10:16 p.m. | 2004-02-15 Spelunking Pachyderms. And, Whatnot. I�ve been busy trying to catch up on all my diary reading, however, I had to take several breaks today. The first break was to catch an episode of Mutual of Omaha�s Wild Kingdom. I�ve been hooked on that show since I was a wee one. In fact, if you ever have the opportunity to catch some reruns from the �70s, I�d recommend it. They�re hilarious. From the music to the fashions to the very serious narration. Honestly, it�s some funny stuff. I was pulled into this current special by the intriguing subject of the only known herd of forest-dwelling, cave-visiting elephants in some �long forgotten part of Africa�. That�d be the Elgon Mountains, actually, which I believe is on border between Uganda and Kenya, and it may very well be a �long forgotten part of Africa�. I�m no expert. And, why do these elephants go into the caves? For the salt. See, the rain washes away all the salt from the forest dirt, but the salt lays undisturbed in the caves. In fact, the dampness of the cave brings the salt to the soil�s surface. That may also clear up the mystery as to why DearestSister and I, as wee ones, would occasionally do some dirt eating. Perhaps our diet was missing a few minerals. Or maybe just salt. I have to admit that my mother is a rather bland cook. But, that�s neither here nor there. The coolest thing? My elephant friends are salt freaks just like me. They have to consume some inane amount � like 300lbs or something � a day. Much like me. Well, not that I really �need� to, I suppose, but I believe that any time my body is craving something, it�s because it �needs� it. That�s not to say that you aren�t as interesting as forest-dwelling, cave-visiting elephants. But none of you ever mentioned that you routinely go into caves, out in the wild, in order to eat some salt-covered dirt. See now, that�d really pique my interest. Or should I say that would �pica� my curiositia? I took a second break to cook all my meals for the week ahead. Okay, half my meals. The half that contains turkey and mashed potatoes. I haven�t made my lunches yet, but I do have tomorrow off so there�s no real rush. Cooking went amazingly well. Especially the timing. I love it when I pull off some perfect timing. Because, you know, it�s hard to balance all this sleeping, internet activity and cooking. Oh, and did I mention that I had Friday off too? Four-day weekends rule. Of course, I�ve spent most of it sleeping, so I�ve not been as productive as I�d anticipated. But, I got some much-needed rest. In my life, rest warrants a gold star so I�ll just pat myself on the back for that. No need for you to get up there. I�ve got it covered. I took a third break to watch some TV. Which, I�m sure, requires no real explanation. That�s my down time, which I really need in order to unwind after this whirlwind weekend. The one that includes another day. Hello, nice to meet you. You can call me Sloth. However, tomorrow�s gonna be different. No really. There�s laundry, cooking and cleaning to do. Lets just hope it doesn�t interfere with my resting and TV watching. You�d think I�d be the perfect candidate for Starting Over since I don�t appear to have any goals. But, you�d be wrong. I do have goals. And, when it comes to resting, well, I�m an overachiever. Just thought I�d point that out. And, speaking of Starting Over, I�ll be tuned in tomorrow. It�s my heroin. If you will. In fact, I�m surprised I still go to work. Well, except that I can�t afford my cable (i.e., any TV reception whatsoever) if�n I didn�t work. No matter what, it always comes full circle. Life�s like that. Oh, and FYI? It�s not fair either. But, who cares? I�m loving it right now. It�s not perfect, but I don�t require or desire perfection. Interesting is enough for me. Been to a cave lately? your thoughts? seed flower