msn had an article about weird animals up this morning, and that little guy made me laugh and snort while talking to a potential client on the phone. tsk tsk.
after the call, i naturally went to wikipedia to find out more. and i did. it's called the emperor tamarin cuz it looks like this guy:
this was probably the best weekend of my life, seriously. and i know you all know why (unless you don't stalk me on facebook) but i'm gonna share anyway!
it's cuz of this little guy:
benjamin franklin himself.
we've inadvertently started calling him benji... it upset me at first, you know, cuz of nicole richie's baby daddy (or is it his brother?), but now i'm used to it.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand basically, he's the perfect dog. he's 3ish. he's potty trained. he rarely barks (it's so cute when he howls). he loves me. he loves my dad. he loves everyone he meets. he's cuddly. he gives me kisses (dogs licking my face after licking their bums... ew. but ben can do whatever he wants. i'm smitten). he tries to be sneaky but is really obedient. he runs into walls chasing his piggy squeaky toy. he takes leisurely naps on the couch. he does this really cute thing with his front paws and his face like he's sleepily rubbing his eyes. he covers his ears with his hind legs when my *new* friends and i are being too giggly. he takes corners really fast and slides on the hardwood floor. he knows where we keep the treats. he is SO excited to see me it makes my heart melt. he likes to follow flies around the house (they think they live here now cuz we have a dog) and barks at birds. he stands up to the big mean pit bull on the other side of the fence. he enjoys classical music but violins are very upsetting to him. he is intrigued by desperate housewives. he burrows into blankets and pillows in the most adorable fashion. he is so stinking cute that i sit at work missing him all day. he helps my dad pick up chicks. he gets very concerned when my phone rings. he likes peanut butter, cheese, and ham. he was totally worth the weeks-long battle with the dog pound people and the tears i shed when i found out that mean ugly ladies were trying to take him home. he's the cutest thing i've ever seen.
and he's currently asleep on one of our comfy chairs.
i'm OBSESSED. i'm staying up late creepily watching him sleep cuz i know in the morning i'll have to leave him to go to work and i'll miss him too much.
oh, don't even worry. i'll be taking a JILLION more pictures of him in the days to come.
also, i painted my room. all by myself. that was fun too. pictures forthcoming on that front as well.
so my html formatting is all wonky for some reason and i had a serious template battle earlier in the week, so i apologize for the nasty appearance of my blog. also, if you're an html pro, please help me fix this mess!!! i'll love you forever.
actual blog post:
i'm on the hunt for a puppy friend. the original pet of choice was a miniature potbelly, but that was ruled out. then, it was a cat, but i hate cats, so that's out. but, i've been cleared for dog ownership (by my dad and the town lake animal center), which i like to call puppy mommyhood, so...
i'm on the hunt. but not a real hunt. that's why i used the girl with the net illustration instead of the first thing that came to mind when i decided to blog about hunting:
life goal: take a train trip on each of the continents (minus antarctica, unless the train is on an icebreaker, and that's not even fun)
i've already done north america and asia (although i'll hit both of those again, i'm sure), so all i've got left is europe, south america, africa, and australia/australasia/oceania (whatever it is... the point is that i'll be doing my train trip in new zealand).
i've found some sweet awesome trips reading travel books at b&n. here are the ones i'd love to do (and the two i've already done). there's only eleven of them, which is totally doable in a lifetime:
AFRICA
alexandria-cairo-luxor-aswan "Egypt is fabulous, and Cairo one of the most fascinating cities in the world. There's no need to book a tour, it's easy to travel round Egypt independently. Egyptian Railways are easily the most comfortable way to travel between Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, Port Said & Suez. The views from the train can be wonderful, especially on the Cairo-Luxor-Aswan and Cairo-Alexandria routes."
EUROPE
danube express (all 5 itineraries) "Europe's newest (yet historic) deluxe train, the Danube Express. Travel through Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Austria in complete luxury."
the royal scotsman (the grand tour, if i'm rich or the classic journey, if i'm poor) "A journey on board The Royal Scotsman takes guests straight to the heart of the Highlands, through landscapes of towering, pine-clad mountains reflected in mirror-still lochs."
SOUTH AMERICA
i have a distant memory of a train trip from mendoza to bs.as. when i was 2 years old, but can't confirm. mom? dad? anyway, here are the trips i dream of:
the amazon "The rail trips in Brazil through the rainforests give us a chance to view the majestic mountains, the rugged terrains and the lush green slopes through which the train jostles along to the destination spots in Rio and Curitiba. "
"Peru's Machu Picchu by Orient-Express’ luxury train Hiram Bingham is a highlight of this eight-day “soft” adventure. Tour of Inca ruins with crowd-free dawn and sunset visits. Andean Explorer rail servicefrom Cusco to Lake Titicaca and a visit to Colca Canyon, with its condors."
AUSTRALIA/AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA
tranzcoastal "This journey is a scenic feast of New Zealand, with the Kaikoura mountain ranges on one side of your train and the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline on the other. Along the way you pass though the village of Kaikoura, where, if you're touring New Zealand, you can break your journey to take in the whale watching or dare to get closer and swim with the dolphins. Travel through some of New Zealand’s finest horticultural and farmland areas, and see amazing wildlife such as dolphins, seals and penguins from the comfort of your train carriage. One of the world's most scenic train journeys, the TranzCoastal travels through 22 tunnels and crosses 175 bridges. As on the TranzAlpine, the TranzCoastal includes an open air viewing carriage where all your senses are awakened with the clean, fresh, sea air. "
ASIA
here's my fb album of my train ride from beijing to xi'an last year. and here's the trips i've yet to do:
darjeeling mail tour "The ‘Darjeeling Mail’ tour covers everything from India’s most important cities to spectacular UNESCO-listed sights such as the Taj Mahal, the ‘ghost city’ of Fatehpur Sikri and of course, the unique Darjeeling Himalayan Railway."
"This is arguably the most interesting Trans-Siberian route to take. The weekly Trans-Mongolian train (train 4 eastbound, train 3 westbound) leaves Moscow for Beijing every Tuesday night. The 7,621 km (4,735 mile) journey takes 6 days. This train crosses Siberia, cuts across Mongolia and the Gobi desert, then enters China. For the first 3 days, the train travels across the vastness of Siberia, meaning endless birch trees and villages of small wooden houses and mud streets. the train rounds Lake Baikal, the deepest fresh water lake in the world, with excellent views of the lake. On day 5, after passing through Mongolian customs late at night, you wake up to a total change of scenery: Grassy steppe, covered in dew, giving way South of Ulan Bator (Mongolia's capital) to the open wastes of the Gobi Desert. Look out for camels and 'yurts' - the circular tents used by Mongolian nomads. "
"Retracing one of the most important trading routes of ancient civilization, this remarkable tour follows in the footsteps of such legendary figures as Alexander the Great and Marco Polo. Crossing Russia and China, as well as some of the most remote former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, our journey will take you to some of the most magnificent, yet little-visited, sights from the ancient world."
NORTH AMERICA
i've done this one twice. pretty cool. but not as cool as:
"Fall under 'The Spell of the Yukon' with the White Pass & Yukon Route, when you follow the trail of the Sourdoughs between Skagway, Alaska and Carcross Yukon. Follow the Skagway River up to the White Pass Summit and roll down into British Columbia to our restored 1903 station at Lake Bennett."
"The scenery along the Coast Starlight route is unsurpassed. The dramatic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range and Mount Shasta, lush forests, fertile valleys and long stretches of Pacific Ocean shoreline provide a stunning backdrop for your journey."
... and if all the trains could be pulled by thomas and his friends, my life would be complete.
