Maybe I'll stick around... by Niki2

TALK STORY

Maybe I'll stick around...

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Saturday, March 16, 2013 12:45
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VIEWED: 5620
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 10:05 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I've been on FFF several years now, almost exclusively in RWED..."Hot Country". I got sick of it recently and backed out, as it turns out for the same reason as a number of others who used to hang out there. Basically, it's become a Pirate News sinkhole, which only added to the consistent unpleasantness that pervades there where politics is concerned.

When my absence was noticed, I said my goodbyes and was amazed at how many of what I consider the "good voices" responded, both on the forum and privately, to say they'd dropped out just as I had and for much the same reason(s), I discovered many of those I so missed weren't really gone, just gone from RWED, and having them reach out to touch me made me realize how much I had missed them and how much I WOULD miss them forever from here on.

So I thought about it. I'm thinking maybe I'll stay on FFF, my love for Firefly itself will never die, and my enjoyment of "talking" to those I've come to admire and respect might have a chance of continuing, away from the political assininity of RWED. Plus, I picked up a videocam and am having fund filming my daily outtings with my two huskies and sulky. So, on the usual basis of "nobody has to read it if they don't want to", for now at least I'm going to make my home Talk Story, where, as it says, you can talk about anything you like.

And I am going to do my absolute damndest to keep ANYTHING political out of anything I write. My feelings on the matter were made abundantly clear in my last post over in RWED, so there's no need to go into why I will try to avoid politics here.

This morning we ran Starkweather. It's one of our many multi-use pathways here in Marin (California, just above the Golden Gate), and one of which is designated part of the "S.F. Bay Trail". Eventually all the sections are intended to connect to create one trail which rings the entire San Francisco Bay--I may not live long enough to see it, but it's a lovely idea and I already utilize several of the sections of it.

Starkweather runs along the Bay at the very edge of San Rafael, just above San Quentin and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. My "guys" find it boring, which isn't surprising given that some of the other trails we run often have local wildlife around to excite them (yesterday at dawn we caught a glimpse of one of the local coyote "packs"--coyotes don't realy "pack", but can hang together as a group). Places like that get the huskies' blood up and I get a real "run" out of them...places like Starkweather, it's just for exercise and they truck along like it was a long-distance trudge to Nome or something. I'd rather they ran, but as long as they get exercise, it's what I'm out for, and gives me the opportunity to film the run.

Our runs go from 40 minutes to an hour, depending on how fast they go, how often I let them stop and sniff, and where we run. Starkweather, at their usual pace, is about an hour, but I try to hit the highlights so my videos are rarely over ten minutes.

So I offer, for your enjoyment if you're interested, The John and Jean Starkweather portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail, in the morning fog:

These are my Sibes:

There is the male, Tashi:

who I just discovered to my shock is already FIVE (eep!), who came from a working kennel in Canada. The kennel hauls film and equipment out into the wilds for documentary crews, so their dogs are BIG and strong (but not necessarily too bright!).

And my little female is Kochyok:

The Spoiled Baby of the family at three, she gets away with murder and is too smart for her own good. She came from a breeder in Fresno and got lucky; with that coat, she'd have been MISERABLE in Fresno!

They are, as my RWED friends well know, the loves of my life--yes, I love my husband dearly, but damn, he's just NOT as gorgeous, and he doesn't make me laugh, pull my sulky, or give me kisses like they do!

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 12:51 PM

BYTEMITE

Puppies!

Since you do a lot of sulky training, you think you'll ever go up north and do any dog sledding?

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:13 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Yeah, stick around, but avoiding RWED is the smartest thing anyone could do. There are plenty of other things to discuss; Firefly, Serenity, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible, Firefly, Serenity, Other Science Fiction Series (and movies), Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Firefly, Serenity, etc.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:47 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

I've never watched a video on here before, I'm surprised it worked, since I have bad luck with such things. Those dogs are so content, its great that they have a home with someone who is able to give them the attention and oppertunities they need. they're so happy pulling you along! They're cute too. the video is fun because I can sort of go with you without getting scared of the dogs, since they're just on a video and not actually near me. thanks for sharing.

I think that with the change to your situation it makes sense to avoid stressful things (RWED can be stressful) so you can feel your best. good luck with your paddling club too, that will be fun and its great excercise.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013 8:57 PM

MOOSE

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Yeah, stick around, but avoiding RWED is the smartest thing anyone could do.

There is much wisdom in this post.

Beautiful pups!

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013 7:13 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Glad I gave some smiles. Nah, Byte, actual "mushing" requires buying all the equipment (especially the sled!!!), driving hours into the mountains and staying overnight...all expensive. I kinda wish I could, it would be SUCH fun, and of course the guys would MUCH prefer the colder venue, but this is it for us, which is fine. About 50% or more of the people we meet on the trails ask if I'm training (usually "for the Iditerod?"), but I laugh and tell them no, we gots no snow so this is what we do.

The folks in BAM, one of the groups I run with, ARE real mushers and should all be up playing in the snow right now, but the snow has been so bad this yeaer they've had a lot of their races cancelled. I'm not into racing, either, and it's a whole different thing, training huskies to RACE as opposed to just training them to pull something (which they did almost without training). My physical condition would make that difficult if not impossible.

Gordon, I'm not much into yakking about movies/TV/etc., nor am I into fanfic at all, so those don't hold a lot of interest for me. I may venture into Castle, since it's the only one I keep up with, but I got hooked on another Firefly site originally, then that went bad and I ended up here. It was the first time in my life I'd gone to a fan website, and I quickly got grabbed by their version of RWED. I loved debate back in school, and love the English language, so it quickly hooked me. I've rarely ventured out of RWED since coming here, and most the other forums have no pull to me, unfortunately.

Glad you enjoyed it Riona. I actually wouldn't use the words "content" or "happy", hee, hee, hee. They'd MUCH rather run off leash than pull my fat ass around, and Kochyok especially HATES any kind of harness/collar, so she runs out back and stays there until I'm ready to go, then races in to be taken to the car--essentially giving up, knowing she either goes and wears the harness or gets left behind! Problem is, with huskies, unless you're a VERY dedicated trainer (and lucky to boot), they won't stay with you...they go off and do their own thing, which is why so many people lose huskies. Ours are pretty bonded so always come back, but we have to wait for them to do it on THEIR schedule, and be sure we're nowhere near "civilization". Longest I've had to wait was an hour and a half, but that was enough to kill it for my husband and I, so now, aside from occasionally at the beach and only ONE place we'll run them with the bikes ('cuz usually with the bikes they keep up, unless they see a deer, which happens rarely enough that we're willing to wait), it's the sulky.

People who love and own huskies work hard to DISCOURAGE people from getting them as pets. They are a major challenge, unless you're Cesar Millan (!), and 99% of the people who get them for pets aren't willing to take responsibility. They are BRED to run, so need to, and yes, once on the sulky they'll go all day (at THEIR pace, which we are currently "discussing"), so in that respect they do love it and are happy to just keep trotting along, but given their d'ruthers, they'd be off doing their own thing.

I knew what I was getting into because my oldest friend in the world (like since junior high and whose birthday is three days before mine, and whose life and mine have had freaky parallels) has always had them--I've mentioned her before, she was a state park ranger up in the Sierras. My last dog was husky/shephard, so I kinda "eased my way" into Sibes, but even then they managed to surprise me, and I turned out not to be as consistent or good a trainer as I'd always thought...sigh. They've trained me as much as I've trained them, but Jim and I are content, and if one is willing to make the commitment, huskies are like no other breed, have many wolf aspects to them, are incredibly pack oriented (we being part of the pack), keep you laughing and are wonderfully loving. But if you don't make the commitment, you end up with a "gone" husky (they can escape virtually ANYTHING), a wrecked house, a nervous breakdown, or give up the dog. FAR too many in shelters as a result. I do NOT recommend them to anyone!

As to stress, I never minded RWED, well not until recently; the nastiness was frustrating and I made numerous attempts to encourage less of it, but it rolled off my back and would continue to do so. Tho' you're right insofar as I let Six get my goat at the end, which I never did before so there's obviously a difference without my meds. I got into the habit of being nasty myself, then had to try to get out of it, then fell back in, more times than I can count...there's a certain tendency to start giving as good as you receive, and that can be seductively fun, but not who I want to be, so in both those respects, yes, you're right.

Thanx Moose; yes, they are gorgeous, it's one of the things I love about Sibes. Tashi in particular is unusual--I've always loved the Reds, those I've known are a bit "squirrelier" than the other temperaments, maybe like human redheads or something? His markings are pretty spectacular and people mention how handsome he is all the time, and he's funny, it's almost like he knows it, the way he behaves. Kochyok is just "squirrely"; she's actually a terrible tomboy and wouldn't know "pretty" if it bit her on the paw, but Tashi bears himself like a "handsome gentleman" a lot of the time...makes us giggle.

They do make a cute pair, get lots of attention and very photogenic...even if I WEREN'T a doting mom, I'd be tempted... Their two personalities show up perfectly in photos: Tashi the Staid Gentleman and Kochyok the Full'O-Shit Brat!

Tho' sometimes not QUITE so "adorable":

Might as well add me to the pile; this is us sulkying last Summer:

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:00 PM

MAL4PREZ

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:
Tho' sometimes not QUITE so "adorable":

But Mooooom... We like the mud LOL!

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:18 PM

MAL4PREZ

Since we're going down this road: here's my guy. I've got two cats, but one likes to be left alone most of the time. This one just loves to cuddle, maybe because he was a starving orphan kitten.

His little fangs always hang out, like a vampire bat!

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 3:55 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Awww, what a CUTIE! I had a black cat once, sometimes he could get downright SEDUCTIVE--and only with me! I kid you not...it was almost embarrassing (and no, I don't mean humping or anything overtly sexual, but right on the border...).

Cats are COOL. I miss having them...just one would be lovely, not the mob we rescued before, just one. But my moto has always been "Cats are a luxury; a dog is a NECESSITY!" and huskies and cats...well, they CAN get along, but the cat has to be dominant from the start.

What's his name, your little vampire lover?

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 5:34 AM

MAL4PREZ

That's Cosmo. I wouldn't call him seductive as much as needing reassurance. It's totally an orphan thing. At least once a day he wants to be all wrapped up, in a hug and if possible a blanket, and he does the Face Press: he presses some part of his face against my cheek and purrs and purrs and purrrrrrs.

Which is exactly what he did the first day I rescued him, the moment he figured out that I was his new mom. It's like he needs a daily reminder that he has a safe warm spot with a safe warm human. It's quite sweet and endearing, actually.

About dogs, I really enjoy other people's dogs, and visit friends with downright awesome dogs I totally love. But in my home, it's 100% cats. They're cleaner than dogs and don't need as much attention. Certainly, all that walking and poop-picking up - ew! Not for me! But mostly, they don't cuddle the same as cats do. I love cuddling with kitties! It's the best way to nap.

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 6:08 AM

MALACHITE

Hi Niki!
I still occassionally lurk on this board, but the negativity, self-absorbedness and hostility is more grating to me these days. What great nature trails you have to explore. It looks very peaceful.

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 6:49 AM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:

I've been on FFF several years now, almost exclusively in RWED..."Hot Country". I got sick of it recently and backed out, as it turns out for the same reason as a number of others who used to hang out there. Basically, it's become a Pirate News sinkhole...

Quote:
... which only added to the consistent unpleasantness that pervades there where politics is concerned.

Blue Sun Room by PirateNews

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 8:05 AM

BYTEMITE

Quote:
Originally posted by MALACHITE:
negativity, self-absorbedness and hostility

But, my culture.

War on everything!

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 8:31 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Mala...ANOTHER of those lovely voices I've so missed! Quite a shock to find there are still so many "out there", but we never get to hear from you guys anymore. Very sad, but believe me, I FULLY understand! It's just so great to hear from you again and know you ARE still out there somewhere. Gives me hope.

I wish there was a way to have one forum where people could go and discuss anything they wanted without the Ugly among us butting in. Wouldn't that be nice? Hey, I can dream...meanwhile all we can do is ignore them and not let them bully us into disappearing, if it's worth it. So far, for me, it's worth a try.

Yeah, I know exactly how lucky I am Mala, believe me. We moved here in the '70s, bought a pretty funky home (previously a rental) JUST before housing prices skyrocketed, or we'd never have been able to, and pretty soon you couldn't pry me out of this area with...well, anything! Around here, there's a lot of attention paid to how high the population density is allowed to get, to preserving open spaces--with non-motorized access to same--and returning areas that had been destroyed back to their original condition (or as close as possible). All those lagoons, dry marshes and fields in my video are protected; when, for example (as is the case), Home Depot wanted to build out there, they had to preserve X amount of marshlands and/or restore X amount before they were allowed to build; then that area is protected from any further development. I really appreciate it, and enjoy it just as much as I can, believe me! The same is true of the housing development at the beginning of the video; before they could build, they had to buy that land AND the area which is now the first big lagoon, then restore/create the lagoon, and build the multi-use pathway (both of which are now protected "public lands"). It's the main reason, along with the political atmosphere, the tolerance and the love of animals/wildlife, that I'm so grateful to live where I do.

Mal4, I know what you mean about cuddling cats, but for me huskies are my cuddlers. We've never had dogs that liked to be hugged and snuggled, but a lot of huskies do--it's part of the pack mentality left over from their wolf ancestors. I can pretty much toss Kochyok around, upside down, any way I like, and she'll just snuggle her head into me or under my chin and love every minute of it. Tashi is the "other" kind of husky: "Don't touch me there, scritch me HERE and I'll like you", lots of licks, but totally un-cuddlable. On the other hand, I've only had TWO cats of all those we've had who liked cuddling. Laying on my lap--when it's convenient for THEM, mind you!--rubbing against me, purring, etc., but never liked being cuddled. And it always FELT like they had an agenda, if you know what I mean. ;o) Zuli was one of the cuddlers (my amorous black); the other was a tiny cat I rescued when a neighbor died who slept under the covers with me or against my head on the pillow, and tho' we were only graced with her for a year, she is the one I will always remember most. That "total trust" thing is more seductive than anything I can think of!

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 9:00 AM

BYTEMITE

I'm looking after my uncle's cat because of stuff. It's been a month and she's still pretty wary of us because of how we had to gather her up and take her away from the territory she's used to.

I think we're making progress though. She'll actually eat and fall asleep while any of us are with her in her secure room (away from our other cats).

I have two other cats, perhaps I'll find a picture somewhere later. One of them is a cuddler - and a drooler, which can be kind of gross. Either very lazy or not too bright or both, tends not to have a clue what's going on. The other one is playful and very alert and has become my dad's favourite little girl. He didn't like cats before. Rather astonishing.

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Friday, March 15, 2013 12:28 PM

BYTEMITE

Introducing Quantum and Doomsday**

http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/bytemite/Camera_073.JPG

**Not their real names.

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Friday, March 15, 2013 6:01 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
Introducing Quantum and Doomsday**

http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/bytemite/Camera_073.JPG

**Not their real names.

Not anything, from the looks of it. Wanna try again ?

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, March 16, 2013 6:31 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Ooo, bummer...kitty pix but they didn't come up! Would love to see 'em, Byte...

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Saturday, March 16, 2013 6:54 AM

BYTEMITE

It's angelfire, they have a stupid hotlinking rule, but if you copy-paste the URL it'll work.

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Saturday, March 16, 2013 10:57 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I did, and thank you! They're MAGNIFICENT! Those EYES...!!! Their names canNOT be nearly as good as those you wrote, they're purrrrrfect...

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Saturday, March 16, 2013 12:45 PM

BYTEMITE

They pretty much lounge around all day like royalty.

The eye-glow matching their actual eye colours is a neat trick they somehow learned to do.

The grey one is clever and playful. The sunny one is... sweet but clueless, and inclined to drool upon petting.

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