Sometimes, I just like a good story

I hope you do, too.

Elusive L.A. alligator nabbed after years on the lam

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- For months, the city's most famous reptile eluded paparazzi and faithful fans who gathered at the edge of a park lake to catch a glimpse of the A-list alligator.

But when "Reggie" decided to come out, the gator did it in true Hollywood style: Swarmed by fans and photographers as it sunned by the water, the reptile was whisked away with a police escort as TV helicopters gave chase and broadcast live footage of the cagey critter's freeway journey to the zoo.

"We were petting him, talking to him," said City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district includes the park. "I feel like I know him because I've invested a lot of time and energy in him."

The 6½-foot alligator believed to be Reggie, who lurked in Harbor Regional Park's Lake Machado for two years, was wrestled into captivity Thursday. The wily beast became a celebrity as it eluded would-be wranglers and managed to disappear for 18 months until it recently resurfaced.

Bad timing may have ruined Reggie's free rein at the lake.

The alligator was spotted on land around 3:30 p.m. -- just as officials and wildlife experts met nearby to find a way to snag the gator.

"We were about to talk about strategies for catching him when somebody called and said 'He's out of the lake,"' Hahn said. "So we said, 'Let's go now, let's get him."'

The cold-blooded creature was sunning itself in an area fenced in several days ago in hopes of corralling it. Park officials closed a gate, and Los Angeles Zoo reptile expert Ian Recchio put a hook around the gator's neck.

Five or six men wrestled to restrain the thrashing alligator until its jaws could be duct taped shut. Hahn was certain the gator was Reggie.

Firefighters strapped it to a board and loaded it into an animal control truck for transport to the zoo. A police car escorted the truck as news helicopters followed.

The zoo planned to keep Reggie in quarantine from 30 to 60 days and then eventually introduce the animal to other alligators.

Reggie was an illegal pet allegedly tossed into the 50-acre lake by a former policeman when it got too big. The officer pleaded not guilty in April to 14 misdemeanor charges and awaits trial.

When the animal was first spotted in the murky lake in August 2005, it became a sensation as crowds gathered to catch a glimpse. Locals named it Reggie, though it's not clear whether the reptile is male or female.

Gloria and Danny Gutierrez said they would go to the lake several times a week and watch for Reggie. Gloria Gutierrez wore a white T-shirt decorated with the words "Welcome back, Reggie."

"We'd bring our chairs out here and a bag of fruit, and we'd talk with people we didn't even know," Danny Gutierrez said.

The gator inspired a zydeco song, two children's books and innumerable T-shirts. Students at Los Angeles Harbor College next to the lake adopted Reggie as a second mascot.

Snakes!

So, MySpace is down again. It's really not a very well-run site. But check out this exciting news!

Snakes on a Plane!

For real!

Man with 700 snakes arrested at airport

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Customs officers at Cairo's airport have detained a man bound for Saudi Arabia who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane, airport authorities said.

The officers were stunned when a passenger, identified as Yahia Rahim Tulba, told them his carryon bag contained live snakes after he was asked to open it.

Tulba opened his bag to show the snakes to the police and asked the officers, who held a safe distance, not to come close. Among the various snakes, hidden in small cloth sacks, were two poisonous cobras, authorities said.

The Egyptian said he had hoped to sell the snakes in Saudi Arabia. Police confiscated the snakes and turned Tulba over to the prosecutor's office, accusing him of violating export laws and endangering the lives of other passengers.

According to the customs officials, Tulba claimed the snakes are wanted by Saudis who display them in glass jars in shops, keep them as pets or sell them to research centers.

The value of the snakes was not immediately known.

People said a lot of bad things about that movie, like, for example, that it was a bad movie, but it definitely had its moments. The idea of being trapped on a plane with a bunch of angry poisonous snakes is definitely scary!

Today

Today was surreal.

I didn't sleep well and woke up from a dream where I was living in Russia as part of the upper class right before the whole system crashed. I was at a picnic with all the upper crust, and a blue god came in his chariot and handed out bows. He gave a special bow to one man who was destined to kill the big-bad Russian dude.

The Big Bad's wife laughed when she saw the bow in his hands, thinking he didn't know how to use it, then he shot her husband in the eye. I watched, and was pleased, partly because I knew it would happen, and mostly because I knew he was the Good Guy.

Then we all got on a bus and the bus driver could fill the tank because there wasn't any fuel left in Russia. We were all trying to get out. I remember thinking, "Why does everyone keep pretending that there will ever be another Christmas?"

With that, I woke up.

Then Dylan and I went to print off our resumes before going for a job interview at a private high school. My Chinese tutor set up the interview, but she didn't know exactly where the school was. It turned out to be on the distant end of town, far from anything I've ever seen, and far from anything to do. Not much in the way of restaurants, shops or even bus stops. It was desolate.

The interview was brief. Clearly they are desperate. They had one full-time position that they would be willing to split into two part time jobs. The pay wouldn't be great either way.

The offered us "housing" on campus. This is a bording school. It is the affiliated high school of Beijing University for Yunnan Province. The teacher "apartments" are really just student dorm rooms, only that you don't have to share them with five other people. They were gross.

I started to get depressed.

Then, a miracle! Dylan and I were both offered jobs at YunDa today! We still have a lot of details to work through, like how much we're getting paid, if we'll get medical insurance, housing stipend, etc., and also how many hours we'll be working and what we'll be teaching - but I'm just happy I get to stay here!

Summer

Dylan and I will be returning to the US on July 12th. I do not know how long we will be in the US or what we will be doing, but if you want to hang out some time, drop me a line, and I'll see what I can do!

So, I guess that would be a no . . .

Here is the email I got in reply from my father. I think it means that he doesn't want me to come, but he doesn't actually say that. My family can be very confusing.

Ruty,

It is good of you to offer, we appreciate that, and we will be calling you, but the responsibilities here are for Danny especially, as the son, and Ima. You can remember Safta as you knew her. She enjoyed your letters and was proud of them. Ima and Danny will also have some legal formalities to deal with after the first week. The actual process for the next week is not set, so I will have to write again later. You are only 6 hours different from us now, so we will try to call, possibly tonight or tomorrow after Danny arrives.

Daddy

Family News

I got an email today from my father telling me that my grandmother died. That's about all they said. I guess once she stopped eating, things went downhill pretty rapidly. My uncle is flying to Israel, but I don't know about my sister. I asked them if they wanted me to come, and I'll wait for the reply. I'm guessing they'll say no.

Most Expensive Baby in China

Man fined $78,000 for second baby

BEIJING, China (AP) -- A private businessman has been fined 600,000 yuan ($78,000) for breaking China's strict one child policy, state media reported.

Xinhua News Agency said family planning officials in Anhui province handed out the fine. It did not identify the businessman or say how he broke the law.

China's family planning policy, implemented in the late 1970s, limits most urban couples to one child and rural families to two in an attempt to control population growth and conserve natural resources in the world's most populous country.

Rising incomes mean some newly rich can afford to break the rules and pay resulting fines. But last month the government said it would crack down on rich lawbreakers with bigger fines.

China has about 1.3 billion people, 20 percent of the world's total. The government has pledged to keep the population under 1.36 billion in 2010, and under 1.45 billion in 2020.

My Chinese tutor told me about this. It was making headlines because it is the most any person has paid to have a second baby. It’s not really a “fine” so much as a “fee.” You often pay the fee before the baby is born. It is completely legal to have a second child if you pay for it. The fees/fines are based on a percentage of your income. This is why my friend Xie Ping cannot have a second child even though she really wants one. I feel bad for her. I can understand wanting a second child. I mean, she has a brother, it makes sense that she would want her son to have a sibling. I wonder what the rules are on adoption?