Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Crime scene: Do not cross

Case number: NJ 1041366335023940

Incident: Assault

Investigating Unit: Feline Decoration Unit of Protection (F'D UP), a division of the NJ Pet Police

At about 0600 hours on December 16, 2008, Mark Gav of Morris County, NJ walked into his living room to discover it was the scene of a horrific crime.

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Upon investigation, officers confirmed the victim was an approximately seven-foot-tall Norway spruce. The victim was lying at about a 30-degree angle, face down against the back of the couch.

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The victim was still screwed into its supporting stand, but numerous ornaments were broken and the garland and lights were hanging off of it. The carnage was disturbing even to veteran investigative officers.

(Note, the following photos are rather graphic and not for the faint of heart.)

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At approximately 0700 hours, with officers’ consent, homeowners Mark and Kimberly Gav decided to move the victim to the floor fearing their young daughters may try to sit on the victim or use it as a slide if it was left at an angle.

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Both homeowners confirmed that the victim was observed to be fully upright when they went to sleep at approximately 2300 hours on December 15, 2008. Homeowners said they did not hear anything during the evening, leading the investigating officer to believe this is an inside job.

They also confirmed that both their pre-school daughters were asleep. The mother checked on one, who was sick, several times throughout the night, while the other spent most of the night in her parent’s bed kicking them and flailing about.

Upon further questioning, it was revealed that the whereabouts of the household’s four cats could not be confirmed at various times during 2300 hours on December 15 and 0600 hours on December 16.

Therefore, all four were brought in for questioning.

Suspect one: BadCat

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A black female with white chest and gold eyes, approximately 10-years-old.
Whereabouts during time of crime: Asleep on the homeowner’s bed until approximately 0400 hours.
Past record: In all the years BadCat has lived with homeowners, she has never shown interest in the Christmas tree or its ornaments.
Possible motives: Cat is still extremely pissed off at homeowners for acquiring three cats in March 2008.
Verdict: Possible suspect, but not likely given past record of good behavior.

Suspect two: Janey

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An Abyssian-mix with green eyes, approximately 3 years old.
Whereabouts during time of crime: Unknown
Past record: Undetermined, though homeowners feel cat is too fat and lazy to scale a Christmas tree.
Possible motives: May have thought glass bird 2/3 of the way up tree was actual food.
Verdict: Possible, though suspect’s physical size and shape makes it unlikely.

Suspect three: Ben

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A striped gray male with brown eyes, approximately 18 months old.
Whereabouts during time of crime: Observed sleeping on sick child’s bed most of the evening and then in homeowner’s bed around 0500 hours.
Past behavior: Unknown history, but has not paid much attention to the tree since it was erected on December 7, 2008.
Possible motives: Fun and adventure, has close ties to Molly, prime suspect in the case
Verdict: Ben remains a likely suspect, possibly an accomplice, but until further evidence can be obtained, is free on bail.

Suspect four: Molly

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A striped orange female with gold eyes, approximately 21 months old.
Whereabouts during time of crime: Unknown for entire period under question.
Past behavior: Suspect has shown mild interest in the Christmas tree, crawling under it and batting lightly at low-hanging ornaments, but homeowners did not feel behavior was anything to worry about.
Possible motives: Fun and adventure
Verdict: Remains prime suspect both in plotting and execution, but evidence too circumstantial to formally prosecute. Will remain under close observation by undercover officers from the Feline Decoration Unit of Protection (aka F’D UP).

Officers have already observed Molly returning to the scene of the crime, a classic indicator of guilt. They are especially disturbed with perpetrator’s boldness, staring at them defiantly.

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Homeowner has re-decorated tree and tied it to the bolted-in curtain rods behind it, but remains concerned that the perpetrator will come up with new and more creative ways to torture the victim.

As a further preventative tactic, homeowner is now deciding whether cat would make nice mittens or earmuffs and is looking for input. Thoughts?

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Friday, November 21, 2008

Haiku Friday: The day the music died

For Christmas in 2004, Mark bought me a 20GB (now quaintly referred to as a “Classic.”) iPod. It was one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever. My iPod and I went everywhere together. I listened to NPR and Lost podcasts on it, danced around my living room with it, sang along with my girls to endless Disney songs on it and, until it was replaced with a Shuffle last year, hauled it around the gym with me.

It took a number of spills off the treadmill, was thrown across the room by Loaf, stepped on (by me) and accidentally left in the backyard for three days. And still, my little iPod Classic that was only “supposed” to last a year or two kept on playing. Until yesterday when it suddenly and peacefully died of natural hard-drive related causes. It’s only symptoms were an ominous whirring, failure to load my menus and then . . the dreaded screen of death.

It was a sad day so I turned to Haiku for comfort. I like to think my iPod had a good life and knew it was loved. Please send my little Classic your good thoughts today.

Haiku Friday

Haiku Friday

Dear old loved iPod
So many great tunes we shared
Now screen of death - sad

Hard drive whirs and whirs
But no menus come on screen
Don’t leave me iPod

Classic twenty gig
You brought music to my ears
Now good paperweight

Hit reset button
Six hundred fifty-two times
iPod death confirmed

Life without iPod
Silent quiet musicless
Time to get iPhone

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday sickies

Sunday night and my stomach is flip-flopping and flop-flipping, my throat feels like sandpaper and my head is pa-pa-pounding. So instead of torturing myself, I'm going to bed.

And for everyone participating in National Blog Posting Month, today is Nov. 16th! You’re more than halfway there, baby! Keep-a-posting!

14 more days. 14 more days.

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Play along: What do you think he did?!?

Today in Loehmann’s, I happened to look up and right in front of me is a young woman with an obviously bored-out-of-his-ever-fucking-mind man standing off to one side. Draped over his arm is a massive quantity of women’s clothing.

She is furiously rifling through the sales rack in front of her, occasionally plucking something out and hanging it over her own arm. Suddenly, she stops, turns to him and snaps, “Here! This is getting heavy again. You hold it,” as she transfers her pile of clothing to his.

He actually winces in a display of physical pain when this happens. I’m not sure if that’s due to her gruff manner, the gargantuan weight of the clothing, or impending credit card bill he knows he is about to receive from this little expedition.

Clearly, he was not there by choice, because really, what man who is not under serious womanly peril would chose to spend his afternoon like that? So my theories as to why he was playing the role of her shopping caddy are:

A. He spent all day yesterday screaming at the NFL playoffs and ignored her,
B. He was out with friends at a bar screaming at the NFL playoff games all night and did not arrive home until the wee hours of the morning, or
C. He was found looking at porn on his computer.

Any guesses? Come on – we can all play along.

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Sunday, September 23, 2007

Slip on your dancin' shoes . . .

And get ready to kick along with the Gav Clan doin' the Can Can:



Or maybe disco is more your thing?



Shhhh. Don't tell anyone, but I think we have actually done a few of those moves in public. Eeek.

And for those of you prefer a Latin beat:



All made possible by those fun folks over at Jib Jab whose This Land video still cracks me up three years later.

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Monday, January 29, 2007

Notepad mystery

OK, so I don't have a lot of mystery left in my life at this point (unless it's wondering if my child is going to poop in the middle of my aerobics class thus causing me to miss the entire abs segment or looking high and low for a treasured stuffed animal that seems to have disappered into thin air). But other than that, it's pretty much the same old stuff day in and day out.

Which is why I am so intrigued by what I discovered in my notepad this morning. I took this brand-new notepad, which is nothing special - just a 5"x8", white lined, 50-page ordinary pad - from my office's supply closet last week. Since then, I have used it to furiously take notes during several interviews, write down a few phone numbers, and jot some of my to-do lists.

But today as I recorded some notes from a phone interview, I flipped the page to find this scrawled smack in the middle of the pad:

HUNDRED YEARS' WAR
FRANCE & ENGLAND 1337-1453
CHARACTERS: JOAN OF ARC, SHAKS//HENRY V, HENRY VI
PART 1 (AGINCOURT?)
1154 TO THRONE HENRY
PLANTAGENET (COUNT OF ANJOU)
EDWARD (BLACK PRINCE) 1356 A.D.)

That's it. The rest of the book is blank. The handwriting is most definitely not that of any of my coworkers. So who is the author? Does someone at the TOPS Paper Company have a fetish for English history? Maybe he (or she) is an aspiring writer? Maybe I have in my hands the beginnings of a great novel or screenplay? Above all, why would you choose to put those notes in the middle of an otherwise unused notebook? And then send it down the assembly line?

Alas, I'll probably never know answers to these and other mysteries surrounding my notepad. But at least for 10 minutes today, I got to feel a bit like Robert Stack. (Yes, I really, really need to get a life.)

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Monday, January 08, 2007

Random things I ponder

Why is it that as soon as my children go to bed and I’m finally free of anyone needing me to change their diaper, wipe their nose, fetch them a snack or read them a story that my cat suddenly becomes the most needy animal on the planet insisting on sitting on my lap, being petted and meowing incessantly if neither is done on exactly her terms?

Why is it when I’m out looking for something specific (black boots, a new white blouse, etc.) I can’t find it, but when I’m just passing through a store with no time to browse I see about 60 things I want to buy?

Why do I never think to call a friend and catch up when I actually have 20 minutes of downtime, but when I’m racing around like a madwoman all I can think about is the long list of people to whom I owe calls?

Why is my skin always its clearest on the weeks when I am not seeing any friends, family or clients but the minute I make plans? Bingo. Huge zit (or zits).

Why, in the early 1990s when I was in college and had a perfectly flat stomach, was it all the rage to wear gigantic sweatshirts down to your knees?

Why is it that this is the first winter that I actually want snow so I can take the girls outside, build a snowman and make snow angels that there has not been so much as one flurry all season and apparently no chance of one coming anytime soon?

Why do people still like American Idol so much when it has only produced one real star to date?

Why is it I can remember my best friend from second grade’s phone number (663-3708) but I’m constantly forgetting passwords for my e-mail, ATM card and office keypad?

And finally, why do I waste my time thinking about so much trivial crap when I’ve got more pressing, serious things to worry about?

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

I am unique!

There is only ONE person with my name in the whole country - ME! :-)


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere is:
1
person with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

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