Jesus had two dads

Columbus Day? We all know Columbus was kind of a douche. The important holiday today is National Coming Out Day. Gay rights is a cause very close to my heart. Gay men and women not only deserve but are entitled to the same rights as everyone else.

Gay rights = human rights.

Visit the Human Rights Campaign website for information on what you can do to help support the gay community.

Also check out the It Gets Better Project, aimed at helping prevent gay teen suicide.

Puppy Love

Every Friday I walk dogs at the Humane Society. Actually, there is very little "walking" involved. These pups are so excited to be out of the cage that they could run for hours. It's quite a workout. All the dogs are so sweet and just want someone to take them home. If you have the time and space in your life for a shelter dog or cat (or guinea pig), please consider it. Go to petfinder.org to find your new bestie.

DOCtober

Last night was Game 1 of the NLDS - The Phillies vs. The Reds.

In honor of the game, I made a batch of Go Phillies chicken nachos.

The game was legendary.

Phillies pitcher Roy "Doc" Halladay threw a no-hitter to beat the Reds 4-zip. Statistically, a

no-hitter is

the most difficult thing to accomplish in baseball. And only one other player in the history of baseball has thrown one in the post season: Don Larsen in 1956. Without a walk in the fifth inning, yesterday would have been a perfect game.

The conclusion is obvious: I make Go Phillies nachos and he pitches a no-hitter. Coincidence? Don't be naive.

10/2 -10/3 - The Weekend in Pictures

Saturday: Pizza night!

Pizza 1: Tomato, Brussel Sprouts w/ Potato soup as sauce

Pizza 2: Brussel Sprouts, Bacon, Onion and Jalapenos

Sunday: Khary's Birthday Dinner & Drinks

Loye's first drinking game(s)

The competition

Friday 10/1 - Bowled Over

Friday was a big day. Not one but TWO things on the agenda. Whew.
First up was volunteering at the humane society. When I moved down here, one thing that was important to me was getting back into volunteering. In high school I volunteered frequently and even started a clothing drive for the homeless. But once I got to college, I discovered the wonders of alcohol and it was all downhill from there. Once I graduated and became submersed in corporate america, I just didn't have the energy to do anything after work (except of course, happy hour). And weekends were a time to decompress from the stress of the week. (Drink). So, since I finally escaped the cubicle, I wanted to use my free time to try to contribute
to society.

A couple weeks after we arrived, Chris and I signed up to volunteer at the Greenville Humane Society in the areas of pet therapy and dog walking. Pet therapy involves taking puppies to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to spend time with the residents. I've always loved working with the elderly so I'm eager to get started. For now we haven't been scheduled for pet therapy but they had an available slot for dog walking on Friday from 4-6.

Dog walking was fun. Some of the dogs were so excited to be outside they barely noticed me and some didn't want to walk, they just wanted to be held (my kind of dog - I like em needy). I'm still impressed that I didn't take an entire litter of miniature pinchers home with me. It's sad to read about how the dogs ended upthere but gratifying to know that they're in a better place now.

After dog-walking we headed to the bowling alley for our second attempt at a "meet-up", this time at a bowling alley. When we arrived there was a group of people our age standing in the lobby. I quickly discovered that this was not one of those swanky Manhattan bowling alleys with leather couches, crystal chandeliers and cocktail waitresses that look like Kim Kardashian. No. This was the bowling alley you went to for a birthday party when you were 11.

The first words out of my mouth were "Is there alcohol here? Hi, I'm Zina." Thankfully the answer was yes. Once we'd done our introductions, rented shoes, and put in an order for a pitcher of Miller Lite, we made ourway to the reserved lane. The first person I met was a woman named Christine. When I mentioned I'd moved down with someone else she perked up and said "ooooh, you got a husband?" I pointed at Chris and jokingly said "Nope, I moved down with him. We're living in sin." She looked horrified. I decided to ease my way out of the conversation by moving towards my seat and saying, "Well, feel free to help yourself to some of our beer!" Turns our she didn't drink. I'd be willing to bet that Jesus told her not to. After that awkwardness I was concerned how the rest of the night would go. But everyone else was friendly and easy-going. And despite bowling the worst games of my life, it was a fun time. Met some new people, shared some laughs, downed a couple pitchers. And got to watch Crystal's head nearly implode when someone mentioned being Jesus for Halloween. Ah, memories.

After bowling, some of us headed to a bar called The Irish Pub for a few drinks. Inside was a small dive bar and outside was a large area with corn hole, a sand volleyball court, and a karaoke stage. We sat outside and drank and talked about life in Greenville.

It started to get chilly so eventually we moved inside. It was the right decision. Inside was where the older locals were and the locals are who I love. No matter what city or town you go to, you can alwayscount on the locals at the dive bar for entertainment. Towards the end of the night, I casually asked one of the them if he'd ever eaten at the food truck outside. He informed me that he didn't eat at that truck because he'd been to Iraq and once you've been there you won't eat food made by Middle Easterners because he didn't trust them. I decided it wasbest not to mention that they were in fact Brazilian.

Oh Greenville, we'll get along just fine.

The Daily Haps - Thursday 9/30

Thursday was a bit more productive. We started out the day (okay, afternoon) doing random errands in the front yard. Chris cut some railroad ties for the garden and I painted a flower pot. The previous owners left some concrete flower pots strewn throughout the yard and I've taken it upon myself to repaint them all in lieu of doing any yard work of actual importance.

I basically live in exercise clothes these days. Not because I exercise more, because they are more comfortable than pants suits.

Once I tired of painting (2o minutes later) Chris requested (begged) that I accompany him to the driving range. I have never been and was extremely sore from playing tennis (once) all week. But he finally convinced me to go. I spent 45 minutes trying to pick out an outfit until he informed me there was no pretentious dress code at ranges.

The range turned out to be fun. Unsurprisingly I was the only female there. It was all middle aged men escaping their wives. After a few dozen fruitless swings, and despite being told that I swung like Charles Barkley, I finally hit it. After that I was hooked. I now understand why men go to the range to get away from it all. Granted, I don't have much to get away from, but it was still a nice change of scenery.

Afterwards we played some tennis and then...Buffalo bleu chicken burgers! With bacon! Yes, food is my life.

The Daily Haps - Wednesday 9/29

I've gotten a bit behind on posts so I don't recall what we did on Wednesday. Probably very little since all I have are pictures of our meals. Chris made buffalo chicken strombolis for lunch that BLEW MY MIND. One of the best meals he's made here**. Dinner was spaghetti and turkey meatballs which was also pretty tasty. We might have a future chef on our hands.

**He does most of the cooking. Turns out the one thing I like more than cooking is being cooked for.