(no subject)

First and foremost, thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes, gifts and greetings. I can't say that 40 feels all that much different than 39, or 30 for that matter. Save a few more pounds and a whole bunch of gray hairs, of course.

Had a lovely lunch with my Bollywood dance instructor V- yesterday up in Hayward. She made an amazing veggie meal with just the right amount of spice while we watched some Bollywood flicks. I loved it when she said one of the movies was going to be "Devdas", which is one of my faves and the only one I currently own (yes, I must buy a copy of Dhoom 2 when I get the chance). She also told us she knew several of the dancers in the film (one apparently lives in Cupertino!) and that her guru sang one of the major songs in the flick as well. I was floored by the sheer awesomeness of this. How in the world do I get so lucky with my dance instructors? Seriously, not only are they crazy talented and fun to hang around with, but have the most amazingly cool lives.

And today I had a great brunch at Baji's where I received a very cool mix (and cyranocyrano I didn't have most of those songs!), an OSH gift card (which OMG will come in so handy, yes moonlightnrain paint and blinds are on the top of my list...the pink must go) and a lovely meal (elo_sf's ninja check paying-fu was quite strong). Since then I've chatted with most of the family and gotten a butt-load of packing done so I'm feeling pretty secure about the move. Now if I could just get an actual move in date I'll be happy, keep those fingers crossed!

FYI

Many thanks to jakejr for this one:

Urge California Lawmakers Not to Make Sheltered Dogs and Cats Victims of Budget Crisis

As California faces a $24 billion budget deficit, state leaders have only days to figure out which critical services and programs will be sacrificed to make up the difference. We need to make sure animals are protected.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has again proposed to suspend the "animal adoption mandate," which would reduce the holding period for stray dogs and cats in the state's municipal animal shelters by three days. The savings generated by suspending this mandate is a paltry 0.1 percent of the $24 billion deficit. These funds are the only state dollars that presently go to assisting local governments with the costly problem of pet overpopulation.

This holding period is critical to give pet owners more time to locate lost animals and to give unclaimed animals more time to either be adopted or transferred to an animal rescue group.

TAKE ACTION
Please take two minutes to make a brief, polite phone call to Governor Schwarzenegger's office at (916) 445-2841. You can say: "My name is [your name] and I live in [your town]. I know the budget situation is dire, but I'm calling to express my concern with the Governor's proposal to suspend the animal adoption mandate."

After you make your call, send a follow-up message to the governor and your state legislators, and tell your friends and family in California how they can take action too.

We're working the halls of the Capitol hard on this one, but we need your help. As California struggles to come to terms with the current economic downturn, we must ensure that animals do not bear the brunt.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Mike Markarian
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
The Humane Society of the United States