Sore Throat Leads to Stuffy Nose, Stuffy Nose Leads to Head Cold, Head Cold Leads to SUFFERING!

I've been away from work for the past two days because a cold / flu / enduring-crappiness has caught up with me. I'm not at 100% yet, but eventually you have to give in and get back to work, so here I am.

It was a less-than-perfect end to an as-perfect-as-possible anniversary-celebration-weekend-EXTRAVAGANZA! My evil, lovey-dovey plans all came to fruition, and I made Stacey cry big happy tears no less than three times over the course of the weekend. All in all, a huge success. Stacey enjoyed her flowers and her professional massage and all of the other things I had planned, and I very much enjoyed the present she gave me.

It's very unconventional, but really cool.

I am now the daddy of a real, live Golden Lion Tamarin (the new official mascot-monkey of A Monkey with a Pan-Flute in a Helicopter)! Here's a picture of one (not my monkey, but my monkey looks like this one):

Isn't he sweet? She adopted one at the Metro Toronto Zoo in my name, and the money goes to support my monkey and other monkeys like him for the next year. I'll get a little plaque at the Zoo with my name on it, and sooner or later, a bio-card will arrive with info on my little monkey, pictures, and a semi-monthly newsletter updating me on how the monkey is doing. I don't even know my monkey's sex yet! Stacey tried to make sure that it would arrive in time for the anniversary, but you know zoo people....so undependable.

What's more important than this, though, is that the Golden Lion Tamarin is extremely endangered, one of the most endangered animals in the world, and they're facing extinction in Brazil, where deforestation is threatening the only natural habitat of these beautiful creatures. There are only 1000 estimated Golden Lion Tamarins in the wild and 500 in zoos around the world. For more information on the state of these poor little things, please visit this site, which will give you some background information.

But in the meantime, my monkey will be happy and safe at the Metro Toronto Zoo. Feel free to visit my monkey and his brothers and sisters at the zoo, adopt an animal of your own, or make a donation to the Lion Tamarins of Brazil Fund (LTBF) or another conservation group of your choice.