I took Harry the bunny in to be neutered at the vet’s office a couple of weeks ago but had to hold off on getting the white bunny neutered until he gained more weight. Here’s the conversation that followed when scheduling the second appointment:

Me: Hi, I’d like to make an appointment to get my rabbit neutered.

Vet Clerk: What’s your name and phone number? Looks it up. Is this for the same rabbit?

Me: No, I’m pretty sure he’s good.

Speaking of which… I named Harry after one of my favorite presidents, Harry Truman (yeah, I’m kind of a history nerd that way), but perhaps Harry Houdini would have been more befitting. Outside of his cage, the boy and I have yet to construct a barricade or pen that would keep him. We finally succeeded over the weekend in building a rabbit-proof rumpus room pen in the basement. Yes, we were quite proud to have finally triumphed over a 5-pound rabbit who eats his own poo.

Working from home is great and all, but there’s one disadvantage: You can never really justify a “snow day.” Brandon called off work today; he slept until about 1 p.m. and then has been playing a steady stream of video games since. I, on the other hand, have been dutifully working. Here’s some photos from the great Ice Storm of 2009.

More photos here.

Brandon and I perused the aisles at the local Blockbuster Friday night trying to find a couple of flicks that might be remotely worth two hours of our time. We were both in the mood for a scary movie, but pickings were slim. We decided on “The Zombie Diaries,” knowing full well that it would most likely turn out to be a comedy than a horror film (worse, it was neither). We had a laugh over one of the reviews on the back cover, which was attributed to www.eatmybrains.com. I hadn’t realized that people got that into zombie flicks. I was wrong.

I’m working out of a local coffeehouse near campus and parked on the street behind it. Here’s the house I parked across from. The bars on the window add an authentic touch, I think.

Happy birthday, David! And an early birthday greeting to Amber

The music automatically starts on the posted card and its annoying, so click to see it. Read more…

I was telling Brandon last night about how I will actually miss George Bush for the sole reason that while he lacks in foreign and domestic leadership, economic acumen, vision and decision-making and IQ points overall, he’s at least provided lots of comedy fodder. Fortunately, we have Sarah Palin to fill the gap. There’s nothing like ceremoniously pardoning a turkey while a turkey bloodbath ensues in the background.

If you’ve suddenly lost your appetite for turkey carcass, check out this Newsweek article about Thanksgiving Day’s forgotten and forlorn: vegetarians.

You know the old saying about a lucky rabbit’s foot, right? Well, on election night, I brought home the whole rabbit. Yeah, I like to think it helped my man win. Actually, my graduate seminar this year is on animals in American history and the other week had us reading Katherine Grier’s “Pets in America” — a bad choice for someone who’s already a sucker for all things furry. By the end of the third chapter, I felt the irresistible need to go to a pet store. By the end of the book, we were getting a bunny. So, meet Harry.

Feline fixation the night I brought him home. Now he’s just like a piece of the furniture to most of them, except for Chloe. She’s his new best friend.

A local fire department offered a mini-media fire academy to a group of my company’s writers and photojournalists. The official explanation given to our editors for missing more than a half-day of work is that we would be better able to report on emergency situations if we better understood the job itself. Unofficially, dressing up in turnout gear, sawing sedans into convertibles and crawling in a controlled 600-degree burn situation sure beats sitting in a cubicle being hounded by voice messages and emails. Here are some photos from the day:

Strapping on an air tank

Me vandalizing a car

Me and co-reporter Shauna (I’m on the right) using the jaws of life to cut apart a car. The spreader tool weighs 75 pounds!

Better angle shot of us using the spread tool to pop open the rear door

The result? A new convertible!

Because nobody looks good after sweltering in too-big thermal turnout gear for three hours.

I was the only one of our group to have even an iota of experience in this kind of work. I was in two Fire Explorer groups as a teen, where I got to legally help burn down houses and scale the sides of buildings. I had my own turnout gear and regularly rode with local departments and later, after getting my EMT certification, with Cincinnati. So, when our firefighter instructors would call for volunteers, I’d look around, see everyone shuffling their feet in hesitation, and then raise my hand like an overeager Boy Scout.

The academy was made especially poignant by the department hosting it, Colerain Township. As locals will remember, the department lost two of its own earlier this year in a house fire. The whole morning really reminded me of how much I miss the whole firehouse culture and EMS work. When I finally finish my master’s degree (hopefully in June of next year), I’d like to become recertified again and begin volunteering with some local departments.

My niece Klara and nephew Caleb at a family friend’s wedding last weekend