. He really needs to get out and into a foster home or his future doesn't look so good. Carson is an adult (2 years or so) male labrador retriever/pit bull mix. He knows basic manners (how to sit, look, down, stay) but is a very energetic boy and needs lots of exercise. He is a happy, affectionate boy who loves toys and treats! He can be a bit fearful/anxious and so needs a firm person who can reassure him. He does well with other dogs and enjoys playing one on one, but should not be taken to dog parks (too much stimulation for him). He would be ok in a home with a companion dog, but is too energetic for a home with small children and/or cats. This is his listing on petfinder: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10587318 If you know someone who can help please let me know asap! Please feel free to repost as well.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

musie — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:07:58 GMT

Press Release from the Mayor's Office Regarding Shut Down OAKLAND ANIMAL SHELTER WILL NOT CLOSE DURING CITY’S MANDATORY BUSINESS CLOSURE Oakland, CA — Mayor Ron Dellums announced today that the Oakland Animal Shelter will be exempt from part of the mandatory business closure scheduled for December 24, 2008 through January 5, 2009 to protect the welfare of animals and the community. “It was always our intent to maintain staffing of the Oakland Animal Shelter during the mandatory business closures so that neither the animals in our care nor our community would suffer,” said Mayor Dellums. “Still, I applaud staff and the animal welfare community for coming together to arrive at a creative solution that balances the need to sustain the vital services provided by the Oakland Animal Shelter with the economic reality that we must cut costs to close a $37 million budget deficit.” The Oakland Animal Shelter will remain open as usual on the two weekends during this holiday closure period, as well as Monday, December 29 – Wednesday, December 31, 2008, when other City facilities are closed. The Oakland Animal Shelter will close on all the remaining, regularly scheduled mandatory business closure days in 2009, and may close on an additional three (3) Fridays spread out over the remainder of the fiscal year (through June 30, 2009). “This is really a win-win solution,” said Adam Parascandola, Director of the Oakland Animal Shelter. “We are grateful to the many animal welfare and advocacy organizations as well as community members who have committed their support and resources to help us through this difficult period and ensure that animals don’t needlessly suffer the ravages of the economic crisis the City is facing. I am pleased that we will be fully operational on all the days we are open during the holiday period.” Oakland Animal Shelter Schedule During Citywide Business Closure Date Open or Closed Reason for Closure Wednesday 12/24/08 Closed City Holiday Thursday 12/25/08 Closed City Holiday Friday 12/26/08 Closed Citywide Mandatory Business Closure Saturday, 12/27/08 OPEN Sunday, 12/28/08 OPEN Monday, 12/29/08 OPEN Tuesday, 12/30/08 OPEN Wednesday, 12/31/08 OPEN Thursday 1/1/09 Closed City Holiday Friday 1/2/09 Closed Citywide Mandatory Business Closure Saturday, 1/3/09 OPEN Sunday, 1/4/09 OPEN

Oakland Shelter Animals in Danger! (PLEASE REPOST!)

musie — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:42:17 GMT

The city of Oakland is requiring a shut-down of all its departments from December 26th through January 2nd. We urgently need to inundate the city officials with emails explaining why the Oakland Animal Shelter CANNOT be required to shut down. Being forced to shut down will have terrible repercussions on animal care and safety at the shelter, and on the community at large. Talking points for your email/phone calls: --Based on current incoming rates, the shelter director estimates that 20 animals will need to be euthanized each day due to lack of space if the shelter is forced to shut down. This INCLUDES adoptable animals. With the shelter currently open 7 days a week, we move a lot of animals out to adopters, found animal owners, and rescue groups...if the shelter is forced to close then none of these animals will move out. The shelter will hit capacity quickly, and we will be forced to begin euthanizing animals. The situation is grim and totally unacceptable, and in direct contrast to the shelter's stated policy of making all efforts to avoid euthanasia. --On 11/26, the first mandated shut-down day for the city of Oakland, it took the two allowed Animal Control Officers all day to perform basic cleaning, feeding and medicating, which is unacceptable treatment for needy animals. If the city requires this for an extended period, the care of the animals is in jeopardy. --While the shut-down is designed to save money, it will cost Oakland MORE money by closing the shelter! By not allowing medical staff to work during the closure, incoming injured animals will have to be taken to costly outside vets for services and boarding. The two Animal Control Officers allowed to work will be busy cleaning/feeding/medicating the shelter animals, leaving Oakland Police Officers to respond to the many daily animal issues in the field--this is very costly compared to Animal Control Officer wages, and Police Officers aren't trained in dealing with aggressive animals. And with so many calls and services not handled during the shut-down, shelter staff will need to use over-time to respond to a deluge of unhandled business--again, more expensive! --Because there will be no one to take surrendered animals, our after-hours intake cages (only 8 in total) would be filled all day. This leads to the very real possibility of citizens dumping injured/surrendered animals on the street outside the shelter, leaving them in danger. In addition, police officers will have nowhere to leave after-hours animals that they pick up. Please send an urgent email to Dan Lindheim, Budget Director at the Mayor's Office at dlindheim@oaklandnet.com, and/or call at (510) 238-6840 to let them know the shelter is different from other city agencies, in caring for HUNDREDS of animals each day, and needs special accommodation during the mandated Oakland shut-down days! Here are additional folks you can contact with your emails/calls, and encourage others to do the same! Police Chief: Chief Wayne G. Tucker (510) 238-3365 wtucker@oaklandnet.com City Council Members: Desley Brooks (510) 238-7006 dbrooks@oaklandnet.com Jean Quan (510) 238-7004 jquan@oaklandnet.com Pat Kernighan (510) 238-7002 pkernighan@oaklandnet.com Ignacio De La Fuente (510) 238-7005 idelafuente@oaklandnet.com Nancy Nadel (510) 238-7003 clstarks@oaklandnet.com Larry Reid (510) 238-7007 lreid@oaklandnet.com Jane Brunner (510) 238-7001 jbrunner@oaklandnet.com We hope to weather the storm and keep looking out for all the shelter animals as best we can. Thank you for your help and support!

Funnyboy Flash

musie — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:06:10 GMT

Flash has been at the shelter since May. he is such a great dog, but he inadvertently intimidates people. he's about 100lbs, and he can jump straight up into the air to shoulder height. he gets so excited when someone comes to walk him or comes to see him in his kennel that he just bounces like that, like a bunny, boing boing boing boing, in his kennel. he doesn't slam against the gate or anything, but a dog that big bouncing that high in the air always intimidates everyone. the thing about Flash though is that he doesn't do that once outside his kennel! he doesn't jump on people, and doesn't really even jump around at all. he's a sweet boy that just gets excited when he sees a visitor! he loves to play with toys, and he cracks me up because he loves toys shaped like donuts most of all. his favorite thing to do is put a donut toy over his snoot, thus blinding himself, and run around the yard with it. so so funny and cute! he loves to sit for treats, he loves to play fetch, he loves other dogs, he pretty much just loves everyone! Flash really needs a home - if you know anyone who wants a larger, active dog then tell them to go see Flash! here is his petfinder page - view his video and watch him doing his sillyboy donut toy routine!: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12160506

Pup needs a home!

musie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:06:08 GMT

Meet Jethro! He's been at the Oakland Animal Shelter since November of 2007 - almost a year now - waiting for a good home. He's a sweet boy, intelligent, and catches on quickly. He's got great energy, and would be great for someone looking to do agility training or even a jogging partner. He's very silly (happily wearing a wig up there in that photo!) and gets along well with both dogs and cats! A rep from the Chicago police department actually came all the way to Oakland to test Jethro to be a police dog - he passed almost all the tests except he wouldn't pick up a copper pipe in his mouth. I can't say I blame him much on that one! For more info on Jethro, and to view video of him at play, please visit his Petfinder entry here: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9927390 Feel free to repost!

out out, damn desktop!

musie — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:35:28 GMT

here is your laugh for the day! Police excuse angry computer user for outburst: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:33am ET146 BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations. Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday. Officers found the street and pavement covered in electronic parts and discovered who the culprit was. Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer. "Who hasn't felt like doing that?" said a police spokesman. While escaping any official sanction the man was made to clear up the debris. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-07-17T153218Z_01_EIC748770_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMANY-COMPUTER1.xml

oh yeah.

musie — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:45:27 GMT

did i mention i'm going to bermuda in two weeks? my mom grew up there, and hasn't been back since her twenties, when her dad died. generations of my mom's family all the way back to the 1800's lived there. my whole life i've been trying to get her to go back, and she never wanted to, and was always sort of sad about it. but then last year when my brother's daughter was born my mom suddenly decided the whole family was going. so she rented a house for us. family vacay! i just wish i had enough vacation time to be there the whole time. they're going for three weeks. i can only go for one. hmph. it'll be so cool to see where my mom grew up!

emotibuds!

musie — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:54:02 GMT

so cute so cute so cute! and so cheap! i want! http://www.emotibles.com/category.php?category_id=1

OH.MY.GOD.

musie — Fri, 18 May 2007 16:27:17 GMT

a spider just ran down my chest, into my shirt, AND INTO MY BRA AND UNDER MY BOOB!!!! i hate spiders, HATE. HATE FEAR LOATHE. i can't explain to you how much i detest spiders. ACK. i think i nabbed it, but i can't find the body anywhere. i even ran to the bathroom and did a strip search - nada. came back and searched all around my desk - nothing. no spider body. and i have a cold, and i feel sneezy and crappy and terrible, and NOW A SPIDER IN MY UNDERWEAR AT WORK!! *cries* i think i should get to go home. work trauma.

going postal...

musie — Fri, 11 May 2007 20:24:41 GMT

i have a deep and unabiding mistrust of the u.s. postal system. i remember discovering with glee as a young girl that a friend and i could send letters to one another sans stamps by switching around the "to and "from" addresses. the letter would then be "returned" to the intendent recipient. magic! when i got older if i wanted a letter to be delivered in a timely fashion i had to drive to the next town to mail it. because for some ungodly reason the letters in my small town got shipped all the way down to the bottom of the state...then all the way up to the top of the state...and only THEN were they finally sent on their way to the indicated addressee. this added a good three days to the delivery time of any letter. as an adult, i still hate the fact that it's such a pain to mail a letter. you buy a book of stamps, when really you only needed a few. by the time you use the rest of them, the rates have gone up so you either a) trek down to the post office to buy additional teeny cent stamps or b) slap another one on there and grumble about the money you just wasted. not to mention the fact that if you DO, god forbid, have to go down to the actual post office, you will be forced stand in line waiting for assistance until the rapture comes. and now they have this "forever" stamp - have you heard of this? supposedly i can buy a book of "forever" stamps today, and no matter what, i can use them in the future. despite rate hikes or changes, they stay good forever. i can use them in the year 3000 if i want. RIIIIIGHT. this, i do not trust. however... despite my reservations and consternations, i maintain a bit of a love-hate relationship with mail. i adore getting "real" mail among the tangled mess of bills and credit card offers. i wiggle with excitement over packages. i think there is something so lovely about a handwritten card or note. so imagine my glee when i discovered....letterfu. it's so innocent, but somehow still feels naughty and subversive. i can write my letter, fold, mail. no envelope, no glue, no tape. i am leaving out a mandatory step! i am thwarting the post office! well, ok, i still need the damn stamp. www.letterfu.com

FYI

musie — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:27:53 GMT

jalapeno peanut brittle es muy malo.

i am the empress. goo-goo-ka-choo.

musie — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:22:31 GMT

(but Masque is THE DEVIL! niiiiiice.) You are The Empress Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation. The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents, beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful. The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her. What Tarot Card are You? Take the Test to Find Out. http://www.flarn.com/~warlock/tarot

ok then!

musie — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:50:20 GMT

my primary boss is gone on vacation for a week. my secondary boss is gone from the office for the day. and IT just accidentally locked me outta my voice mail for the next eight hours. i think that's a sign.

auf wiedersehen.

musie — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:48:22 GMT

did a big ole friend purge. spring cleaning and all that. if you feel wrongly booted, just lemme know. home depot, you also get the boot. i hate going to your vast confusing store full of bad service and inept employees! you are OUT!

yawn...

musie — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:26:26 GMT

daylight savings time is kicking my ass. i want my extra hour back, thankyouverymuch. in other news, i found a wee empty baby bird egg shell under a tree yesterday, and the top of it not far away. somebody got born! i couldn't see the nest anywhere, but it made me happy. (yes, i am a sap, blogging about baby birds.) it made me think of my childhood, growing up in the country and running around in the grasses and fields. i'm so glad spring is here at last. now excuse me while i do a faceplant into my keyboard. zzzzzzzzzzz....

home sick like me?

musie — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:03:07 GMT

this will keep you entertained for a while - make your own superhero! http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine2/?ref=iy well, it'll keep you entertained provided you're as much of a dork as i am...above is the one i made. woo! (marty, i expect something wicked from you outta that link.)

Happy Valentine's Day to ME!!!

musie — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:37:52 GMT

Masque just surprised me at work with a personal delivery of TWO, count 'em TWO, bouquets of gorgeous roses!! One lavender, one white with pink tips - my favorites!!! Poor guy, I was totally shocked when he showed up (I didn't expect to be able to see him until Friday) and the first thing I blurted outta my mouth was "What are you doing here??" and then he had to wait until we were in the elevator for me to lose my cool. At first he thought I didn't like it because I had to remain all calm and cool and work poised (office mates AND boss nearby)! NOTHING could be further from the truth! I LOVED it! (Of course!) THANK YOU BABY! I LOVE YOU! YOU'RE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!! MWAH! :D :D :D

yo djs!

musie — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:07:32 GMT

need quick work/cash? a friend of mine is in a bind and needs a dj for friday night. here are the details - lemme know if you're interested!: friday night -- it's a birthday party in the mission (two apartments, next door to each other, in the same building). we've got $150 for the dj, plus drinks (for her/him and a plus one) and whatever tips we can get from the crew throughout the night. we need two hours of 80's from about 9 to 11 and then if the dj want's to mix it up after, that'd be great.

WOOHOO!

musie — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:30:01 GMT

Masque got hit by a car in January while riding his bicycle. Dumb teenage girl in an s.u.v. not paying attention. It's been a long road to recovery, encompassing shoulder surgery and physical therapy. He hasn't been able to ride in a year. AND TODAY HE GOT CLEARED BY THE DOCTOR TO RIDE AGAIN!! (This isn't a casual thing for him - he's one of those crazies that rides hundreds of miles and competes and lives to go trekking through the desert and up vertical inclines on a bike and stuff. So the fact that he hasn't been able to ride for a year and just got cleared is HUGE.) CONGRATS HON!! :D HIGH-FIVE! Now, on with the masochism! ;)

YUM.

musie — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:44:57 GMT

masque and i got all ambitious over thanksgiving and cooked what was, hands down, the best thanksgiving feast EVER. (see photo above) we started out by braving the wilds of safeway on thanksgiving eve. that in itself was an experience. i got lessons on onion selection from a cheerful woman and her TALL farmer husband who were wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving - "you got to SQUEEZE that onion, sister, you just looked at it - you got to SQUEEZE it!" next we braved bumper car alley, aka the spice aisle, while i danced back and forth amid the chaos (in what proved to be a LONG search for poultry seasoning) and fended off little old ladies trying to run us over from every direction . when we finally gathered all our ingredients and made it to the checkout line we witnessed a man falling in love with jesus christ all over again, "right here in line! just now!" thanksgiving morning masque proved himself the turkey master, and produced a delicious bird. as the queen of starch i took over the sweet potatoes, and we made the rosemary sage stuffing as a joint effort. (although someone DID get rather protective of it and earned himself the nickname of "stuffing nazi"). i finished it off with a side of creamed spinach stuffed in bell peppers, and masque declared his life was complete because he now has a girlfriend who knows how to make real gravy from scratch. we had so much fun cooking, and even more fun enjoying it. the only casualty was the pumpkin pie...i cooked it a bit too long and it wasn't so great. masque was a good sport and ate a ton of it anyway. luckily we had pumpkin ice cream to make up for it. in short, we RULED this thanksgiving. it was the best thanksgiving meal i've had in years, and the most fun too. :)

i stink.

musie — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:53:26 GMT

i set my kitchen on fire this morning. ok, to be more accurate, my toaster oven set itself on fire. the timer malfunctioned and never turned off and it just merrily cooked away until the whole thing went up in flames and filled the entire house with smoke. firewoman lucky saved the day with the fire extinguisher. i ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, throwing open windows. i then had to run out the door to go to work. i should've just sprung for the black and decker!! they're the only toaster ovens verified by consumer reports not to set your house on fire. but noooo. i went for the cheapy version. the "toastmaster". more like charcoalmaster. so now i'm sitting at my desk, emanating eau de bonfire, and sneezing my head off from the smell of my own smokeyfunkyness. i think i'll skip the dramatic opening to the day from now on, thankyouverymuch.