fingerprinting, a hairy visitor

I sometimes think that my life is a series of mundane events with occasional insertations of madness and strangeness whose connection escapes my mortal mind. Or at least, that's what I tell myself in a vain attempt to engage self-therapy and maintain sanity.

Yesterday began normally at first - I drove to Chinatown in Seattle to meet Mr. Tsuchiya and my Mom for lunch at Takohachi. Because of my (flawed) time-management skills, I arrived a little bit later than expected, but still managed to have enough time to eat and talk. While lunch was good, my real reason for going downtown was to go to the King County Courthouse - as part of my admission into Seattle U's MIT program, I'm required by law to have my fingerprints "officially" taken for a criminal background check to make sure I'm not some sicko pedophile trying to become a teacher.

Despite what some people may believe, I've never had my fingerprints taken before by the authorities, so it was an interesting process. The girl taking my prints seemed amused that my fingerprints seem to lack clearly discernible patterns and as a consequence, she had to re-print several of my fingers again. I guess that's good to know in case this whole teaching thing doesn't work out and I have to finally become the criminal that your average white American thinks I am.

I also ran into Shiv at the courthouse too... she was there for the same reason I was. I think.

...

After getting home, I was doing some work on my computer when I heard some strange scratching noises coming from my backyard. A window facing out back is directly behind my computer desk, so I looked over to try to see what was making the noise... and I saw this huge hairy thing lumbering across my yard. At first I thought it was just some obese cat, then it stopped and looked right at me.

It was a freakin' huge Procyon lotor.

Aren't they supposed to be nocturnal? I went to get my camera, but the only shot I managed to get before he crawled away was this.



I guess now I know why the garbage cans keep getting messed with.


.:.


"Christian" diplomacy

In recent news of American idiocy, a North Carolina pastor posted a sign outside his church reading "The Koran needs to be flushed". Only after intense pressure from the media and advocacy groups like The Council on American-Islamic Relations did the pastor apologize and remove the sign.

The treatment of the Koran/Quran has been a big issue in the news lately, but am I the only one who is not surprised that many Americans are disrespectful to peoples of different religions and cultures?

The ignorance that is allowed and has been allowed in this country is really quite frightening.
posted by G at 6:37 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33