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Searching For Susan

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.

About Me


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About me...hmm... DOGS! I love and adore dogs. I'm currently without a canine companion, but hoping to find the right one soon. I've had three German Shepherds and loved each one. I'm thinking of getting a Cane Corso (also known as an Italian Mastiff) this time around. Other possibilities are a chocolate Labrador, a Rottweiler or a Great Dane. From those you can probably tell I like big dogs. I like little dogs, too, as long as their human is someone else. I do NOT like yappers!My philosophy about dogs is that they're completely trainable and what you put out is what you get back. If you want your dog to be vicious, be vicious. Kick it, hit it beat it with a two-by-four, deprive it of food and water. I guarantee you'll get a vicious dog no matter what breed it may be. On the other hand, I defy anyone to give me a just-weaned puppy of any breed and not have a sweet loving companion within weeks. Puppies are, by nature, sweet-natured. Have you ever been to a breeder's and seen savage, cruel, vicious puppies? Unless it was a puppy mill (which should be burnt to the ground, every last one of 'em), no you have not. They pile all over one another to get your attention, and when you pick one up he or she licks you, not bites you. This picture is my dog (and human) philosophy in a nutshell:One of the things I have a hard time wrapping my mind around are Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs. Check out this picture of Riley , one of the 250 canine heroes of 9/11.Please visit the link to see a wonderful tribute to these animals. The picture here is of a since-deceased dog traversing one side of the "pile" as rescuers call it, to another, about seventy feet up in the air -- but more likely far above that since the "ground" was the closest thing below (more wreckage). His handler gave him directions and Riley did it. Calm, cool and collected. Who could ask for anything more in a hero?

My Interests

I love reading and writing. I love almost all animals, especially dogs (which you already know, I'm sure). I am beginning to enjoy creating rubber stamped cards after a nearly two year hiatus. Collage/mixed media art is fun to create. In the past month of so, I've found myself actually watching television, something I never did before. I don't know why this is happening, but it's alarming. At least I restrain myself to The Learning Channel , Discovery and Animal Planet . One of my greatest joys is spending time with my son, Michael and his various friends.This is a picture of Michael with his system.And a picture of his turntables and mixer.I take an occasional dip into the land of partying and a more than occasional dip into the land of avoiding chores. I usually enjoy movies, but watch them so seldom that I can't honestly say they're an interest.

I'd like to meet:

Copernicus, Gallileo, Einstein, Newton, Stephen Hawking, Steve Irwin, anyone passionate about animals, especially endangered species. Anyone who can explain quantum physics and string theory in an articulate manner. Some of my MySpace friends (in no particular order): Leigh , Kate , TheophaniaArtemis , Anna Cowgirl , Jenny The OptiMystic , mark and Jill . I would also like to meet anyone interested in forming a monthly rubber stamping card exchange!

Music:

Listed below are the musicians/bands that inspire and influence me. I sent a good portion of the list packing (inadvertantly), so this is a partial list. The good part is if you want to check any of these out, they are all links rather than just your basic list. Oh, by the way... any asterisks represent the number of times I've seen that band/person live in concert. Enjoy!89ersAmerica
Amit
Analog Trip
Augustana
AuraliaJ.S. Bach
Badly Drawn Boy
Joan Baez *
Pat Benetar
James Blunt
Bon Jovi *
Boyce Avenue
Bravestate
Michael BubleCheap Trick *
Eric ClaptonDaughtry
Dire Straits
Dixie Chicks
DJ Ducky
DJ Fuzz Buzz
DJ Elusive
DJ Hixxy
DJ Lisa
DJ Monk
DownNgoinG
The Eagles **
EvanescenceFleetwood Mac *
FoghatDavid Gilmour
Godsmack
GuntherLindsey Haun
Imogen Heap
HinderNatalie Imbruglia
In Christ AloneBarry Jay
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Janis Joplin
Journey *Kansas
Kitano
Mark Knopfler
KyteL2 Music
Lacuna Coil
Lara Landon
Led Zeppelin
Christie Lenee
John Lennon
Little Big Man
Little Feat
Julie LondonMaria and the Fox
Bob Marley
Ziggy Marley
John Mayer
Sarah McLachlan
Anthony Michaels
Mostly Autumn
My Last MistakeNickelback
Nintendo Remix
Maurice Noah
Northern Lights
Nutcracker Suite ElectroniqueOceania
On the Surface
OnaPachebel
Michael Paige
Peter, Paul & Mary
The PoliceQueen
Quire of Voyces *Red Hot Chili Peppers *
Renaissance
Lionel Richie
Camille Saint-Saens
Savage Garden
Scarlet Rays
Rock On The Range
Shaun RyanJoe Satriani
Simon & Garfunkel
Steeleye Span
Styx
Alek SzahalaGeorge Thorogood *
Toast Burglar
Toto
Tune Up!
Turntable Cooperative *=Too Many to CountPaul van Dyk
Van Halen
The Verdict
Antonio VivaldiJoe Walsh
Washington's Crossing
Coles Whalen
Eric Whitacre
Whitesnake *
George Winston
The Wishing TreeYes **ZZ TopAnd of course:PINK FLOYD! ******And some links for my own use, but feel free to check 'em out.Bach Cello Suites

Movies:

I don't really do movies. Before V for Vendetta , the last movie I saw in the theater was, I *think*, Titanic . How pathetic is that? Other movies I really like are The Name of the Rose , Children of a Lesser God , Moulin Rouge , Blazing Saddles and Arthur . There are others and I'll add them as I think of them.

Television:

Originally I said I don't watch much television. Unfortunately that has changed recently for reasons I'm confused about. Now I'm an Animal Planet , Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel junkie. Yikes! Less reading, more TV. What gives with THAT? But seriously, can you honestly say that Jaime and Adam from Mythbusters aren't the bomb? I thought not.

Books:

Books are manna from heaven. I cannot imagine being unable to read. The myriad realms into which one can escape through reading make life tolerable. I've always been a rabid reader, beginning when I was quite young with the Nancy Drew books. I made a little hidey-hole for myself in the back of my closet and put a sleeping bag, flashlight and anything else I thought necessary in there and spent hours (and sometimes all night) in there reading. I'd read under the covers of my bed at night until one of my parents busted me. Then I'd wait 'til they'd gone to bed and pick up where I left off. Thankfully, I've always been able to survive on four or five hours of sleep, so my school work didn't suffer too badly.These days I read primarly contemporary literature and psychological suspense. I'm sure the latter comes from those early Nancy Drews. ;) I recently discovered an author whose stuff I am completely addicted to, Christoper Moore . Just the titles of his books are enough to make one wonder:You Suck: A Love Story
Practical Demonkeeping
Island of the Sequined Love Nun
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood PalI've been reading all the books in order of publication and after having read the one of the them all, I've decided A Dirty Job that's my favorite, followed closely by Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal . Both are absolutely hilarious and A Dirty Jobis sick and twisted in all the right ways. Each one gets better than the last, but A Dirty Job reigns supreme.Until recently John Irving was my favorite author. However, the last three books published by him were extremely disappointing. He keeps revisiting the same old stuff (New Hampshire, wrestling, tortured relationships, weird sex, etc.). And since A Prayer for Owen Meany was published in 1989, he doesn't seem to have grown much as a writer. Well, that's not entirely true. I very much liked A Son of the Circus as well, which was published in 1995. His writing style rarely varies. Lots of parentheses, hyphens, italics. Given a page torn from any of his books, I could identify it as his at a glance. His latest, Until I Find You , was especially disappointing. I found it trite, banal and just more of the same-old same-old. I've always kept Irving's books in my permanent collection, but this one was passed on right away. A Prayer For Owen Meany remains one of my two all-time favorite books, but most of the stuff Irving has written since then has been a big disappointment.

Heroes:

My heroes are definitely the Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs of the world. Not many people know the rigorous training they and their handlers go through to become certified, nor does the general public know 1) their amazing skills and 2) the lengths they'll go to in order to do their jobs. I wish more media light or whatever was shed on them; they are true heroes.The closest person I have to a hero, I guess, is my best friend, Phoebe. She owns Santa Barbara Bird Farm as well as works fulltime as General Manager of four of California's most premiere stores, Kim3 International Furnishings . When I received my first parrot as a gift from my husband, we joined Santa Barbara Bird Club where I met Phoebe. Eventually we became friends while serving on the Board of Directors. As I became more and more interested and in love with parrots, Phoebe took me under her wing (pun intended) and became my unofficial mentor. I volunteered at the Bird Farm, learning how to best care for these magnificent creatures. I learned how to hand feed babies, how to wean them, how to nurture their growth and development. I learned some avian medicine (which came in handy when I started breeding birds professionally). All those hours spent with Phoebe in her daily routine became times of chatting about other things than birds, and before I knew it almost, we were good friends. That friendship has only grown over the years and today I consider Phoebe my closest friend. We don't get to see one another very often due to her rather frantic schedule, but we manage to keep in touch via email and we celebrate birthdays and other special events together.Phoebe has simply amazing qualities: She is extremely intelligent, more gracious than anyone I've ever met, has the work ethic of a Puritan, is a published author of hundreds of articles about psittacines (parrots) in various jounals and books, and travels all around the U.S. speaking about her theories and practices. Additionally, she's kind, empathetic and funny as hell, especially when she puts of a drama queen persona while making a joke about herself. Her brother Clark is a friend as well, though I've met him only once; he lives in Ohio but I've edited his first book for him and am working on the second. Phoebe's mom has been here in Santa Barbara for several months, avoiding the Michigan snow where she lives. Somehow Phoebe handles all these things -- Bird Farm, working, guests -- with some major aplomb and class. And on top of everything she's beautiful and has a body I'd kill for (tall and thin enough to be able to wear virtually anything but not the least bit emaciated). I guess I put Phoebe on a bit of a pedistal until we get together and find ourselves sharing secrets and laughing at the antics of the birds, the people we both know, and those only one of us knows (that's when the drama queen comes out). All I know is I love her and hope that we'll always be friends.And now, some "heroic" dog quotes:"If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life."
--Roger Caras"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Geroge Graham Vest"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
--Will Rogers"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about puppies."
-- Gene Hill"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
-- Ben Williams"I've seen a look in dogs eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
-- John Steinbeck"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
-- Josh Billings"Man is a dog's idea of what God should be."
-- Holbrook Jackson"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog."
--Edward Hoagland"Love me, love my dog."
--George Chapman

My Blog

A Blessing

I just received a long email from my beloved cousin, Janice.  Included in the email was the following blessing, which I found inspiring.BLESSING:   The light of Spirit rushes through...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:37:00 PST

Decisions, Decisions

So I found my birth-father.  Yes, I'm adopted.  It was a signed and sealed deal even before I was born.  I've always had scraps of information available to me if I wanted to go searchin...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:41:00 PST

Motivation or Lack Thereof

Thoughts about the emotion of motivation have been on my mind lately.  For the past couple years I've completely ignored my little art studio and I don't know why.It all began when I had major su...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:11:00 PST

Best of Craig's List

Every once in a while Craig's "Best of" page comes up with a good one.  Personally, I don't care for the "rants" that usually have zillions of cuss words in them and are written in anger and host...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 03:26:00 PST

I thought I'd already graduated....The Sequel

The ongoing fight to force my son through his two classes this semester continues.  Spring Break began Thursday for him and he seems to think that means, literally, "take a break."  It's not...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:43:00 PST

Hacked or Not?

For all my friends who were supposed to get a whole bunch of fun St. Patrick's Day images, I apologize for the html junk you received.  It seems I've been hacked (again!) or maybe not (can't real...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:02:00 PST

Who Sang That Song?

In the movie V For Vendetta, V plays a song on his jukebox that I think is called "Cry Me a River."  At least, that's the part that stands out.  It may have been sung by Patsy Cline, but I r...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:48:00 PST

Shamrock in the Big Blue Beyond

Anyone who has ever paid the slightest attention to my profile or blog knows that I'm a huge animal lover.  I've had dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs... all manner of critters.  Dogs...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:52:00 PST

Are You an Animal Lover with a Sense of Humor?

I received this in my email recently:Excerpts from a Dog's Daily Diary:8:00 am - Dog food!  My favorite thing!9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thi...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:15:00 PST

I thought I'd already graduated....

If memory serves me right, I graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara roughly eight years ago.  Why, then, am I finding myself doing lower division college stuff all over agai...
Posted by Searching For Susan on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:12:00 PST