|
|
Monday, October 30th, 2006
| |
11:07 pm - RIP, Tiger
|
I love you, Megan! (I also love many other people in non-sick ways, but I felt like giving Megan a shout out today, so there. Deal.) It's really annoying when spastic clickers keep creating duplicate entries in the database from the website. The fact that it creates an entry every time anyone values a deal for a given time stamp WITHOUT CHECKING TO SEE IF AN IDENTICAL (except key, of course) ENTRY ALREADY EXISTS is bad enough, but who the heck would click 750 times in 15 minutes? Unless the website is broken, but still...I mean, of course it's possible to click that many times, but it seems a bit ridiculous. But I actually enjoy forcing the data into shape and would probably be quite bored if I had nothing to fix (or complain about). If I can ever get all five cats to look at the camera for a picture, I suppose I will replace the Inca Kola. I no longer recommend the Bon Jovi credit card, because I am not impressed with BAC's post-merger service. No topic sentences, unrelated details, and sentence fragments...I am butchering the Parfitt paragraph. But I'm in a better mood today than yesterday. It just wasn't a good week in terms of accomplishing things at work, I found out that my car won't pass inspection without about $1,000 of work (which is much more than the car is worth), and I had a bit of a row (good British word) with Mom and Ben. Tomorrow is the last day I can legally drive my car. Wish me luck; Ben wants us to learn to drive stick and get a manual. I think driving is stressful enough as it is, unless you're alone on the turnpike in the early morning or late at night.
current mood:  Disappointed re Tiger but fine
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Friday, August 11th, 2006
| |
11:13 pm
|
Going to the beach...but must finish control reports for work first. =(
current mood:  discouraged/tired
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, August 5th, 2006
| |
6:57 pm - Ben and I are getting ripped off by iTunes, and we are not happy.
|
Cats seem to like director's chairs. They do provide a comfy, forgiving type of seat, and if you're a cat, you can reach your paws over the edge and take a swipe at anyone who happens to be sneaking up on you under the chair. Anyway...I am wearing an outfit that takes me back about 6 or 7 years - a beater and my track shorts...umm...the ones that I obtained completely on the up and up...I miss pole vaulting and track tans, but I don't miss choking in competitions. I wish you could participate in sports that require expensive equipment just for fun, but it's just not in the cards.
current mood:  grumpy
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, July 30th, 2006
| |
10:49 pm - I manage to stay coherent but do not say much of anything
|
I'm still alive, for those of you who were wondering. Everything is fine, although I haven't been as motivated at work as I'd like to be. I wish I could take 3 months off to travel to England, which is what Ben wants to do. But there's no way we could afford to spend like mad with no income for that long. Hopefully we can do 2 weeks at some point in the near future, though...Silly practical considerations!
I really enjoyed having my family visit last week and having a big party and watching an amazing fireworks display with my family and Ben's family. I would like to babble on about my recent activities at some point. Do you think it's weird not to use air conditioning if you have it? At least we have a fan, which is perfectly fine - when I'm in the one room with a fan. I'm glad I don't live in the rainforest or in Texas. I would much rather be cold than hot any day; you can always put on more clothes or wrap up in an alpaca blanket. I'm not really complaining, though, just thinking aloud. I am quite content with my house, and I did get to go swimming yesterday. Pollux caught another bat this weekend. Ben couldn't find it, so he left the cats in the basement with the bat for about 5 minutes, and lo and behold, there was P-Dog trotting around with a screaming bat in his mouth, extremely satisfied with his accomplishment. Ben says he had to beat P-Dog with a broom (I was asleep at the time, so I hope he means lightly tap.) to get him to drop the poor thing, which was in shock by then. Ah, I love my cats! Pollux also enjoyed stealing my feather duster and running away from me on Tuesday. At first I was annoyed, but then I saw how adorable he was with this big, bushy thing in his mouth, and how excited he was, so I decided to play with him for a while instead of finishing the cleaning. (I hosted the book club on Wednesday. You should try hosting book clubs; you end up with lots of leftover food.)
current mood:  Will eat ice cream cake...now
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
| |
10:42 pm - Happy birthday, Tom!
|
Stupid Live Journal is making me include text. Happy flag day.
current mood:  My back won't stop hurting
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Monday, June 12th, 2006
| |
8:22 pm
|
I bet you can't guess where I'm camping out to write this entry...in the bathroom. It's nice to have an almost fully networked house. No, we don't actually have Internet jacks in the bathroom or anything, but I stuck a cable under the door from the next room. Hopefully, the laptop won't die of overexhaustion, but autosave may make my life a little happier if that does happen. I have been mildly sick lately - thus the camping on the pot (no further details) - and Ben is discouragingly depressed at the moment. I can't seem to do much good for him right now, so I'll just retreat. I think we're both dreadfully bored. Most days are fine by themselves, but I can't really see where it's all going. It's all fine and good to wax eloquent about how our purpose is to bring glory to God, but it's so abstract. How am I going to do that? And will it be too late by the time I get off my butt? I know we don't have to earn our way into God's good graces, but being unfulfilled, stuck in a waiting pattern, manufacturing excuses to reject every opportunity that comes along and then sulking because I know I should be doing something but can't find anything, it all wears on you and grates on the nerves. I'm constantly uncomfortable and anxious because I'm miserable and bored and know that there's plenty I could be doing but that I'm afraid I'll be even more miserable if I do. I don't really want to die from stress, especially when I have nothing to be stressed out about, but it's the nothing that feeds the flames. Blah. I didn't get much done at work today and am ashamed of my performance. No one else knows, but I do, and the inner critical voice tends to be all the louder when it knows it's the only one speaking such words of "insight" and accusation. On a happier note, I have had lots of free food lately, and the free drinks at work are still a novelty. But I didn't have any pop today, and I'm starting to gag at the thought of sugar, which is not at all normal for me. My body must be trying to tell me something. It feels better just to get some of this stuff out without bothering Ben. I would like to know someone who owns a bookstore so I could do my camping there and read hundreds of books without spending a cent (except gas money, I suppose).
current mood:  withdrawn but recovering
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Thursday, June 8th, 2006
| |
10:23 pm - I need to write more frequently...
|
Ben thinks I spend too much time writing in my journal already, but I think he's on crack.
current mood: thoughtful
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Friday, April 14th, 2006
| |
9:32 am - Sudoku is addictive.
|
Mom got me a Sudoku book for Easter (along with a LOT of chocolate, chocolate with peanut butter, and other delicacies); it was the first time I had tried it, and now I am most definitely addicted. I meant to do a few puzzles yesterday morning but ended up losing track of time and spending 4 hours engrossed in the little numbers and squares. It was frightening when I looked up at the clock. Even though I'm still on vacation, there's only a little over a week left, so I need to get into serious cleaning mode. Well, I don't really care if my house is clean - beyond vacuuming/dusting/wiping off the counters/cleaning the bathrooms every few weeks - but I still feel that I have to put in some serious effort because I can or should or because I feel like a domestic failure. Nothing's going to be sparkling, since I would rather have a comfortable, lived-in house than a don't touch house any day, but it's not that anal to wash the curtains for the first time in almost 2 years (have to remove the cat hair), get a Mr. Clean sponge and scrub the paw prints off the walls, and finally put away the Christmas decorations, right? At least I have an excuse for not getting much done this morning. I'm going to a cookout at Chatham at noon, and I have to shower first, so that doesn't leave much time for cleaning. Mwa ha ha ha. Someone keeps honking on the street outside our house, which is a bit annoying. And about the cookout, does it seem weird to anyone else that they're having it on Good Friday? I think many people aren't supposed to eat meat (and some even fast today), but hamburgers and hot dogs are the quintessential cookout foods. Oh, well. Maybe they'll have fish sandwiches, too.
current mood:  pained & making an effort
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, April 9th, 2006
| |
11:00 pm - It's called pop, not soda
|
Looking at my userpic (which, by the way, is a stupid word) is starting to trigger symptoms of Inca Kola withdrawal. Add that to the fact that Vanilla Coke is out of production and can't be found anywhere, and a desperate, caffeine-deprived creature threatens to take over my body. I can only be (partially) appeased by Pepsi Vanilla, but I'm saving my last can for the trip home. At the moment, I'm at my parents' house in Homer City, enjoying a relaxing vacation and being spoiled with ice cream, cake, cookies, and home cooking.
Since I stopped working, I have noticed that my smiles have gotten a lot bigger and that I have actually felt exuberant at times. Esto me parece casi imposible. The excitement may be short-lived, as I start my new job in two weeks, but the circumstances are entirely different than before, and I'm hoping to maintain a more balanced life and a more positive outlook. The sunshine and the reemergence of green have also contributed to my present happiness, especially now that I have started visiting Longwood Gardens regularly. Everyone needs a special "natural" place, be it the scent of a bed of flowers, a mossy hill, a beautiful vista or the tinkling of water in a small stream, the feel of a gentle breeze. I don't know. The experts attribute it all to Vitamin D, but there's something more to spring. And green has a smell. I don't know how to describe it, other than the overused "earthy", but there is some special quality to the air in places that are filled with trees, grasses, or other plants, something that enters your lungs and fills the corners you didn't know existed until that moment. Do not wreck the magic by talking about the O2 / CO2 cycle, or I will beat you.
current mood:  catlike
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, March 27th, 2006
| |
5:31 pm - It's a good sign when...
|
...you have remote access to e-mail for your new company - a month before your start date - but are still waiting on home access to the network at your current job after asking for a laptop for 8 months. (At my current company, only company-owned hardware is allowed to connect.) The only disadvantage is that I now have another Inbox to manage and another source of potential spam; I can't let it build up. But I enjoy organizing and compartmentalizing and the feeling of power I get from deleting virtual junk, since I can't throw anything away in real life, so it's only a token complaint for the sake of balance and consistency of character. Or something.
current mood:  amused
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, March 19th, 2006
| |
10:54 pm - Changes and Stasis
|
I didn't break any bones while skiing, although I think I did something to my back. It was pretty fun, but I realized that I am much too fearful half the time. More on the trip later...My good news is that Monday's interviews went well, I had an offer by Wednesday, and by Friday I had given my official notice at my current job. Once things finally got moving, they seemed to fly past before I really understood what was happening...I feel a bit out of control, but it's probably my insecurities surfacing. You know, the whole impostor syndrome where I'm convinced that I somehow hoodwinked my way through the interview process but am completely incompetent and unqualified and am terrified that everyone will find out. The process had to be accelerated because my current boss is going on leave for several months; Friday was his last day. Everything seems to be fine; I'm leaving on good terms with everyone, even though a lot of people are disappointed to see me go. I have an open invitation to come back if things don't work out...not that I want to, but peace, harmony, and references are good. So, anyway, I am very excited despite my fears and can't wait to start wearing jeans to work. The current plan is to stop working at my current job on April 3 and start the new job on April 24, so I'll have a few weeks to get the house in order, maybe go home for a quick visit, and relax. Thanks to everyone who was praying for me! I've had to depend on God for every step of this journey...okay, employment saga...melodrama...sea que sea.
current mood:  completely exhausted
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, March 7th, 2006
| |
11:07 pm - Hasta luego...
|
I am going on a ski trip until Sunday. It will be my first time west of Ohio, at least in the United States. =) Waking up at 4 tomorrow will be fun, especially considering that it's after 11 now. Anyway, have a good week. Another round of interviews on Monday; this seems to be a good sign. I hope to write more some time next week. I really haven't been all here lately, have I? Lo siento mucho. Eventually, it will all be over. I might even sleep through the night again...I am not depressed, just tired and thinking about how I can possibly cram everything I may need over the next five days into a carry-on.
current mood:  tired/excited/annoyed
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Friday, January 27th, 2006
| |
5:28 pm
|
Link for an anonymous person...
I'll try, once I get some more practice... =)
Si no les gusta que yo soy muy crafty, too bad. And I just realized that "crafty" could be interpreted two ways in this situation, which is much too cute for my overloaded brain to stand. But I am too lazy to delete it; in fact, I must instead perversely waste even more time writing several sentences about it. I started writing down what I do every day (very basic and prosaic) in my Day Timer...I think that's a brand name. I hope so, because it sounds silly. Anyway, it's an hourly schedule/notebook/long-range calendar/address book/many other things, and I got it for free from work. That is something of an excuse for the Live Journal drought. But don't think you're missing anything exciting; I don't even write in full sentences. I'm just on one of those getting organized kicks that never last. I have grandiose plans to compile all the address books and e-mail lists scattered across the Internet and several rooms of my house into one central location and figure out everyone's birthdays and actually send a card or something. Well, as long as I'm not standing still - or going backwards - it's still progress. It helps to have a realistic view of your own laziness and problem with commitment to...um, productive stuff.
current mood: weird
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, December 4th, 2005
| |
10:59 pm - Crap post because I am still alive
|
I will never be an extrovert. Being around people constantly takes so much energy. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I will hopefully have more quiet time at home this week. Finally got pictures from Peru!
Cold wins out over exhausted because we're crazy misers and keep our house at 50 or 55 degrees. Time to follow the cats' lead and hibernate.
current mood:  cold
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, November 12th, 2005
| |
7:15 pm - Una queja
|
I noticed that one of the options for mood is "quixotic", which is thought-provoking and oddly appropriate to some of these disjointed discussions that have been leaping from journal to journal, person to person, written word to heart. But just look at the icon they chose to represent it. (See below.) It's wrong! Horrible! A friggin' pirate with an eyepatch? Now, I enjoy a good pirate as much as anyone, but Don Quixote was not a rogue or even a swashbuckler. He was an idealist, filled with hope and the will to fight for the right, to risk himself for others...a little misguided and naive, but still...A pirate!?!? I am passing wroth with the lemon right now.
Qué triste es que nos resignemos a la desesperación sin voz, que nos demos por vencidos sin luchar por los sueños y la esperanza.
current mood:  quixotic
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
| |
8:03 pm - Really looking forward to Friday
|
I have Friday off. We get an extra holiday for achieving exceptional loan growth during the third quarter. No one likes to mention the other side of it; most of these new loans are at 0%. Oh, well. I figure that it's simply a goodwill gesture, poor compensation for the terrible uncertainty about the future. Anyway, I'm hoping to have lots of time over the weekend to sit down and write. For now, it's back to that nasty project. I will finish a few slides and graphs tonight! I hope...And Castor is laying on my papers. At least he moved his butt enough that I can see the important information.
current mood: grumpy but hopeful
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, November 6th, 2005
| |
8:08 pm
|
It's been a long time since I've written anything at all, and I hope I'll be forgiven for that. Not that I feel compelled to write because I think the world will come crashing down if I don't, but I actually enjoy it...to some degree...and it's nice to have (virtual) human contact with someone other than Ben outside of work and the weekly phone call home. Speaking of home, I got to go home last weekend. It's still home, somehow, in parallel with this new home with Ben. On one hand, going back lets me regress temporarily to a time of less responsibility, of more blissful ignorance, but on the other hand, it reminds me that nothing stays the same. Even when I'm standing still, everyone and everything else is evolving; even Homer City changes after a few years. Familiar faces are gone, new ones have emerged to take their place, and people continue to grow older. Megan is driving and applying to colleges! It's unreal. A super Sheetz has finally filled the void left by the disappearance of the original, down the street from the school, by that Charlie Brown clubhouse. (The ridiculous thing is that the combination of Sheetz and Cogo's - which should be Accent, darn it - is referred to as the Lucerne Mall, where you can get anything and everything you desire. You can depend on some things to stay the same...Yep, if you never leave the area, the world looks pretty small. After all, the terrorists in the plane that crashed in PA were headed for the power plant. Obviously.) I'm starting to quote Napoleon too much. But home itself, despite all the things I despise about the environs, is simply a place where I feel safe and loved. I don't have to be in charge anymore, and I am welcome, and I don't have to pull away completely just because I'm supposed to have moved on. I can come home or go to Erie and am still Katie. Certain dynamics and priorities have changed, but at least I can be confident that my family wants to see me, that I don't have to do anything great or wonderful or even noteworthy to be welcomed. I don't have to meet any expectations; just being myself is enough, and sitting on the couch cutting up old movies becomes a wonderful experience, a shared moment of more obscure significance than you'd think. As long as I can drive along Old 119 without thinking - like an outsider *cough cough Ben* - that the speed limit should be 35 instead of 55, I will still be going home...But he does drive alarmingly fast on the backroads here.
The cats always want to lay on you and snuggle just when you need to get up to do something or decide that waving their tails in your face and trotting across the keyboard is a good way to get attention. But it's wonderful. I'm ridiculously soft. I will lay there uncomfortable and/or awake for a few hours rather than move my legs a bit and risk disturbing them. Everyone who likes cats at all needs at least two of his or her own.
And that little interlude marks the end of this entry. Much too short, but it's something. I have much more to say, but I have to move on to other things. Maybe even go to bed by 10. And besides, it's hard to express it all in words. Too much effort at once, and I might swear off this writing thing for a few months. My head has to be all there, and it's not. It was mostly present when I started, but Ben's friend stopped by for a while, and I got distracted. I don't know if it's normal, but I have to be in a certain frame of mind or mood to effectively accomplish certain things. I want to wait for an analytical mood/desire for the straightforward before I do math problems...and there's English mode, which is often another way of saying, "I hate teacher X, but I must get an A, so I will sit here and see what comes out of my fingers", after actually reading the assignment, of course, but just waiting for the thoughts to work themselves out...and there's my Spanish mood, which annoys most people, since I not only do my Spanish work but broadcast it and walk around speaking unintelligibly to the poor, uneducated masses...and anal retentive mode - sometimes rather stressful - when I start out enjoying the tedium of formatting things and then work myself into a frenzy by making so many unnecessary adjustments that I get close to a deadline or start to go insane and think only of coming home to ice cream and sleep and bad TV.
Meat later, I hope. Well, it will come, but I'm hoping for sooner rather than later. Can I define obsolescence on my own terms, or am I subject to outside standards and forces? Dumb project at work is going to consume this entire week, too, I think. Hasta luego.
current mood:  here, enjoying the lemon again
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, October 22nd, 2005
| |
2:36 pm - Warmth
|
I am wearing a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, my band coat, and a winter hat and am also using our alpaca blanket for my legs. Yes, I am inside our house. It's not that Ben is being a punk and refusing to turn on the heat; it isn't that cold at all, really. I think I'm getting sick - mild sore throat and headache, aggravated by cankor sores in just the wrong places. A cold VC is helping with the latter, and all the clothes keep me pretty warm. I wish I was able to sleep, because I'd definitely be napping all afternoon in that case. I can't wait until I can sleep again! Anyway, one of the best things in the world is having a cat on your lap, occasionally purring or scrunching up his little eyes as he adjusts himself, especially when said cat has made a beeline for you the last four or five times you've sat down anywhere and isn't even perturbed that you had to get up to make lunch, move from the dining room to the living room, etc. I even had two cats on my lap at once earlier this afternoon. =) Just like in the old days when they were less than half their current size (NOT that they're at all fat or even big-boned) and I was home all day, every day. If Fall and Winter always bring such an increase in cat affection, they may kick Summer out of the top spot and become my favorite time of year.
We finally got the registration on our cars switched. Ben and I now have consecutive license plate numbers. Awww. We didn't do it on purpose, but it's pretty neat and not nearly "cute" enough to be tacky (like wearing matching outfits, especially matching monochromatic sweatsuits)...
Update: Two cats on the lap again...looks like they both plan to park it for a while!
current mood:  content
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, October 11th, 2005
| |
9:43 pm - The cats are not boring, even if my account of them is.
|
I don't feel as if my entry did any justice to the cats and my feelings about them. I simply haven't been in the mood for writing, and the flow of that entry was terrible. It's also hard when your laptop mouse features aren't working properly; Ben and Aaron changed my operating system from Gentoo to Debian, and whatever X-server I'm now using doesn't allow you to click by tapping the mouse pad. How rude! I'm going to read some Ctrl+Alt+Del and/or 8-Bit Theater. I am so tired that I can barely force my fingers to keep moving. I still have my typing Skills, mind you, but the click-clack of the keyboard is starting to sound more like Morse Code than the usual pleasant, flowing rhythm that creates happiness from a thousand discrete bursts of activity. The occasional all-nighter isn't exactly pleasant, but at least most people have no trouble falling asleep the next night. I sure didn't have a problem with sleep during college. I wonder how well I'd be doing at work if I ever showed up well-rested. This are uninspiringly quiet around here now that my family has returned to HC, but I definitely appreciate the short time we did have together. Darn it! I didn't put a mood lemon on my last entry, and it would be cheating to add one now.
current mood:  blah
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
9:29 pm - Cats
|
No one else likes Inca Kola. At least no one I know here in Eastern PA/Delaware. They all seem to agree with the Coke executive in the Wikipedia article who said that it looks like piss and tastes like bubble gum, and for some reason they don't find that combination appealing. Maybe it looks a little like Mountain Dew, but it doesn't have that sickly greenish tint, which I think is much more disgusting than a nice, bright yellow. And it never makes me burp or upsets my stomach; even Vanilla Coke has such unfortunate side effects. I think Inca Kola really does go better with meals than other soft drinks. The only good thing about being the only Inca Kola drinker in my immediate circle is that I don't have to worry about it disappearing.
So, from one obsession to another. The Inca Kola one may be a bit cultivated, but my love for our cats is not. I forget how much I've said about them in the past, so I'll start with the basics. Ben and I have two cats, Castor and Pollux, aka. C-Ster and P-Dog. They're American domestic shorthair (standard tabby) cats and, in my opinion, are much cuter than any purebred puffballs...No offense intended, but I don't want anyone thinking that my cats are just tabbies. There's a pride and distinction to it, and I wouldn't trade their stripes and the little M markings on their foreheads for anything. They look a lot like Luna. In fact, some people have mistaken my picture of Luna as a kitten for one of our current cats. C-Ster and P-Dog are about 14 months old; their birthday is August 7, 2004, exactly one week after our wedding. We have had them for almost a year now. When Ben's coworker Alex offered us a kitten, we didn't plan to take two, but it was one of the best decisions we've ever made. Alex brought Castor and Pollux (named Woody and Buzz at the time by Alex's kids) over to our house for a day or a weekend so we could decide which one we liked better, and of course I couldn't decide. Each of them had his own special little quirks, and they were equally endearing. And watching them play together was wonderful. How could I give one up after hanging out with them? I probably knew in the back of my mind that if I accepted the proposal of spending hours and hours with them, we'd end up with two kittens. ;) I was distraught at the idea of losing one of my new little friends, and - luckily - Ben humored me. I refused to give them names, even in my head, before I knew we were going to keep both; until that decision was final, they were "Light Ears" (Castor) and "Dark Ears" (Pollux), as the spots behind their ears were different colors.
In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were the sons of Zeus, and they're known today as the Gemini twins. But these facts were only secondary considerations in the naming of our twins. Sadly (or happily, depending on how you look at it), they're named after the primary UNIX servers at Bucknell. Even Ben was proud of my innovation. When we tell anyone who has entered Dana about our cats' names, they start laughing incredulously...Back to some of the reasons that it's better to have two cats than one:
- They have company during the long days when Ben and I are both at work and when we go away for the weekend.
- Having to share attention from birth and constantly being with another animal made them more social and less finicky. Not that they don't get jealous of each other from time to time, but they're not nearly as vindictive as some cats and dogs I've seen.
- They are extremely cute when wrestling or competing to capture a toy - or when sleeping in one big mass of curled-up bodies.
- Ben's favorite reason - The more cats you have, the more likely it is that one of them will decide to curl up on your lap or sleep next to you at any given time...We all know that interaction with cats is on their terms.
- It's very interesting to study the similarities and differences as their unique personalities emerge.
I'm back now. It's been a week since I started this entry, actually. Mondays and Tuesdays are usually the best days for writing, especially Tuesdays. Wednesday is small group, and on Thursday, The Apprentice consumes a good chunk of time. Thursdays are also my self-indulgent, ice cream eating, DC watching days, since Ben has his small group, and I'm alone with Castor and Pollux until almost 10. Right now, Ben and I are working side by side on our respective computers. C-Ster is curled up on the ottoman next to my knees, and P-Dog is wandering around the house looking for trouble, occasionally announcing his presence as he passes through the living room. P-Dog always makes this special purring/trumpeting noise when he enters a room and isn't trying to be sneaky. It's hard to reproduce, but Ben and I keep trying. C-Ster, on the other hand, is a high-pitched squealer. Not the obnoxious, whining kind of cat that continues to emit a heart-breaking, ear-piercing, almost human scream until it's ready to pass out. Castor's squeaks are more like a kitty version of barking, short and succinct but urgent. He is generally most talkative when he's hungry - which is about half of our waking hours. =) For this reason, C-Ster has earned the additional nickname "Squeaker". And of course, just as you can't have Slinker without Stinker, you can't have Squeaker without Sneaker. P-Dog is definitely more likely to skulk around and launch a cunning attack. Both of the cats enjoy sneaking up on each other and on their toys, but P-Dog is a true robber baron. Once he grabbed a bag of cookies and scurried off to his hideaway behind the couch, proudly bearing his prey, and he's always trying to steal our food. C-Ster is just as hard to keep off the counter or the table, but P-Dog takes treachery to new levels. He lays down and twists around in the most endearing way, exposing his warm, soft tummy and assuming a mask of complete innocence. After we pet him for a while (can't resist a cat looking that cute) or forget about his thieving ways, he snakes out a paw and goes for the gold. Sometimes, he's lightning fast, and sometimes he extends his leg ever so slowly, but it always culminates with a smack...and he finds himself thrown onto the floor. I do it nicely, at least. The only thing that can make P-Dog forget about people food is the presence of a twisty tie. Both kitties absolutely love twisty ties and pipe cleaners. I can't believe the ways they can make the pipe cleaners move and bounce!
C-Ster is much more friendly with strangers than P-Dog. While P-Dog usually bolts and hides in the basement rafters from a guest's arrival until his departure, C-Ster only hides for about five minutes before emerging to demand the general adoration of the room. He likes to go from one dangling hand to another, rubbing his cheeks and head against everyone. Maybe it makes him feel as if he's in control. But considering how spoiled the cats are, he probably is. C-Ster will hang out where the people are, but poor P-Dog is so scared that he refuses to come upstairs even to eat. I have to take it down to him and spend several minutes coaxing him out of the rafters. Strangely, however, he is much braver when it comes to animals. When we dog-sit Peanut (a Jack Russell terrier), P-Dog enjoys sneaking down the stairs and seeing how close he can get before Peanut notices. When Peanut finally realizes that there's a cat within reach, P-Dog runs like the wind and seems quite agitated, but five minutes later, he's tiptoeing back downstairs for another round. Both of the cats are very loving with Ben and me...at least for cats. C-Ster sits on our laps more often, but P-Dog will often crawl into bed to snuggle with Ben in the mornings, after I've left for work. Even though the lack of sunshine vitamins and shorter days are somewhat depressing, I am grateful for Fall; the kitties have finally started sleeping with us again, after a long hiatus. I can understand why they wouldn't want to add our body heat to their natural insulation during those long, sweaty summer nights, but I missed them! We were afraid that they had simply outgrown any desire to curl up in bed with us. Sometimes, they keep me awake longer, as I'm afraid to move too much and disturb them, but the warmth and the gentle vibrations of a purring cat are more than worth such minor hardships...And I forgot to mention that C-Ster is a food hog. I can't really call him a bully, since each cat receives and dishes out a basically equal share of the punishment from day to day, but C-Ster inhales his food like a vacuum and tries to get his head in P-Dog's bowl if he's not carefully supervised. P-Dog, who does not enjoy sharing, is starting to eat faster, but C-Ster wins the race every time. I think these two are the only cats I know who can't be trusted to eat responsibly when food is left out during the day. Nothing lasts longer than 5 minutes, and the poor buddies start whining hours before meal time (breakfast at 6 AM, dinner at 6 PM). I feel terrible when we leave for the weekend, because I know they eat three days' worth within the first two hours and are left with nothing until we return. At least they can share a water bowl and know how to drink in moderation.
P. S. Megan kind of likes Inca Kola! But my parents made some grotesquely interesting faces when they tried it.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
kati_chl2's journal