The Vacuum Dance

This is what Tucker does when we sweep or run the vacuum. He is so still you might have thought that he died during an exorcism before being taken to the taxidermist. Please notice that when the noise stops he immediately assumes a normal stance like nothing ever happened.

Primavera

Spring is finally here!  In Portland, the only noticeable difference is the occasional splash of color from spring blossoms.  It is still 50 degrees and pouring rain.  It most likely won't change until July.

Camping in my yard

We just exposed, sanded and re-finished our hard-wood floors.  It's been a little crazy moving all of our house into half of our house, dealing with the noise, moving the bird around, avoiding fumes and the like.  But the reward is so sweet.  It has been kinda fun hanging with Tucker in the shop, I just wonder what the neighbors think about me brushing my teeth and washing my 

face in the back yard.  I've held all other bathroom activities until dark, (or at the nearest Starbuck's) so I'm fairly sure nobody has witnessed that!

Sincerity and Social Expectations

I hate it when retailers ask "did you find everything okay?"  It is the most insincere question.  Have you ever tried saying no?  Upper management does nothing to train the measly cashier to reply to a negative response.  They fully expect everyone to respond with manners, not truth.

I went to Target today to buy Eduardo a birthday gift.  I fully expected to find a card and either a book or magazine in Spanish, because the Latino population is a huge part of their clientele.  I couldn't find anything and nobody could help me.

So when I told the girl that "No, I didn't find everything okay" she was like a malfunctioning robot.  Double blink and opened mouthed she muttered something lame like "I'm sorry".  I know it's not the cashier's fault, but it reminded me of a time I asked a telephone sales person from India an obscure question just to through off his script.  

As annoying as it is to be treated like just another customer and not worthy of personal attention, at least it is amusing to challenge the system with social experiments.

Vet Visit

It's official, Taco is still Tucker and that's never going to change. "Tucker" remains to be my parrot's favorite word. "Tucker this", "Tucker that", "Hi, Tucker", "Goodbye Tucker" and then my personal favorite"Tuckertuckertuckertuckertuckertuckertuckertuckertuckertucker"

I'm not sure if it is a protest against the name Taco, but one thing is clear; the bird wants to be called Tucker. Fine, he wins. So, to avoid all further confusion please make note that my parrot's new (old) name is TUCKER.


On with the post....


Today was Tucker's first vet appointment. I was really apprehensive that he was going to bite the vet, but she was a pro and I was amazed at how he automatically reached his little foot out to step onto her hand. That was before she took blood, shoved a cotton swab down his throat, and clipped his wings. I knew that after that whole debacle Tucker would surely bite her. No, she passed him off and he bit me! HARD.


She sure was a pro alright. Next appointment I'm not touching Tucker for a full week.


It reminded me of how children will take out aggression on their mothers and hit them when frustrated. Maybe it's because they have an inate reasoning that their own mothers won't hurt them. Too bad for Tucker I am not his mother.

p.s.Before all you animal rights people get after me, this is a joke. I would never hurt Tucker.

Feature

My photo and blog link has been featured on one of my favorite blogs! iambossy.com is hilarious, so go check it out and find my picture on the left column under "Bloggers, they're just like us"

Bird Shop

Brandon and I went to our favorite bird store this weekend.  Two hours and $40 later, we fell in love with several birds and Tucker got some pimp new home accessories.  Check out this big blue bird, I love how docile he is despite his gigantic size.  I think he looks like a Jim Henson character.