6/22 - has it really only been 1 year?

Yesterday, June 21st, marked the one-year anniversary of Jim's invasion into the peace and quiet that was my life before his arrival. It's funny - it doesn't feel like it's been a whole year. I had expected, at the beginning, that it would be a both short and trying visit. As the visit extended and then morphed into a permanent living situation, it felt natural and comfortable. As annoying as he can be at times, I've enjoyed having the little green guy around.

We discussed the options for celebrating this momentous milestone - a big party with all of his friends, a small trip to somewhere special, a present of some sort. For the trip idea, Jim suggested we re-visit all the places we've been in the past year. When I thought about the cost involved in getting us to China, and the fact that my sister, my host in China, is currently in the US, I pushed for present or party. Then Jim talked about how super duper it would be to have a statue 100 feet high erected in his honor next to Gaia the turtle. Not sure the eclectic residents of Ithaca would appreciate that, and I certainly wouldn't appreciate the cost involved, so I started talking about how wonderful a party, a celebration of Jim, would be. I guess I made it sound really good, because he forgot about the trip and the statue and started addressing invitations.



It was a good night. And I actually managed to get everyone to stand still long enough to take a group picture. Left to Right - First Row: Louis, Ophelia, Ivan, Abe, Bonnie, Gus, Kurt (not looking at the camera - there's one in every group), and Steadman. Second Row: Russell, Percy, Violet, Emmett, and Fiona. Third row: Penny, Nigel, Yvonne, Janet (mostly covered by Fiona's ear), and Maurice. Fourth/back row: Mary Sue, Chester and Ulysses (both almost entirely obscured by Yvonne's unruly hair), Noni, and the alien of honor, Jim. What a group, huh?!

6/19 - A good day for strawberries and blobs

The area in which I live has a festival about every weekend during the summer months. I'd already taken Jim to the Greek Festival, where he enjoyed dolmades and a gyro and some Greek beer, and joined in the dancing even though I begged him not to (Jim is not a very good dancer - no rhythm).

When I told Jim about the Strawberry Festival, he asked if he could bring some friends along. I agreed, as long as he could assure me that they would behave. He then told me that Abe and Bonnie are his two most likable friends and that they are super duper companions. He was right. Abe and Bonnie are very likable, pleasant, and friendly, even though they are blobs. Abe explained that the blobs featured in the horror movies were the fringes of blob society, only available for movies on earth because they'd been banished from their home planet as menaces to blob society for actions unbecoming of a proper sort of blob, and he hoped they wouldn't color my opinion of him and Bonnie. As neither attempted to consume me in their ooze, I assured them that my worries and fears had been dispelled.

Abe required more assurance later, when he found out what strawberries actually were. He was aghast to discover that humans eat the small squishy-looking red things. I told him I would be careful to protect him from hungry mouths. Jim even said he would refrain from partaking of the festival wares in deference to Abe. A kind gesture I thought. But he did sneak a bite later and then I caught him eyeing Abe hungrily. I gave Jim a stern talking to and warned Abe to beware.

Bonnie was glad that she's bright yellow and doesn't resemble any sort of fruit humans eat. I didn't have the heart to tell her about popcorn.

6/14 - a family reunion

Yay for me - a bunch of Jim's cousins, including the not-so-optimal houseguest Chester, were in town today for a mini-reunion. Present were Chester, a cousin, Ulysses, another cousin, and Penny, a third cousin. Chester had come in from Michigan (he said he'd hitched a ride with a trucker hauling mattresses, and he'd been allowed to ride in the back and bounce on them at his leisure, as long as he didn't remove the plastic or the "DO NOT REMOVE" tags), but the others were not forthcoming with their previous whereabouts. The bad houseguest characteristics have proved not to be a family trait - Penny and Ulysses have been wonderful to have. Ulysses has been visiting for a few days, and he's helped with the dishes, as well as cleaning up after himself. Penny has scoured the tub after Chester's baths and has generally kept him from making a nuisance of himself.

Any inconvenience on my part, though, is worth it. Jim has been so happy today. He has a constant grin, and keeps sighing contented sighs and saying "super duper" and hugging the cousins any chance he gets. It's good to see him this happy. When asked, though, Jim of course acts like it's no big deal that his family has traveled to see him. Gotta keep up that tough exterior, to hide the soft, mushy center.

6/13 - A nice day at the lake

Jim came along with my family and I to a picnic at a friend of mine's cottage on a little lake. Evidently, he had a friend on the lake (or maybe the best turn of phrase would be IN the lake) he wanted to visit. So, as we were sitting down to lunch, Steadman came swimming up and crashed the party. The little guy was quite a swimmer, and he was very personable. Bit of a problem at a picnic, though - he chewed on the table. What else would you expect from a beaver?

After lunch, Jim and Steadman hung out on the dock for a while. I was concerned for the dock, but Jim assured me that the horrified look from my friend who owned the cottage and the picnic table brought home the point that he should do his chewing elsewhere.

After a little while, they decided to go boating. Jim's cousin Ulysses, who had tagged along on this picnic (I know. Quite a crowd! 4 Willsons, 2 aliens, and a beaver. Do you suppose my friend will ever ask us up to her cottage again?) also went in the boat.

Oh, and I should note here that Ulysses is Jim's most well-behaved cousin, much better than Chester. He has been a delight to have as a house guest. No strange tub rings.

6/11 - RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

I took Jim to work for "Take Your Alien Roommate to Work" Day (ok, Jim told me about that holiday, and I didn't see any other aliens at work that day, so either my co-workers have normal roommates, or he was lying, which I really don't mind because he made that day at work really fun) and he spent time while I was working on my computer wandering around the Facilities yard looking for interesting things (If anyone from work reads this, I must remind them that Jim is a finger puppet, so it must be made clear that security was not in jeopardy, but, oh, yeah, I did take pictures in the building. Sorry.). He came back to my cube all in a tizzy and said I had to follow him and "bring your camera, cuz this is gonna be a super duper photo op!" He was right. Check this gun out!! (I didn't have the heart to tell him it was for heating shrink wrap around pallets.) Even Violet got in on the action, but only when I assured her Jim's hands were too small to pull the trigger.

5/23 - hostels are our friends, but random roommates are not

Since we were visiting Montreal on a bit of a tight budget, a hostel seemed like a good option. My friend found this place on-line, and it was great (though I have to say the roommate situation wasn't the most pleasant. One girl was amazingly nice and quiet. The other was very noisy when we were trying to fall asleep, and never even acknowledged our existence, and then had the audacity to call Jim an ugly little lizard man. I didn't witness it; I'm going off Jim's somewhat unreliable word, so I can't verify if this did or didn't happen, but I wouldn't put it past her. And, since I didn't even know her name and I'm pretty sure I'll never see her again and I'm reasonably sure she'll never read this blog, I can include a bit of nastiness about her without fear that I'll be sued for libel). Anyway, Jim had such an affection for this place (despite the roommate), that he begged me to take his picture on the blue bunk bed with the sheets and blanket. So, here it is.

And, because I feel the need to say it again, VISIT MONTREAL!! It's amazing!