fish obsession.

i am becoming obsessed with fish. not for eating, goldfish.

it started innocently enough - you go to a pet store, buy a bowl, some rocks, some food, and a couple of cute fish to keep. naturally those guys die off, and you go back to the pet store asking what you can do to keep the fish healthy. i remember one conversation i had with the pet store owner, a youngish, hippie girl, complete with dreads and hemp skirt. the conversation went something like:

"so...i had these goldfish, but i wasn't too successful with them. i got them here and they didn't last very long."

"what did you keep them in?"

"a bowl...this one..."

"a BOWL?! you can't keep fish in a BOWL."

"but, you sold them to me..."

"if you keep fish in a bowl you're KILLING them. they can't BREATHE. you're SUFFOCATING THEM."

"uhm, ok." off to petco i go, where the sales associates are stupid and mind their own business. nor do they make you feel like an icthocydial maniac. why the hell did you sell me the fish and the bowl in the first place, lady?!

at some point this innocent interest became a mission. i can keep a stupid goldfish alive for longer than 6 months.

anyway, di and i got a tank. a small, 6 gallon one. one that now i know is also a "fish-killer" because fish need huge tanks to get by. about 10 gallons per fish. good lord. hell, it'd be nice if i could have a 2000 sq ft. apartment, but it's not gonna happen, so i'm going to deal with it. likewise my fish will have to deal as well.

so we weren't too successful with our first few fish. turns out the water in san francisco is killer to fish, because of all the chlorine and chloramine they add to the water to make it palatable. so the irony now, is our fish drink better water than we do, since i go out and buy spring water in bulk to change their tank water with.

i've recently learned that getting a tank with a filter is not enough to keep happy fish. nor is spring water. you need to get a "nitrogen cycle" going by fostering the growth of good bacteria, that breaks down the ammonia in the water (produced by fish poop) and turns it into nitrogen. however, too much nitrogen isn't that good either, so you need to convert that into nitrates by adding epsom salt, and la la lalalalala i've completely lost track of how to care for these suckers.

dude, i might as well get a hamster. at least it's a mammal, and i KNOW what the hell keeps them alive. warmth. milk. exercise. none of these frickin' ammonia ph nitrates, all the chemistry i've forgotten years ago.

either way, i still do it, spend tons of time and money caring for these fish. why?

when i see happy fish, i'm happy. sigh.

random thoughts.

- being unemployed raises some new, interesting ways to approach your days. for example, every day this week has been for a specific goal. monday was fish day - go find a fish store in chinatown (more on this later), come home, clean the tank, and get it running healthy again. oh, before i go on, a moment for prosecco...who hung in there valiantly.

...

anyway, tuesday was car day - take the car in for service, long overdue, and get it washed and waxed. i didn't get to the wash and wax part, because it's tough to service your car when it's just by yourself. after dropping the car off at sf honda (located at the corner of 12th and market), i walked to 2nd and market. about 2 miles. and then to pick up the car, i walked about another 15 minutes before i managed to catch a cab.

"metro" moment - yesterday before dropping the car off, i realized that i had the "rent" soundtrack and norah jones cds sitting in my car, the radio was tuned to techno music, and i was wearing a mickey mouse shirt.

today is tax day. at some point i will peel myself away from the computer to go to h&r block...which i'm not looking forward to. IRS, please spare my savings account...i can spend the money a lot better than you can! bastards.