What do you do...

...when you're home alone, it's snowing and your plans have changed so that you won't even need to leave the house today? Apparently playing "Outta My Head" by Ashlee Simpson over and over while dancing around like a maniac, knowing no one can see you (which is probably good if your signature dance move is waddling like a penguin), is the thing to do. I concede that the song is hardly a masterpiece, but I dare you to listen to it without wanting to dance too.

Who doesn't love weekends?

Here are some cool things about this weekend:

1. Since I'm counting Thursday night as part of the weekend, I'll start here. I got to see Melancholy Play at the Bryant Lake Bowl with Alexis, Amanda and Whitney and it was GREAT! I'm lucky to have friends that get me out to see excellent plays (even better, including ones they are in!).

2. Friday night Chester and I vegged and caught up on a few of our favorite shows (The Office, Ugly Betty and 30 Rock [bonus: they played a snippet of Werewolf Bar Mitzvah in this episode, and if you don't know what I'm talking about...too bad so sad]). For free! I won't spoil this by dwelling on the fact that the WGA strike, while needed, will make me sad. I will dwell instead on the fact that the (hopefully temporary) ceasement of some of my favorite shows will free up some of my time for blogging.

3. Saturday I geeked out and graduated to a level 2 half-orc barbarian. Plus I got to eat brownies. Then we went and saw Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo, which I barely stayed awake due to the fact that I woke up, excited as I used to get for Christmas but this time for a bike ride that has been long-anticipated, at 8:00 am. Sadly, bike ride did not happen Saturday....

4. ....but it DID happen today! Eight miles, no less! We rode up the West River Parkway in Minneapolis, crossed the Lake Street bridge into St. Paul and rode down the arguably more affluent East River Parkway. We enjoyed being sandwiched with views of the Mississippi (afforded us by the lack of leaves) and giant mansions. The weather couldn't have been better.

5. I skipped ahead a bit. Our friends Carl and Mel stopped by this morning with their most excellent dogs, Izzy and Lucy, and we went to the Triple Rock for breakfast. It doesn't get much better than good company, sugar that's in the pour-containers (you know, versus having to tear open teaspoon-sized packages when your sugar allotment is measured in tablespoons) and good people-watching.

6. I fixed Chester's bike! He had tried to raise his handlebars a week or so ago and couldn't get them to tighten back down. I tipped his bike upside down, extracted a loose piece, and not only fixed what was thought to be a lost cause, but managed to raise his handlebars in the process. Not the biggest accomplishment, but I'll take what I can get.

7. Meet the Robinsons and Aladdin, mix with pizza, rinse and repeat. I think Kingdom Hearts has put us in the mood for Disney.

Hope your weekends were just as good!

Spooky, Scary or Oh, Life in the City!

Exciting happenings here at work—although the word "exciting" is misleading because it often implies something positive.

I was attending to the happy business of relieving a client’s file of non-necessities, due his recent obtaining of a patent, when one of the other secretaries asked if I got the "spooky e-mail". I replied that I had not, but was understandably intrigued and promptly opened said e-mail. I was met with an unpleasant surprise when I discovered that an attorney was apprising us of a situation where he met with someone this morning, and the person turned out to be Not of Stable Mind. This guy apparently was full of delusions, including his belief that he was owed money by Paris Hilton and The Mafia, and set warning bells off with his general threat to "pull a Matrix", which he clarified as gunning down his enemies. Also disturbing was the fact that the guy believed he had a meeting with a certain famous pro-wrestling chairman scheduled in our office at 1:00 today.

Afflicted as I was at that moment with my caffeine-induced jangling nerves and already vivid imagination when it comes to such things (not to mention the vivid imaginations of the other secretaries encouraging mine), this information was not well received. Not helping much was the mixture of caffeine and copious amounts of water requiring a trip outside the office into suddenly-unknown and possibly-containing-crazy-person space. I was standing, perplexed and motionless, next to the door going out of our office and into the hallway (and not far beyond, the land of the bathroom) when the receptionist asked if I would accompany her to the second floor to see if we could discreetly spot Mr. Not Stable. We bravely scoped out the area and, upon not finding him, returned to the office feeling a bit more secure.

No worries: we had a quick staff meeting in the conference room and were informed that building security would be turning our elevators on lockdown (where you have to enter a code in the elevator to even get on our floor) and keeping an eye out for this fellow. Things are pretty much back to business as usual, but then again, it’s nearly 1:00…

Weeds Schmeeds

Ok, so I pulled a weed or two (out of the entire colony of millions that have taken residence around our house and that we've ignored until they reached gigantor proportions) and now I'm quite proud. Right now, Chester is painting the hallway (of which he learned to do from Karate Kid, he says) and telling me about how if I had gone to the Pride Parade like he did this morning (he was in it, figure that one out) I would have had plenty to blog about. Apparently Al Franken made an appearance, as did some candy.

My brother and his lovely girlfriend were in town this weekend, so we (Chester, me and little brother Casey) took them on a Minneapolis adventure before we headed to the 'burbs for a ValleyFair extravaganza. I put on my decidedly uncool purple Nikes and we trekked (on foot, like hobbits) to and hopped on the light rail to the mysterious Cedar/Riverside stop. We walked again to the Triple Rock Social Club for their legendary breakfast (incidentally, this was not our first trip with David to the Triple Rock--we'd already seen the Real McKenzies' lead singer's sub-kilt, sans-undies buttocks there). People-watching was most excellent (I have not yet stumbled across another place where I can sip coffee and admire mohawks, von Dutch neck tattoos and quite fancy handlebar moustaches).

We also checked out some stores (Savers and Target, wow) on Lake/Hiawatha. I unwisely contemplated purchasing a coat tree and lugging it on the light rail and walking it the 8 blocks from the light rail home. We found Casey some fabulous 80s garb for a party he was going to later that night and I found some t-shirts that will help encourage my attractive farmer's tan (as well as some books to encourage my attractive brain).

I have pinned back my bangs so that I and my prominent (but lovely) forehead can once again wage war on the renegade weeds. Over and out.

Zoo Mania

Holy moly! I have an interview on Monday for a summer volunteer position at the Como Zoo. As some of you know, I volunteer there every other weekend cleaning the feeder mouse cages, which I've been doing for a year and a half. Sounds not too exciting, but I love it. Mice are more interesting than you might think. Anyhow, this position is for the summer only, and it's in the aquatics (think: seals and penguins and polar bears, not just fish!), and it's more time-intensive than what I do now. It would be every Sunday from 8:30-2:30. And it must be sort of a big deal and that's why they're having interviews. Like I said, holy moly. It has to do with the Sparky (seal) show, mostly, but experience has taught me that volunteering gets you into cool places there. Here's a list of the duties for interested parties:

• Weigh designated diet items into assigned containers.

• Make record of weights where stipulated and refer to chart for quantities.

• Disinfect and wash counter, scale, and all emptied containers.

• Pick up litter and trash in and around the stage and pool area.

• Hose down stage.

• Remove litter and dirt from pool using pool net and vacuum.

• Field questions from the public about the Sparky Show.

• Activate and monitor the audio system prior to, during, and after Sparky show.

Wish me luck!

And so it was done.

Well, after a day full of ups and downs, I'm proud to say that Chester and I are co-owners of an adorable little Nokomis-area house in Minneapolis. It has taken quite the interesting set of roads to get to this point, and for a heart-wrenching couple of hours we were so unsure that it was going to happen that we actually went to an Edina Realty office nearby and looked at other prospective houses (and finding a house that is person-owned versus foreclosure where the tenants would be willing to move within, oh, five minutes is a lot tougher than it might sound). Luckily the mechanic's lien was cleared up (turns out the sump pump-installing contractor wasn't willing to waive payment from the previous owner--who would've thought he'd want his money?) due to the listing agent giving up her commission in favor of getting things taken care of.

Although it was a tricky day, I was reminded of the definite goodness in some people (like the poor commissionless agent). I've talked to our loan officer so much over the phone that when I finally got to meet him today, it was like greeting an old friend. Our realtor has been fantastic from the beginning, and we were reminded of that when we watched her tenaciously make arrangements with aforementioned loan officer to get the large and looming pile of junk out of our brand new driveway (apparently Previous Owner thought "remove personal items" meant "move them to the driveway and let someone else deal with them"). Needless to say, if you need to buy or sell a house in the Twin Cities, I know just the people for the job. I should also thank the people who (maybe) read this and have already helped us (Dad, CJ, Mom, Casey!) and those who have sent their offers of help and wishes of goodwill.

I have also been reminded of some things and had to make some changes in thinking I had just a few days ago. For one, the saltwater tank that has been the subject of many a post has got to go. My tank is being overrun by disgusting bristle worms and I think my starfish may be meeting his maker at this very moment. If he makes it through the night, he's going back to the pet store in hopes of finding a more suitable home and I'm converting my tank to a haven for some pretty little freshwater fish. Much easier.

Another change I've had to make is with my project planning. After a few more expenses popped up (titles and appraisals and insurance, oh my!) and we watched our savings dwindle substantially, the weird blue carpet upstairs began to look lovely indeed. Now the project I'm looking forward to is the time-consuming (read: April-busying) and money-saving endeavor of stripping our cabinets and kitchen-trim and staining them a darker color.

The American dream? We shall see. For now I'm content with the thought of a warm and inviting little waterless (but only till Friday) abode across the metro that is currently keeping vigil over a good part of our belongings, patiently waiting our permanent arrival.

Mr. Nelson Indeed!

I just received a fax related to our house-buying process (which has been postponed due to a very unsavory mechanic’s lien) that was sent to me but had to do with Chester, and in the fax, much to my amusement, he was referred to as Mr. Nelson. Even more delightful is the fact that this has happened before, on Chester’s YMCA membership card. As the last couple of days have not been what I would call amusing in the least, this gave me a welcome reason to giggle. I doubt, however, that Chester will be quite as pleased.

R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut

I know you were 84 and enjoyed a long and eventful (and what I gather from what little I know about you, at least amusing) life. But that didn't stop me from tearing up a little when I heard the radio talking about you post-mortem (although this is not surprising considering the weakness in my heart for clever, sweet old men, even though I know that's not always what you were, and not even the best thing about you). I know I've only read one of your books, but I was taken with the personality (your tendency towards humor, kindness and best of all, wisdom) that showed through in your writing, and you're someone I sure would have liked to know: one of the good ones, and you will be missed.

I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Reflections on a Compliment

I had an interesting experience yesterday at the bank where I take the daily deposit for work. There is a manager (around my age, pretty run-of-the-mill fellow) that works there that sometimes engages in what I cautiously call teasing flirtations. Personally, I think it’s because he helped me with a deposit one day and asked if I was new person in charge of delivering the deposit. Not only was I not, but I had been doing it nearly three years. Any attentions I have received from him since I attribute to his embarrassment/guilt over not noticing me before.

Anyway, yesterday he was teasing me that he “didn’t want to help me anyway” when a lady cut in front of me. I’m never sure what to do when people I’m not familiar with do this, which results in less-than-eloquent responses. He made me even more uncomfortable by commenting on my “pretty smile”. Not wanting to lead him on (after all, my man possesses unsurpassed hunkiness) or admit that I found his compliment quite genuine indeed, I shrugged and smiled. He asked if I disagreed. No, I said, I guess I just don’t get the pleasure of seeing my own smile very often (which is untrue because I’m always trying out new faces in the mirror). He was impressed with my response and continued to comment on the exchange until I very gladly went on my way.

My Resolution

...is to start out the year not ragging on the things I should change (there's no shortage of those), but to celebrate the fact that I can upload a picture to this magical site and feel gorgeous in an instant. I encourage you all to try as well.

It is a Muscle, After All

Sometimes I like to play little mind games to keep myself amused. In the past, this has included adding up the numbers in telephone numbers, addresses or whatever to see what the sum would be (I always hoped for a multiple of five), or I would add, subtract or multiply the numbers to get a multiple of five. Also, when I was younger, I was strongly encouraged not to read at the breakfast (or lunch or dinner) table, so I was reduced to rearranging the letters of the words on the cereal box (or anything that mercifully had words on it) to make new words. I got in the habit of doing this quite often throughout the day, and eventually it lead to me winning (by an embarrassingly huge amount—apparently this is not a popular activity) a little competition held around Christmas time in my Home Ec. class my freshman year of high school.

Anyway, last night in my anatomy and physiology class, we were talking about the special senses (hearing, seeing smelling, etc.). Our teacher was talking about how when you're smelling something, your brain is reacting to molecules that actually get inside your nose. We all had a hearty laugh when he said that was something we could think about the next time someone, ahem, passed gas. Well, I seem to still be running this through my head today. I was thinking about how people generally do not like the scent of others' body odors, and then I got to thinking about adaptation. So what I concluded is that there must have been people thousands of years ago who, due to genetics, actually liked the smell of other people's gasses. And then I begin to think about exactly how this trait would be an evolutional disadvantage.

Except when I'm thinking about the day when we do run out of fossil fuels and looking around to inventory everything in sight that requires petroleum in its manufacture (which especially includes the wonderful contacts that allow me to see all kinds of distances without the librarian look), it's fun to be inside my brain.

Three Years

As you may have noticed, I tend to shy away from writing too much about Chester than can be categorized under lovey-dovey. While you all know I am a huge fan of sugar, I personally do not like large doses of it in the form of other peoples’ relationships, and do my part to try and spare you all (though I will not be held responsible if we were sickening in the first few months of our relationship…isn’t everybody?). However, in honor of the fact that we’ve been together a mind-blowing three years today, I have some things I want to share with the people who are interested enough in me to read my blogs.

When I met Chester, I liked him right away. His personality and usually delightful sense of humor is obviously what ultimately hooked me, but make no mistake: he’s attractive, too. I like that he has the sort of features that make it possible for him to pass for 21 or under (with his hat on, of course) even though he’s 27. I like his teeth and the character they give his face. Heck, I even like his lack of hair—I wouldn’t poke fun so much if I didn’t. If you are the sort of person that buys into vibes, know that his is friendly and comfortable, and this is a big part of his charm.

When we first met and were getting to know each other, I was seeing someone else. Besides that, Chester lived in the Twin Cities and I still lived in Fargo. So what made up my mind that Chester was who I wanted to be with, you are all on the edge of your seats wondering? Believe it or not, a Trivial Pursuit game sealed the deal. We were playing a game with friends, and we were on a team together. He pretty much let me answer all of the questions, and when my answers were wrong, it wasn’t a big deal—he was busy having fun with me. Although we’ve definitely had our not-so-fun times and this does not always apply, I think it’s safe to say that game of Trivial Pursuit is a good metaphor for how things are.

Chester himself is a big, important and welcome part of my life, but he’s brought other things into my life that I’m grateful for: his friends and family (Mikey especially comes to mind), the dog he got me for my birthday (and the pets that followed—he’s contributed to all of them), the support he gives me that makes it easier to go to school while working full time, his generosity when it comes to all of his resources, his willingness to go along with whatever I want to do, the fun he contributes and the relationship he has with my family.

What can I say, I’m a lucky girl.

April vs. Cavity Creeps: Part Deux

Oh that's right, I went there with the fancy French words. Although I cannot provide a convincing argument for this at the moment, I think my visit to the dentist yesterday warrants the fanciness (and do look back around the middle of June for the first installment of this epic).

Is it strange if one is looking forward to their February 19th appointment of getting a crown? If so, let me explain. Once I have that pleasant little visit taken care of, I will have effectively eradicated the remnants of the trials and tribulations I have exacted on my poor little teeth. I learned yesterday exactly what a crown is (I understand that it is a fake tooth that goes over part of the tooth that has not been wiped out due to an unfortunate increase in sugary foods and a decrease in nightly brushings a mere few months after I began college). I can't help but wonder if getting a gold crown would be a good investment. Think of it before you laugh--I'd have mysterious sparkle that would cause people to wonder if it was merely a bit of dental work, or a glimpse of the gleam that is my soul.

One thing I sincerely hope comes to an end is my strange teeth dreams. I've had dreams where my jaw gets irreversibly stuck in an underbite, or where I'm afraid to move my mouth because all my teeth are on the verge of falling out. I wake up more relieved than I thought possible, and wholeheartedly thank my little gomphoses for doing their jobs with aplomb. (I recently discovered what gomphoses are--teeth joints--in my anatomy class and I have yet to lose my delight at the name.)

All I can say is this has been my most pleasant dental venture over the past year and I'm pleased as pie (of which I hope I shall be consuming lots, very soon).

Happy Thanksgiving, and don't forget to floss!

Musings

Why am I blogging now after not having done so for so long, you ask? Well, because I am trying to convince myself to work out and sometimes I have the bad habit of finding all kinds of other things that I need to do first (homework is never included here...that usually gets done after the exercise). I realized I hadn't blogged in a while, and what better time than now.

Exactly two weeks ago to the day, Chester and I went and saw Lady Sovereign at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. He had picked up a City Pages and found an interesting article about her, so we decided to check out some of her music online. The video we saw was for "Love Me or Hate Me", which I was intrigued by (in part because she is a white, 20-year old female British authentic-as-they-come rapper who has a bit of an odd, honky, yet agreeable voice) and proceeded to watch over and over. After discovering that we could score some tickets for $13 (even managing to avoid the outrageous Ticketmaster charges!), we decided to see the advertised concert.

The problem? Neither of us had ever been to a rap show. I spent some time worrying about what to wear and if we would stick out like sore thumbs. It turned out that this time could have been spent working out (see above), as the crowd appeared to be mostly college kids checking out the cheap show.

In short, the show was great. We arrived just after the first artist, in time to soak up the energy of the crowd and hear her DJ warm up for about 10 minutes. I'm normally no rap fan by any means, but even he was talented. In her songs and in the talking she did between the songs, she was clever, funny and sharp without being vulgar and annoying (I can't help but say here that Borat comes to mind). The combination of the sound quality of the Varsity Theater and her apparent talent for live performance did not disappoint.

Sometimes it pays to step out of your normal box and do something different. Check out her video on my myspace profile if you're interested.

My Name is Tim, I'm a Lesser Known Character

If you don't know that lyric, too bad so sad...that means you haven't been listening to nearly enough Rancid. In case you have all forgotten (and I'm assuming most of you have), tonight is the much-anticipated Rancid concert. I am very excited, but am refraining from using too many exclamation points because I've begun to suspect it makes me look foolish. Do you think it is blaspemous that I am planning on working on my Anatomy flash cards on the way to the concert? Can I still pretend to be hip and with it (or as hip and with it as I can ever manage to be) after that?

In some sad news, the last surviving fish in my tank bit the bullet last night. We tested all aspects of my water last night, and everything checked out. I suspect a disease called ich is what did them in. Unfortunately, I have a live rock in my tank, and the medicine for ich can't be used with live rock. The thing to do in that case (which I did not do at all) is get a small tank set up for medicating fish. Also, if it was ich, the reading I've done has lead me to believe I should wait 8 weeks again before putting any more fish in the tank. Oy.

I just started reading a book called "Animals in Translation", written by an autistic woman and recommended to me by the guy who maintains the plants in our office (who hadn't read it, actually). It's a very interesting insight into the minds of animals. Perhaps I will write more about it later.

Back to the grindstone...

Kind of Like a Pirate

Me and Melvin, hanging out.

Tuesday Thoughts

It's funny how when you have more things going on in your life, the blogging seems to decrease substantially. I've noticed the lack of blogging/internet activity since school has started for most people I know. The same can be said for myself: I'm juggling a full time job, 7 credits worth of classes, a boyfriend, a dog who requires frequent walking, cat/rat/fish maintenance, trying to get/stay in shape, new and old friends both and family. Whew!

This weekend was a good example of my juggling act. My brother zoomed into town from Fargo on Friday, so we spent the evening hanging out at my mom's. She made stew and bread, which was wonderful, and we countered the good food with the last week 2 workout in Couch-to-5k. Saturday Chester and I got up early in anticipation of the Dog Whisperer (Cesar Millan) seminar, which we were going to with my mom. It seemed wrong to go and learn about being a good pack leader and the importance of walks without walking our own dog, so we made sure to accomplish that first. It was a very cool thing to be a part of--Cesar is very funny and intelligent. The icing on the cake: they placed 100 nametags under seats, and if you were lucky enough to get one, you got to stay after the seminar and meet Cesar/get an autograph. Alas, I was not lucky in this respect--but I was fortunate enough to have a lucky boyfriend who is quite fond of me. We waited in line and got to chat with Cesar for a few seconds before he signed a book for me and took a picture with us (I believe they'll post it on Cesar's website, so I'll post it when I get my paws on it).

We headed home after the show and got ready to have some new friends over for a barbecue. It was nice--people talked, and more importantly, listened. We barbecued, hung out around our new fire pit and roasted marshmallows for s'mores, and then headed in to warm up with a few rousing songs of DDR. It was a kind of fun I haven't had in a while, and I was glad for it.

Sunday, Jack and I braved the dreary, rainy weather to walk around Lake Harriet with another new friend and her dog. Despite my sogginess, I enjoyed the scenery and the company.

We headed over to my mom's again in the evening for my little brother's 16th birthday. More good food was had, and the company was delightful. I suppose it didn't hurt that Casey had gotten Guitar Hero for his birthday and we happily took turns playing that.

Despite the juggling, it was a fantastic weekend!

Red River Weekend

After spending the day recuperating (read: cleaning), I decided to go ahead and post some pictures from my Fargo weekend while telling the exciting things that we did--click on the pictures to get a closer look.

This is the very beginning of our trip. This picture is misleading because while we were in bad traffic for a short time, it only took us about 4 hours to make the trip instead of the normal 3 1/2. Still, it makes for drama.



As you can see, we were both quite excited to be heading westerly.





I do think our esteemed host was excited for our visit as well.

I asked Chester and Garrett, David's roommate, to smile nicely for this picture. They seem to have tried.

I told David I wanted to take a picture of his bedroom.

He told me that he would make his bed and then I could take a picture of it too.

Nice, right? It's a 3/4 full-size, custom made to fit in the little niche in his room.

This is the sole decoration hanging on the wall in David's room. It was a kindly gift from his previous roommates, which I assume must have originally been filled with candy to elicit such sentimentality from David.

David's tiny new amp, which has a deceivingly large sound.

The apartment they live in is "garden level", which means it's about half underground. This five-legged and rather large neighbor was right outside the window.

Chester and David tried on some spiffy hats in the brand new Hot Topic in the West Acres Mall.

Later that night, we went to Johnny Carino's for some chocolate cake. There were 11 people there, but somehow this was the only picture that ended up on my camera. I wonder if I should be concerned that this wasn't a posed picture, but my natural reaction to being surprised with my own camera?

We finally did make it to the skatepark on Sunday afternoon (it was raining all weekend), but there were too many people there for me to want to skateboard. People tend to watch you when you're the only girl there, and my legs tend to get wobbly when I know I'm being watched.

There were some cool painted buffalo near downtown Fargo. I saw one that was painted with Van Gogh's Starry Night, but I couldn't find it again to take a picture of. This one was neat too, though.

The trip home: I got some new shoes while in Fargo and wanted to show them off.

Exciting Things

I know, you're probably thinking that another happy blog from me is one happy blog too many. But I was thinking of exciting things and wanted to share them.

1. Today we are leaving for Fargo. I love Fargo this time of year, when college students abound. It makes me feel young again. I also love the skatepark, my brother, and my friends that are there. Not necessarily in that order.

2. Next weekend Cesar Millan, aka The Dog Whisperer, is going to be in the Twin Cities and I have tickets for me, Chester and my mom. Cesar is one of my favorite people, from what I have seen. If you have taken any psychology courses, you probably know what a self-actualized person is. If you haven't, Google it. I think that Cesar is self-actualized. It never ceases to amaze me at the levels of patience he keeps with both people and animals.

3. It is the birthday of my brother Casey on Sept. 10. It will be a day of celebrating his 16th year, cake, presents and good times!

4. Rancid, one of my very favorite bands, is going to be in the Cities on Sept. 13. I have not seen them in concert yet, unless you count a few minutes when I caught the trail end of a show at Warped Tour 2001.

5. On Oct. 21, I will be putting my Couch-to-5k training to use and running the Big Woods 5k in Faribault, MN. Anyone that reads this blog is duly invited to attend (see what words you can learn working in a law firm?).

6. I just learned that I can get a bus pass through my school that costs $80.00 and is valid until 12/31. To put this in perspective, I spend $80/month on bus passes. Yeehaw!

7. My mom and I went to a lake not too far from my house and walked around, and then ventured to some trails we had never been on before. They were gorgeous...it's hard to believe that places like that can exist in a bustling city.

Tragedy on a Thursday Morning

My little hawkfish, as yet unnamed, commited suicide sometime last night. I fed the fish when I got home last night, and they seemed to be in good spirits (assuming fish have spirits). I didn't suspect a thing. This morning, I turned on the tank light, still unsuspecting, to wake the fish up a bit before I fed them. When I sprinkled the flakes of fish food at the top of the tank, I noticed that my hawkfish (definitely a fan of food) was nowhere to be seen. I crouched down and checked out the top of the tank to see if he was floating. No fish. I looked under all of the rocks and fake coral in the tank...still nothing. My heart sank as I realized what probably (actually) happened and started looking on the floor around the tank. I found my shriveled little fish next to the couch and deposited him as lovingly as I could into the garbage can. He will be missed.