 |
1. Insist on following me into the bathroom when I'm, er..., "taking care of business." Then, as I am in the process, assume the "meatloaf" position (front legs tucked under, tail curled tight to the body), blink contentedly and purr. 2. Darting out from underneath/behind things to attack my feet when I've just woken up, causing me to trip and nearly break my neck. 3. Curling up directly on top of my head, preferably across my face, thus cutting off my oxygen supply (I swear, they plot my death!). 4. Barfing for no apparent reason... and not on the floor where the yuck-yuck is easily cleaned up. Oh no, smack dab in the middle of my dry-clean only king-sized comforter... Every. Single. Time. 5. Chasing non-existent bugs on the wall. Pretty Kitty will jump up and down, scrabble at the wall with her feet and growl in frustration when trying to catch the elusive buggers. 6. Excessive shedding... and we're talking enough hair to make yarn and knit a sweater with DAILY. Seriously, they're not big cats. Where does all the hair come from? 7. Yowling... suddenly. We'll all be sleeping, and BAM! That distinctive Siamese wail cuts like a knife through your soul and there's no getting back to sleep for hours. 8. Possession by the "crazies." Remember Linda Blair in the Exorcist, all head turning and eye-rolling? Now picture two cats running around unprovoked, bouncing off of furniture and the walls, ears back, eyes wide, yowling. And then suddenly stopping and pretending nothing happened. 9. Laying at my feet while I'm on the computer. Pretty Kitty is largely guilty of this. She won't sit on my lap but she'll lay at my feet like some obedient lap dog. It was endearing at first. Now I think she secretly hopes to trip me when I get up, causing me to smack my head on the corner of the futon and die. 10. Digging in my plants. The litter box is clean... why try to uproot my plants? 11. Speaking of the litter box... I swear Tai is attempting to dig a hole to China. He'll stand either in or out of the poo-box and scratch for hours. Mind you, he hasn't "taken care of business," he's just building sandcastles. 12. Laying on top of my dirty laundry. If I'm dumb enough to leave the closet door open, it's guaranteed that I will come home to find one if not both of the cats snuggled up with my smelly gym clothes. 13. Playing with my bras. Tai will hunt through my dirty laundry, pick out a bra and proceed to drag it into the middle of the living room floor and roll on it. This perverted display is most often exhibited when I have company over and ESPECIALLY if said company is of the male persuasion. |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!
What I found, through my daily blog readings, is that this sugar coated version is a far cry from the truth: this Grande Dame of cities is still a wasteland.
I got to thinking (yes, a dangerous past time I'm well aware). There are so many horrific things that happen around the world that are not man induced (the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 that wiped out entire islands, the earthquakes in India and Turkey that decimated entire towns, the AIDS epidemic in Africa) and even more atrocities that are (genocide in the Congo, human rights violations worldwide, extreme poverty). And yet, we turn a blind eye.
Human beings tend to have short-term memories. We witness something happen, feel bad about it for awhile. Perhaps we even donate some money or resources. But then we forget. Where once the entire nation's heart bled for the the destruction of New Orleans, now it is nothing more than a city's private heartache. In fact, so far today, not a single soundbite or image of New Orleans has passed my eyes/ears. Why should it, this author sarcastically asks, the anniversary date has come and gone, its time to find the "next big story."
The same applies world wide: when was the last time you heard anything about the rebuilding of the islands and nations hit by the tsunami? The earthquakes? Headway in the fight against AIDS in Africa?
Granted, I do not believe that the world can change over night. I do not believe that warring countries will simply put down their arms and starting working on a cure for AIDS or a way to help poor people better structure their homes to withstand the force of an earthquake. I do not believe that New Orleans will ever be returned to her former glory. I DO believe that if we all make a conscious daily effort to do something small for our fellow man, that the attitude of "it's not my problem" can change.
What we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things.
Mother Teresa, 1975
So I've finished running my errands and I'm actually excited to get on the T as I'm in the middle of Robin Hobb's Mad Ship and things are starting to get real interesting. I spend what seems like an eternity fishing around in my bag for change to pay the $1.25 toll. This is a stressful event in itself because I luckily (insert sarcasm) live on the infamous B Line.
Sidenote: If you're not familiar with Boston, is the line that runs from downtown Boston past Fenway, past Boston University and all the way to Boston College. Red Sox fans are incapable of reading the sign that clearly states they can take any other line except the E Line and therefore crowd the B Line. Boston University and Boston College Students infest the B Line as well and apparently seem unable to walk a block from one building to the next as the stops are literally one block apart. So, long story short, it is the most crowded line with the most stops and least amount of cars thus making the five mile commute to downtown Boston a 45 minute trip. And oh, did I mention that in comparison to the other lines, a B Line train comes along literally once in a blue moon? No joke, I've waited an HOUR before, in the freezing cold, for one of these bastard trains to appear.
Anyways... I'm now stressing cause I can't find the correct change. I've got a dollar bill and two dimes. Frantically I paw through my bag and produce... five pennies! Silently praising the gods above because I can see a B train wending its way around the corner, I plunk my change in the receptacle and eagerly await my token. When I hear...
"Don't take no pennies." Now, not only is this the WORST English ever, but the MBTA is refusing a perfectly legit form of currency? This baffles my mind people, baffles! Long story short, I missed the T, had to wait for another.
The whole thing got me thinking. The penny is the bastard child of the change family. People throw them out, discarding them walletless on the street, entities such as the MBTA "don't take no" and have you ever noticed that the "leave a penny, take a penny" cups at Quik-e-Marts runneth over these days?
When did the penny become so unloved? Does the public not realize that behind every good dollar are one hundred hared working pennies? If the penny goes, what's next? The nickel?
Have decided I need a much better exit strategy for me and the fur babies as all I did was stumble blearily down the backstairs WITHOUT THEM.
I am a horrible, horrible mother.
EDIT TO ADD: It is now 7:48. The fire alarm has been going off for an hour and a half...
EDIT TO ADD: The alram FINALLY got turned off at 8:22 a.m.
And you grow tall and leafy and green.
Water and Miracle Grow seep in to your soil
And you grow tall and leafy and green.
I turn you in your pot, so that your stem does not bend
And you grow tall and leafy and green.
It is almost August's end
And still you grow tall and leafy and green.
But I ask you, tomato plant on my windowsill,
Why do you scorn me so?
Why do you continue to grow tall and leafy and green
But produce not a single fruit of juicy redness?
Tags: gardening
Clearly, I don't.
Case in point: today I sit down and attempt to balance my check book. I had paid most my bills early in the month (responsible, right?) and wanted to make sure I had enough funds to cover a few lingering bills. According to the balance, and trust me--I had to look twice, I do not. What the HELL!?! How did this happen? I was being SO responsible, not going out, not buying any new summer clothes (which killed me... As I am clothed in last years fashions), not doing half the things I planned for this summer (i.e. visiting family, learning to surf) simply because I had a very tight budget that would cover all my expense for three months no more no less.
Clearly I erred somewhere.
Now, I've got a few bills hanging over my head threatening cancellation. I'm debating the merits (and shame) of asking my parents for a small loan to tide me over until mid-September.
 |
1. Learn to surf 2. Sky dive 3. Live in a foreign country for at least a year 4. Fall in love for the last time 5. Publish a book to world wide fame 6. Purchase sizable tract of land and build a farm for rescued animals 7. Successfully grow an avocado tree 8. Learn a foreign language and be able speak it fluently 9. Hike the Appalachian Trail 10. Sail around the world 11. Pay off all my and my parents debt 12. Learn to fly a plane 13. Discover the meaning of life |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
So I've mentioned my fur babies a few times, Tai and Pretty Kitty. Well, in case you were wondering, here are the little darlings. Tai is the seal point male (all Siamese--and yes, I'm aware he looks like an alien) and Pretty is the silver colored lynx point (which is just a fancy way of saying she's got a little tabby cat in her).I will admit, I purchased Tai. Do I regret it? Never. He's my baby, he sleeps with me every night with his head on the pillow and he knows just how to cheer me up. He's got a voice, and some say a face, that only his momma could love but he's all personality!
When he looks up at me with thos beautiful blue eyes and makes his squinty face, I fall in love all over again.Pretty is my I'll-Make-It-Up-To-All-The-Homeless-Kitties-Of-The-World-By-Adopting-A-Problem-Cat cat. When she was rescued by the Siamese Rescue Organization, she was a complete mess: emaciated, wormy, and practically dead from a mammary gland infection. She took some time recuperating in North Carolina before a kind volunteer drove her all the way home to Massachusetts! She has severe trust issues hides at the smallest sound or most sudden movement. She will can not be picked up, will not sit on a lap or anywhere remotely next to a lap, nor will she snuggle. However, under her scaredy cat veneer, there is a complete love hiding full of purrs and head butts!
Tags: tai, pretty kitty, cats, pets
This weekend was, to use a mundane word, fun. Friday night a grad school buddy had a Bring-Your-Own-BBQ in honor of Team Hot. (What is Team Hot you ask? Well, Team Hot is the fall soccer league team that a few of us are playing in starting September. If you've ever met me, you know that I'm not the worlds most sporty-athletic person so stay tuned for updates on how that's working out for me! ). The BBQ was a good time--had some food, some beers, some good company. Saturday was another grad school buddy's birthday and going away party. There was, to quote a Kenny Chesney song, a keg in the closet. Had an absolute blast--birthday boy got drunk and started accosting random co-ed body parts, had some fun personal hygiene maintenance discussions, came home at 3 a.m. And there's where the fun stopped.
A note about my Ex: he apparently has a keen radar that can detect when I am at my most happiest cause that's when he ALWAYS calls and squashes any feelings of rainbows and sunshine that I'm experiencing. And that's exactly what he did: called, b*tched, made my drunken self cry. However, I am proud that I told him to just hurry up and get to Florida so I never have to see him again. So there!
Sunday night the man that I wish would wake up and realize how perfect I am for him called and wanted to get together. This is always an event and always involves a sleep over of the most G-Rated kind because he lives an hour and a half away. Sidenote: I've loved this boy since I met him my sophomore year of college, which was 8 years ago now. We've been friends, and by friends I mean emailing, talkin' on the phone, hangin' out friends, for about six years now. ANYWHO... As I am a bit frazzled by living in a studio with my sister (various reasons: its too small a space for two people, she's always on the phone, I come home late and wake her up when she's got to be to work early... blah blah blah) I decided what the heck. Let me tell you, getting there is half the battle.
I'm humming along on the road, thinking I'm making excellent time since it's only taken me an hour to get more than 2/3 of the way there when the sky goes ink black and the heavens assail me with a deluge of Biblical proportions. I can't see a blessed thing and honestly think that I'm going to die... for about 15 minutes. Then as mysteriously as the storm came upon us weary I-90 pilgrims, it disappeared. Poof!
The rest the night was much more uneventful. Mr. Perfect was beat from a road race so we watched TV and went to bed.
Over all, one of the more delightful weekends I've had recently.
 |
1. I have two cats (hmm... this is becoming a reoccuring theme on my Thursday Thirteens). 2. I read Sci-Fi and Fantasy. 3. After seeing a certain movie about a certain great white shark, I believed said shark lived in my lake for an entire summer... I was 8. 4. I knit... 5. Hell, I sew too! 6. I spend more time obsessing over my tomato plants then I do my hair. 7. I don't understand how my iPod works (hey, in this day of technological advances, you've GOT to be a geek to not understand the latest and greatest gadget). 8. I love cheesy 80's music. 9. I call home at least three times a week (doesn't mean anyone answers, but hey, I still call) and I'm closer to 30 than 20... 10. Rather than spend a smester abroad in Europe, I opted for India. 11. I don't own a single stitch of Lilly Pulitzer... in fact, I occasionally shop at second hand stores. 12. I've been known to stay in on a Saterday night to read a book rather than go out. 13. I collect National Geographic magazines. So there you go... I'm a bonafide geek. |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!
So here are some ramblings about being unemployed. I quit my job in May for two reasons: 1. I wasn't promoted and 2. I just plain hated it. I figured, what the hell, I can get a job waitressing or something for the summer. Well, I didn't. And now the money's run out. Furthermore, being 20-something and unemployed sucks as every other 20-something I know works. So there's no one to hangout with. And did I mention the money ran out?
 |
1. I am the oldest of three 2. Growing up, I wanted to become a veterinarian... until I came to my sense and decided to pursue the much more lucrative occupation of writer 3. I have two siamese cats, Tai and Pretty Kitty (I did not name her... hand to God!). This does NOT a crazy cat lady make... 4. My first car was a brown Seirra Cutlass Supreme that I bought from my grandparents for $200 5. Both my serious ex-boyfriends have/are relocating to Florida--perhaps this is the Gods above way of saying "Stay the hell out of Florida!" 6. I love horror movies, but not the gratuitous guts-n-gore kind of horror films. More like the scare-the-pants-off-you-and-make-you-think-about-the-state-of-the-world horror films 7. I am mildly obsessed with duvets... I own four completely different styles ranging from casual to frou-frou girly to neo-hippy 8. My favorite all time beverage is orange soda 9. I am a natural blond 10. I was a sorority girl (shh! Don't tell!) 11. My obsessions extend to plants, specifically succulents--I own three different jade plants, two aloe (I think), and this weird thing that just keeps getting taller 12. I have pencil lead permenantly embedded in three different spots on my body 13. I have never broken a bone or required stitches |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!
Tags: thursday thirteen
So what to say... what to say... one would think that for one's very first blog you'd want something all POW! BANG! BOOM! that would just knock the socks off of every single voyeristic peeping Tom Dick and Jane out there in cyberspace but alas and alack, I have none. So here's hoping these posts get better (right? right??!!).
So what can you expect to find here? Musings... ramblings... rants... your general every day word vomit. So wish me luck!
Until next time....
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)