On the subject of Timothy Ann

Ironically, my iTunes just switched over to “Lola” by The Kinks…Lola was she-man, much like Timmy is a he-woman.

Emma and I once had a conversation about what kind of kids we would want. We both decided we wanted crazy, hyperactive little boys, preferably outfitted exclusively by Brooks Brothers.

Friends, Timmy is about as close as I may ever come to achieving this goal.

Sure, she’s a girl. But for a WHOLE DAY I THOUGHT she was a boy. That counts for something, right? And she’s totally crazy.

This is a totally ADD tangent, but on the right-hand “Getting Started” menu of my Word, the Search box has an example search that says “Get rid of Clippy.” I can only imagine it is referring to that heinous paperclip I banned from Lappie years ago, the Jar Jar Binks of Microsoft software. I have to admit I still hate that paperclip, but knowing its name is Clippy makes me feel a little better about life in general.

Anyway. I was talking about Timmy.

She’s the female, canine version of Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame). What more could I ask for? I weighed her today and she is 2.12 kilograms. She was too small for the scale at the pharmacy, so the pharmacist got out a kitchen scale (like for weighing meat and vegetables) and plopped her in there. I cherish these moments.

She’s even getting used to her leash! She walked with me to run errands this morning, then went to Dar Chabab with me, too. I don’t bring her on days I know it will be busy, but Wednesday mornings are pretty tame and mostly just kids I know really well come. She’s pooped from all the walking and taking a nap on the rug now.

Also, I may have a sweet hookup in terms of veterinary services. My friend, Amin, knows the vet here and said he might be able to set her up with her vaccinations for free. This’d be pretty awesome, because the only other free clinic I know of is in Rabat and then I’d have to pay for transportation (and convince drivers to let me bring her in the cab and not the trunk).

In non-puppy news, I kicked off the Reading Race yesterday. Photos of the Reading Race board (brought to you by fellow PCV Mari, a kid from Dar Chabab and me) are available on Facebook. Competition is already getting heated! The intermediate kids are really serious about winning and it’s great to see them zoom through books so fast.

I wish I could say that’s all I’m doing right now, but a counterpart talked to me today about having a chess tournament in Rommani and doesn’t understand the long, involved process of writing a grant. He wants to have the tournament here in about three weeks! Shoot me in the face. Clearly, I’m dealing pretty well with the impending doom of writing a grant by blogging about nothing in particular.

Plus, there’s Earth Day to deal with. I hate all these specific days where you HAVE to do a specific type of activity or everyone thinks you’re a terrible person. Fuck you, Earth Day. And same to you, International Women’s Day. I respect the Earth and my sisters from other misters all the time. Don’t make me drop everything on a certain day to pay homage to something I care about all the time. Hashuma 3likum. I don’t need the pressure.

Okay that was a weird tangent. Timmy just arose and I think she’s about to pee. I’ll check on that while you guys discuss women saving the planet internationally. With AIDS.