Monkeys!

Monkeys have always been my favorite animals. They have funny mannerisms and facial expressions. I think God created them so we can laugh at ourselves when we see how similar we are to them. Monkeys in picture above have been in my possession for over 20 years! White monky (Bean Bean 3) on the left is similar to what the middle monkey (Bean Bean 2) looked like new. Bean Bean 2 was always brownish gray; he's become skinner and balder over the years. Momma Monkey recently had her tail reattached; it was hanging by a thread for a long time. Baby Monkey got his full smile back, too; he had lost it in a fight with Lifu.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas, blog readers!!

Less than two more days until Christmas and the celebration of the Savior's birth!

I am happy to have some time off after a difficult semester.

Christmas!!

Ten days until Christmas!! My colleagues at work have been of special holiday cheer this year and have decorated the doors of the offices. Mine is the one with the Nativity scene... Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and a donkey.

Snow!!

We got our first snow of the season. It's another month until it's officially winter. But, early this morning, we got a nice 1-inch blanket of snow. It caught many people by surprise. Traffic going to work was pretty bad. I was sure thankful for my 4-wheel drive! I wonder if this is an indication of a long, cold winter ahead...

Phillies & a new President

Last Wednesday, the entire city of Philadelphia erupted in jubilation! Our beloved Phillies won the World Series! Two days later, 2 million people gathered in Center City and celebrated with the players, coaches, and management. Nothing quite like this has been seen in Philadelphia since 1983 when the Sixers won the NBA championship. The last time Phillies won the World Series was 1980!

Philadelphians and baseball are deep in superstition. A statue of William Penn, founder of the city and for whom Pennsylvania was named, sits on top of City Hall. No other building in the city was taller than he until 1987 when Liberty Plazas were built. It is thought that when no more Philadelphia professional sports teams had won major championships since 1983, William Penn had placed a curse over the city for being overshadowed. A new building is nearly finished in Center City, taller than any other. On the top of this building, a new, albeit much smaller, statue of Mr. Penn has been placed. Perhaps because of that, the curse has been reversed?

About 24 hours from now, this country will have a new President awaiting to take over the Oval Office and reside in the White House. These are interesting days! Stay tuned!

Random...

Picture of my office... looking out. It is a nice size office with 2 large desks, 3 book shelves, 6 chairs (one for me, one for my stuff, and the rest for students). I can't complain! It could be more homey, with a nice rug, more pictures on the walls, etc.

The Philadelphia Phillies have made it all the way into the World Series. The city is buzzing with excitement. The Series will begin tomorrow (Oct. 22nd) in Tampa Bay, Florida. They will play 2 games there before moving to Philadelphia for 3 more games. The first team to win 4 games will win the Championship. If necessary, they will play 2 more games in FL. If it weren't for the Presidential elections in exactly two weeks, there would be tons more ado about it.

Speaking of the elections, I think the entire country is sick of all the campaign, candidates vying for votes on TV, radio, every media possible. Since Pennsylvania is a swing state (it could go to either McCain or Obama), both have been campaigning around the Philadelphia region. We've seen an avalanche of advertisements trying to convice the people how good or how horrible one candidate is over the other. I've already made up my mind.

Mushrooms et al

We've had lots of rain in the last few days, between Northeasters and hurricances (or reminants of them). Huge mushrooms have popped up in one corner of the backyard. These are huge!! They are almost as big as Doggie's head! I tried taking some pictures with her in them for perspective. But, it was getting dark and Doggie wanted nothing to do with them.

Here she is, happy as a clam, indoors, and getting very sleepy! She's not going to like the winter. She won't have the nice fluffy carpets to lounge around on. Carpets throughout the entire house was recently replaced by hardwood floors.

Doris, part III

Doris returns!!! For the last two night, Doris came back and weaved her web. On the first night, she was munching on something (or someone... I didn't want to get too close to find out). On the second night, she was idling in the center of her masterpiece, probably waiting for her dinner to arrive. Tonight, I haven't seen her yet. But, I have my camera ready, batteries fully charged, and will snap some glamour shots of Doris if she makes an appearance tonight. Now I know what it's like to be a Paparazzi. Doris is so interesting and her web is so beautiful!

Doris, part II

Doris set up her web twice more before saying good-bye. She was most likely a garden orb weaver. Spiders like Doris weave fancy webs for the night to catch prey, then pretty much eat back the web before dawn, including what they caught. One night, I saw what looked like a male garden orb weaver idling at the edge of Doris's web. She might have mated with him, then ate him, too! Such is the circle of life! That following night, I saw Doris twice more, but she didn't weave anymore webs and was just hanging on to the siding of the house. She was probably resting from her gluttonous buffets. I haven't seen Doris since... The weather has been on the cold side, rare for August. With some heavy storms that followed, Doris was smart to pack up and leave.

Doris

Meet Doris! She's a spider camping out over our back patio. I met her last night when she weaved a really impressive web and was looking forward to the morning so I can take a picture of her and her web sprinkled with the morning dew. To my dismay, she was gone with her web, nothing was left behind. Tonight, however, she returns with an even more intricate web. She's about the size of a large marble; her belly is mostly orange colored with some black spots. Because of the flash light, I couldn't capture her true colors, unfortunately. I think she'll pack up again in the morning. I hope she returns tomorrow night.