Picky

So my cat is weird. We knew this. Everything with a heartbeat in my apartment is weird. Callie won't eat eggs or meat and only likes one kind of cat treat. She is a straight kibble girl. Then one day about 2 months ago she took a bite out of my blueberry pancake. That was odd. Tonight I put a shredded wheat bricket out for the guinea pig...she ate it! I came back with the pig and the cat had eaten the shredded wheat. I swear she must have some sort of carbohydrate addiction. Just weird.

Habit

Last night as I lay in bed I realized I've been officially divorced slightly over a year now. So why am I still sleeping on "my side" of the bed? Why have I not sprawled out and hogged the whole thing? The cat doesn't really care. So after having this little debate in my head I scooched over to the middle of the bed...and woke up on "my side."

I guess some habits are just very hard to break...but believe me I will. There is a whole queen size bed just waiting to be flopped around in!

Werepig

Monday night I curled into my nice, electric blanket warmed bed to start a new book. Downstairs my neighbor's dog was softly howling-I'm guessing it was home alone. That's one of the nice things about my building. We all hear each other, but it isn't anything obnoxious or annoying. My cat runs around and Cabott thumps, my upstairs neighbor's cat runs races back and forth, the dog downstairs makes itself known...and no one cares. But I digress...

So as I sat there reading and feeling sorry for the puppy, there came another howl, a bazaar broken noise. And it came from MY apartment! I ran into the other room to check on the bunnies because Jewel is 10 and I'm always worried about her health (rabbits only make noise in extreme distress). No, all the buns were fine...the noise was coming from PJ the guinea pig. He was happily perched on his little house making this weird whoo-whoo noise.

It seems he was commiserating with the dog by howling along. It is the strangest sound I have ever heard. I mentioned it to Kerry at the shelter and she said she'd only heard it once, and she thought the aliens had landed. The books call it singing...

I think I have a werepig on my hands.

My Hero

Monie is my hero for many reasons, but tonight she added "teaching by example" to the list of things I love about her.

This summer Monie's truck got a flat tire while we were out. I helped by reading her the instructions from her owner's manual.

So tonight, as left the rabbit shelter, I had a tire decide to commit suicide. I pulled into a parking lot and did the first thing that comes to mind when things mechanical go FUBAR...I called Monie, who headed to my rescue.

While I waited I decided to be productive. I did what Monie did: I pulled out the manual. Initially I thought if I could get the temp tire prepped and the jack assembled we'd be ahead of the game. Well, I did manage to get the tire out and the jack put together, though getting that damn wrench detached from the jack was frustrating. I doubted I could get the lugnuts off, but I figured I could get the jack in place...then what the heck, let me try the lugnuts.

Doing just what I'd seen Monie do (stepping on the wrench handle) I did loosen the nuts! Manual says I should jack up the car now...I'm too old to sit on cold asphalt that long. Of course, it would have been shorter had I realized the wrench sort of ratcheted, ah well.

By the time Monie got there I'd actually managed to change the tire. She tightened the nuts a little more for me and pronounced my car drivable until tomorrow when I get the new tire. And instead of being peeved that she'd gone out of her way only to have me do the thing myself, I think she was proud of me. And I for one wouldn't have been too keen on driving the car without her approval.

Truth...

Now you see why haveing attack bunnies isn't so silly:

Stealth Nigerian

Sure, he says he's from Alexander City, Alabama...But I refuse to believe the 'Bama school system is this bad:

"how are you doing? my name is john but my friends called me joseph,but if u don't min u can also call me one of them,well my main purpose of writting is too let you know that u are so cute in looking that will ever make man too run crazy if care is not taking,but too me i don't think that way cos it a thing that we must get to know more about ourself,and go outing cach fun together,experience things about life,and also learn more from each other,maybe together we can make our dreams we have been dreamingof come through,'am a open minded person, if you don't mind you can mail me at ********** , hope too heard reply from you soon............... OF if you feel like we can chat on my id ******. "

They're Baaaack!

I know you missed them as much as I did, but they have returned...My Nigerian fans! Say hello to Kloa:


"Hi, am kola from nigeria,well i was searching through profile but i found your;s more intresting and lovely.i will like to know more and you tell me more about yourself as well, i will be waiting to hear from you soon "






It's like the first robin of spring...the first guy looking for a green card of winter. Kinda gets you right here, doesn't it?

The Creeping Evil

5:12 AM...I wake from a sound sleep. Something is not right. In fact something is horribly wrong. There is a stench of death in the air...what is that God awful smell?

The cat pretends to sleep next to me, silently pretending it wasn't her.

I really need to change her cat food.

Sunday Ups and Downs

Sunday...a day of rest. A day for a movie. We saw Flags of Our Fathers which I can't say enough about. As my movie companion stated, it isn't like Saving Private Ryan, but it is very good. If I had to give you a theme I'd say it was the hero's perspective of being called a hero. Just very moving.

The movie let out around dinner time, but my date wasn't up for dinner so after he walked me to my door I decided to call around for a dinner buddy. Chuck was home alone with a bottle of wine so I headed to wawa for dinner and munchies then joined him for some drinking and story telling...always a good time.

Julia was out with the little one at her niece's birthday/Halloween party. The Smooshie was dressed up as a chicken...I can't wait to see the pictures! They got home before I left so there was oohing and ahing, giggles and tears and more story telling of course. A nice end to a Sunday.

You're Safe as Long as I Aim at You

So I got to try my hand at disc golf today...it was totally fun and I can't wait to do it again. My brave friend Don decided this would be our adventure for the weekend. I haven't played frisbee in years, and I was never good at it so I warned him not to expect great things...and to think about a helmet.

We got to the park and there appeared to be some sort of outing gathering. We did manage to get in 9 "holes" before they started, so half a course is better than none. After a little practice we headed to the first tee where Don experienced my wicked left hook. He was patient at giving me helpful handy hints...but the girls add a dimension he's not had to deal with so improvement was slow on my part. His insistence that a harder throw would give more distance lead me to explain that the harder I throw it the more it curves, so I ran the risk of hitting myself in the butt!

My favorite moment was explaining that as long as I aimed for him he was safe. He didn't quite buy that one, so I winged the disc at his head and it gracefully arced away from his head about a foot from impact. That was a Kodak moment.

But it was a beautiful morning to be outside, almost warm enough to put the top down on the convertible, but not quite. We headed to lunch after a walk around the fountains in Logan's Circle, where Don was stalked by a blond 3 year old. He's a little kid-phobic so of course this was just hilarious.

The next adventure is my choice: He's coming to Jill and Dan's for the Halloween festivities. Cue evil laugh!

A Hummy Day

Last night I finally snapped out of my funk. I downloaded Michael Buble's It's Time, which I highly recommend, and listened to it in the car on my way to meet Connie for dinner. The first song is Feeling Good and darned if it doesn't make you do just that. He reminds me of Harry Connick Jr with a little Sinatra thrown in. I think I may get the CD for Dad for Christmas.

Anyhow, dinner with Miss Connie was lovely as always. Work has been nuts this week so we haven't had much of a chance to chat. Funny how you can see someone every day and still not take time to catch up. But I guess that is what 24 hour diners are for!

I got home and settled in to catch up on some e-mail when Godsend came on FX. I got about an hour into it when the phone rang. Seeing as it was one of my favorite people I gave up on the end of the movie. I hadn't had a chance to actually talk to Matt all week, so it was nice to hear his voice and catch up. Somehow we ended up swapping stories about folding underwear (he was doing laundry) and going to strip clubs. But we also made plans for a movie and trading back rubs on Sunday, so that is definitely something I am looking forward to...I'm a goofy girl, what can I say?

After we got off the phone I was surprised and happy to find that FX was running the movie again, so I stayed up until midnight to catch the end. It was soooo creepy! Definitely worth staying up for though.

So now it is Friday, a short day at work followed by catching coffee with Ms. Lydia and sharing all the news we've gathered since last time. All in all, it looks like a very good day indeed, I hope you all can say the same!

It Should Be Raining

I'm feeling very sentimental today...it really should be raining out. Ah well, perhaps in my mind there is a misty evening street somewhere, a lone figure strolling down the dim cobblestones, hands in pockets thinking of other days...

The Nerve!

Okay, I was out with Miss Monie last night for a run to Lowe's. I'm happy to keep her company but for me it is one of the most boring places on earth. I feel like I'm 8 years old and out with Dad, trying not to destroy anything while he does "grown up stuff", though admittedly Monie is more fun in this situation than dad was. I can bring her stuff and say, "guess what this is?" without her looking at me crossly and saying. "put that back."

But somewhere between the truck and a building I managed to get not one, but two bug bites. Those hardy little suckers made it through the frost to feast on yours truly.

Good thing I have a pointy stick I can poke at these things with!

Humor for the Day

It made me laugh out loud so I had to share:

*giggle*

My office has an adjoining door to my boss'. The receptionist's area is just outside my door. I'm listening to dueling sniffs at the moment...and they just managed to synchronize...so now I'm sitting here trying not to giggle.

Peace Offerings

The Tuesday Monster has given me a peace offering: There were chocolates tucked into my door decoration this morning. It can't be a bad day when it starts with chocolate, right?

Monday-Whoo Hoo!

5:30 AM: Woke up to the cat being insane. Out Out Damn Cat! I get another 1/2 hour of sleep!

6:00 AM: Static...apparently my alarm clock doesn't get much reception in it's new spot.

6:45 AM: Cat is fed but still insists on tripping me with her love.

7:10 AM: Finally make it out the door. Warm up car, scrape off windows and we are on our way to work!

8:00 AM: Forgot keys to the shop. No biggie, the guys got in before me.

8:02 AM: Except the key to my boss' office was on that ring and I need to get in there.

8:05 AM: Pick the lock to my boss' office so I can turn on heat and open Quickbooks

8:10 AM: Connie informs me the creamer has turned into cottage cheese...yum

8:44 AM: Started philosphical discussion about homosexuality in the bible. Very nice to be able to have a conversation instead of being shouted at.

9:44 AM: Found out the Smooshie said her first word, "funny". How appropriate!

10:17 AM: Got barked at for hanging up after being left on hold for 15 minutes last night...he'll get over it.

12:00 PM: Sang happy birthday to Tony

12:15 PM: We realized the cake was frozen (and it wasn't an ice cream cake either). We braved the headache for the chocolate.

12:51 PM: Philospohical debate continues...now moving into the necessity of sin and the difference between "love" and "lust" and how that impacts the definition of "sin".

3:07 PM: Alls quiet...for now

Feeling Small

On cold nights when I find myself snuggled up in a blanket on the couch I often wish I was curled up in strong arms. It is nights like this that I feel small, though I am not. My sleeves seem long, my voice seems small and my eyes feel wide as a child's on christmas morning.

Where most days I feel like Pooh, a bear of little brain but a large heart and keen philosophy of life, there are times I feel like Piglet: Small and a little frightened by the world. I think Piglet sums up my "feeling small" the best.

Orpheus in the Underworld

Orpheus followed his love, Eurydice, to the underworld in hopes of bringing her back into the world. With sweet words and music he made his way to Hades and Persephone to plead for his wife. His song brought tears to the throne and Orpheus was permitted to take his love away with him on one condition, that he should not turn around to look at her till they should have reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, till they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away…

And still every time I turn to gaze the vision wavers and disappears.

Wild Kingdom

They say in nature prey animals develop extraordinary senses of perception so they can be aware of preditor movements. Apparently this talent has been bred out of the domestic rabbit.














For the record, I think the cat was just being curious. She tend to think of Cabott as a noisy roommate who smells like hay and get way too worked up about things.

Bunnies, Bummers, Babies, Bravos and Barf

It was a very busy weekend. It was my last busy weekend for a while. I'm very happy about this.

Saturday was cleaning at the rabbit shelter. 44 cages with fuzzy occupants. It's better than kitty litter, but it's exhausting. And the hay gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I headed home when the deed was done, left my shoes outside and attempted to drown myself in a hot bath. This is the best part of shelter cleaning. Normally I would drag myself from the tub, wrap up in a towel and pass out on my bed until the spirit moved me to get dressed. But not this Saturday!

No, I had agreed to meet Lou the elevator engineer for dinner and a Comedy Cabaret. I did not have high hopes for this, but as I had broken a date with him last weekend I felt I owed him. Well, the restaurant was nice, a Thai-French fusion menu, and Lou was late enough that I was starting to hope he wasn't coming. No such luck. He looked about 10 years older than his picture and appeared to be wearing a Members Only jacket. My heart was a-flutter.

Conversation was forced and very one track. It seems since I had an interest in philosophy he decided to have one too and basically refused to talk about anything else. Sadly, he didn't get some of the names right, not to mention the ideas, so I was looking for another topic. He decided to do an impression of his Korean bosses. We've discussed before how I didn't appreciate that sort of thing (he's mean about it). He sulked when I asked him to knock it off. Ah well. Aside from the food on his chin and the dribble down his shirt we survived dinner, but I really wanted the evening to end. My wish was granted when I got lost going to the comedy show.

Sunday was way too early. I headed to Chuck and Julia's to watch Miss Charlotte so they could have a day to celebrate their anniversary. The Smooshie and I spent 11 hours together. We laughed, we cried, we threw up, we changed diapers and we napped. At one point I admit I fell asleep while she was having a bottle. Happily she was positioned quite solidly. I woke up to the sounds of a bottle being sucked dry feeling rather embarrassed.

My crowning achievement? Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while holding the baby. I give moms and dads all the credit in the world...babies are hard! I knew they were tough, but for something that isn't even mobile yet this little girl was very active. And apparently not in favor of having her diaper changed. Modest little thing. But she is a great baby, and we had a good time and as always some wonderful heart to heart conversations.

Monie came by around 7 just as Mom and Dad were pulling in the driveway. We made a quick stop at Burger King then headed into the city. We had tickets to see David Sedaris at the Kimmel Center. It was a great show, I haven't laughed so much in ages. Unfortunately I realized as I sat there in the dark that I smelled like babies...

One of the highest compliments my ex could give was to say "you smell like babies." I hope this isn't what he meant. I think of babies and I think of baby powder smell, little snuggly warm bodies, baby shampoo. This was not the scent I was sporting. I had Ode to Baby Formula dabbed over my shirt, invisible save for the smell. Ug.

But it was a great evening, Monie and I gimped along to the truck-me with a popped hip and her with busted knees. Quite a pair. Between us we might be able to cobble together a functioning human being.

Home was a beautiful place last night. I got ready for bed, fed the zoo and made a good night phone call. As I related the day's events I heard the tell tale sound of my cat throwing up. The perfect end to the weekend. I scooped up the unchewed cat food and hosed down the carpet, said good night to my friend and snuggled into bed making a mental note not to step in the wet spot in the morning.

And I even remembered!

Ug

I smell like babies...and not in the good way.

To be continued

A Great Night out for Bad Dates

Last night Lydia, Monie, Jill, Julia, Connie and I went to see “Bad Dates” at the Act II Playhouse in Ambler. It was a girl’s night and a celebration of Connie’s 24th birthday, what better way to spend an evening?

We got dinner at Toto’s Gelateria in Ambler-which I cannot say enough wonderful things about. We dropped a few things off at Jill’s then Jill, Monie and Julia sang Happy Birthday to Connie while Lydia and I conducted. They are our professional singers, so it was really beautiful. Then we wandered over to the theatre, taking a moment to check out the new artwork in a window gallery along the way.

We got to the playhouse and milled about the lobby reading actual bad dates that had been submitted for a contest. I was feeling a little embarrassed as 3 of mine were posted, until I read some of the others: My Date with Ben Franklin, the sex therapist that just came from a session, and the guy who ate her hair during a movie. Yup, I’ve never been on a bad date if I apply those standards!

The show was fantastic, at one point Jill and I were in tears because things hit so close to home (talking about cholesterol and colon issues on a first date, ew!). And I have to say I witnessed the bravest feat of acting ever…she put on pantyhose on stage. The little dance I think all women have done was the best!

After the show we wandered back to Jill’s said our goodbyes and headed home. It was a great night with great friends.

Instant Karma

So as I was driving Connie back to Andy's after work yesterday I was telling her that things even out and life would start an upswing soon. We were in the queue at the light on 202 and 73 when a 20 something on a bike went by on the shoulder and wacked my car's antenna with his hand as he passed. Both Connie and I were surprised at his balls and I made a joke about "let's see how close I can get the car when traffic starts to move." Then before our eyes he got too close to the curb and wiped out! It looked like the only thing he really hurt was his pride as Connie doubled over with laughter and I tried my best not to laugh too hard. I managed to shake my head and give him what I hope wasn't a you-deserved-that smile. He laughed, looked embarrassed and pulled the bike into the grass. As we passed him it looked like the bike may have taken a little damage.

Instant Karma...I don't think that is precisely what Jonn Lennon had in mind, but it was pretty cool illustration of my point.

Common Sense

Calling someone at 2 AM to ask if they are mad at you pretty much guarantees that if they weren't before, they are probably a bit irked now.

Sigh...the follow up question of "Did I wake you?" is also pretty stupid.