So I've been on the fence about getting an iBOT.
I mean, do I want to be able to go on the beach with
my daughter and my dogs, or watch from a distance? Do
I want to have an eye level conversation with a standing
adult or would I rather strain my neck? If I go to a show,
would I like to see the stage, or stare at the butt of the
person standing infront of me? Do I want to be able to get
up and down stairs independently or would it be better to
not go where I want to go, or to break someone else's back
to get me up the stairs? As you might image, it's a dilemma
that I've been wrestling with for like about 8 years now.
It's probably the hardest goddamn decision I've ever
had to make in my entire life.

I'm happy to report that my decision is finally made.
My answer is yes! Yes, I am going to get an iBOT! Wanna
know what sealed the deal? I'll tell you! I know this guy
who has had his iBOT for one year now, and Johnson and Johnson
Federal Expressed him a one year anniversary gift. Hold onto
your britches, cuz this will knock them off... the gifts they
sent him via Federal Express included hand lotion, baby powder,
and bandaides. Woo-hoo! Now if that ain't a deal sealer,
I don't know what is.

I went to my parent's house last weekend to celebrate Easter.
This is their cat.

Here are some eggs we decorated.

We played a game called Catch Phrase.

It's a super fun game, but if your mom says, "It is what
I am sitting on", the answer probably isn't, "fat ass". It's
probably "chair". And if your sister sings, "Somewhere...", the
answer probably isn't "Kermit the Frog". It's "Over the
Rainbow".

I've put together a compilation of some of my best
wheelchair tricks. You can see them here.

That backflip was the shit.

~~~~~~~~~~~

-That's not me in the video.
-My mom doesn't have a fat ass.
-J&J really did send that one year anniversary gift. And
they really did sent it Fed Express.
-I haven't been on the fence about getting an iBOT. I've
wanted one with all my heart ever since I first saw it on
TV many years ago.

Fleas. I give my dogs and cats that flea medicine
that you squirt onto their skin and it kills fleas,
ticks, flea eggs, larvae, as well as repel mosquitoes.
I don't know what it is. Some nasty chemicals. It's
really the only way to get rid of the fleas though.

So anyway. I thought I'd be smart and save a few
bucks for my iBOT by getting the cheap stuff at the
grocery store instead of the vet. Bad idea. This is
what it did to my oldest cat Mike:

I put the medicine on him two days ago. Yesterday his
hair was falling out and his skin was pink and swollen.
Today it is scabbed over. Poor kitty. DO NOT buy Sergeant's.
They suck. It was really stinky stuff and it hurt my kitty.

The box says: If signs of sensitivity occurs, bathe your pet
with mild soap and rinse with large amounts of water. Oh yeah,
that's funny - rinse your cat with large amounts of water. Right.

Let's see...
cat scab
dead fly
Chuck E Cheese's
chocolate dog barf
skeletons
killing mice with sticky paper
fat ass
What next?

I have to say that today was a beautiful day. 70 something
and sunny. I took photos at a couple of friend's houses.
First off, here is my friend's dog Nick:

And my other friend's dog Bella:

And here are some photos from their wonderful gardens:

Well, I was hoping for a better picture, but my camera failed
me. I wanted some great detail, such as the expression on the
fly's face, but no luck. I was pleased with the hairs on his
back though.

On a serious note, one of the reasons I like macro photography
so much is because I often see things that I never would have
noticed with my naked eye.

You know what goes well with flys? Sandwiches. Here is how
to make one:

Bed

It's 8:30 on a Monday night and I'd like to go to
bed. Getting all comfy under the warm covers
reading a book I just checked out.. oh yeah,
that's where I want to be. Ahhh, The Catcher
in the Rye. I was browsing at the library and
saw it. I haven't read it since I was a kid.
I hated reading until I read The Catcher in the
Rye. It was the first book I read and loved. It
was the book that introduced me to the joy of
getting lost in a good book. It was the book
that changed reading from homework to pleasure.

So anyway, I can't go to bed yet because I am
waiting for my daughter to come home. I can only
hope she will be home soon, for her sake and mine.
Seriously, I hope she's not completely overwhelmed.

Why would she be overwhelmed you ask? Because
she's at Chuck E Cheese's. The poor girl. Her
dad's nephew's son is having a birthday party
there.

People *willingly* go to Chuck E Cheese's. It's true.
And some people, like my ex's nephew apparently,
*choose* to have parties there. Shocking. I'd rather
go to the dentist. I really would.

If you've never been there, consider yourself lucky.
And if you ever get invited, trust me, don't go.
Pretend you are sick. Pretend you got a flat tire.
Pretend you had to go to a funeral. It doesn't matter.
Just don't go.

I went to one once, and it was bad. I still have
nightmares and it happened over 5 years ago.

Alright, I need to go look for a dead fly now. Halfway
through writing this my dog started barking which means
she needed to go out. After letting her out, I noticed
a dead fly on my bed. I suppose most normal people would
take the fly to the garbage. Not me. I wiped it off the
bed onto the floor. As I was leaving the room, I thought,
darn, I should've kept the thing and taken macro photos
of it tomorrow. Yes, it's things like this that excite me.
Hopefully none of the cats have eaten it already. Wish me
luck. If I find it, I'll post a picture tomorrow because I
know anyone reading this will want to see photo of a dead fly
as much as they wanted to see chocolate dog barf or fat ass.

Wanna know what sucks about the iBOT?

I don't have one. That's what sucks.

Seriously, it is messing with my head that I
don't have one. While I was fine living without
one for nearly 3 decades, I was fine with it
because it didn't exist! Now that it exists,
and I've tried it, and I loved it, but I don't
have one, I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Every single day since December I've been
thinking about the things I could do if I had
an iBOT. For example, I'd like to be out
exploring the neighborhood right now. Sure,
I can explore a bit in my manual, but not as
much as I could if I had an iBOT.

It's very frustrating.

I will get one though. I'm not sure when or
how, but it will happen.