too lazy to actually write something

And then blogspot was too lazy to delete the entire entry. So here you go.

so NOW what?

I thought I had a job. I may still have a job...but at the moment I don't have a job. Confused?

Last month I had an interview. It seemed to go exceedingly well, and I learned that I was the only candidate that Potential Boss Lady was bothering to interview before leaving the country on a long vacation. I worked 4 days for her while she was away. During that time I was either brave or foolish and asked the office manager (who has been w/PBL for a loooong time); she had the same impression as I, that PBL would be calling me with a job offer upon her return. Yay, I thought.

PBL's first day back at her clinic was 2 days ago. I had realized on Easter that it was very unlikely she would call me on Monday, since her desk was probably piled higher than she is tall with All The Stuff That Happened While PBL Was Away. (An impressive pile indeed, especially after the Anesthesia Double-Whammy Disaster that happened on my last day. Thank heavens the kitty apparently is making a full recovery.)

By Tuesday evening, however, I couldn't take the suspense anymore.

I called.

I asked if she had made her decision.

No, she hadn't.

WHAT?!?

My brain did the mental equivalent of looking at The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and reading the words in big, pink letters: DON'T PANIC. Before I could get out any intelligible sounds, however, she had more to say. First, I received favorable reviews from her staff. (We all got along really well.) Second, she wanted to see how the two of us worked together. So I am working Tuesdays (w/PBL) & Wednesdays (solo) for the entire month of May.

Which (in hindsight) makes perfect sense: Gee, think it might be a good idea to see if you & the PBL can even stand each other? Hmph. Yeah.

So this will provide enough income to take care of the month of May. Unfortunately I was counting on considerably more to take care of what's left of April!

Time to get a little creative and see where the axe can fall.

how's your weather?

Sunny autumn day Your forecast: 52°F, 24 mph wind, 27% chance of precipitation

What your score means: Please note that all variables are scaled to a range of 0 to 100. I'd like to present some of them differently, but the OkCupid system doesn't seem to allow independent scaling of variables. Category names are not meant to be taken literally. They are only weather patterns that match your score for the three variables. A person might be classified as "hurricane" because he/she is outgoing, athletic and compassionate; it does not relate to any destructive behavior by any means. Temperature measures your relationships with other fellow humans. A high temperature means you are caring and compassionate, and you tend to keep a personal touch with all your friends. A low temperature means you are more independent, and although you may like to hang out with your friends, personal life rarely enters the picture. Wind measures your level of energy. A low wind says you are usually calm and composed, somewhat introverted, and perhaps do not prefer intense physical activities. A high wind says you are energetic, extroverted, and tend to lead an active lifestyle. Higher wind can also mean greater ambitions in life. In extreme cases and especially when coupled with high precipitation, high wind might suggest a tendency toward violence. Precipitation measures your mood. A sunny sky, as you might guess, is associated with a bright, optimistic mood. People like this tend to be satisfied with their lives, and might take the effort to help make other people's lives better as well. A rainy sky would be the opposite: people in this category tend to be moody or depressed at times. So, What do you think? Do the scores seem fair to you? If not, you can help make it better by sending me a message with your comments, suggestions, rants, death threats, whatever. Otherwise, your vote is very much appreciated. Thanks!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> http://www.okcupid.com/">%20alt="free%20online%20dating"%20src=" You scored higher than 16% on temperature http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> http://www.okcupid.com/">%20alt="free%20online%20dating"%20src=" You scored higher than 0% on wind http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0> http://www.okcupid.com/">%20alt="free%20online%20dating"%20src=" You scored higher than 33% on precipitation

Link: The what kind of weather are you Test written by LTbot on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

My Meme, My Own

You know the drill, children...get to it!!

1. Comfort food: Ritz crackers

2. Comfort music: Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown TV music

3. I would happily listen to _______ read the phone book:
Dennis Haysbert

4. I won't answer the phone during these TV shows: 24, Lost, Battlestar
Galactica, Veronica Mars

5. PMS survival tool(s): chocolate

6. Food I prefer not to eat: olives, cilantro, green peppers

7. Food I refuse to eat: liver (especially chicken), anything involving neural tissue (prions begone!)

8. Food I can't get enough of that others won't eat: mushrooms

9. Dream car: VW New Beetle with Subaru AWD & a Toyota hybrid engine

10. Dream vacation: China, 2 weeks in the UK, RVing thru 49 states plus Canadian provinces (once they develop a solar-powered/hybrid RV).

Monsters Walk Among Us

I have reached a conclusion: There must be a plutonium stash under my house. What else can explain the insane growth of almost every creature in this household? (Now for a couple of the cats, all adults, it's a matter of different cat food & their mom still working out how much they need a day. Not how much they want, mind you...need.) (Their mom has been finding this also works well for herself, but is occasionally stymied by the fact that the one responsible for dishing out her food for the day is, well, her.)

But I digress. Yesterday on my way home from work (yes, work!) (relief work at the moment but more on that later), I stopped at a pet store to finally buy puppy collars. It's about that time when they'll be joining Peter on car rides (Caramel too, as long as she has her Dramamine), and I don't particularly want them off the property without ID. I carefully picked out brightly colored collars: blue for TwoSpot, green for Yoke, and purple for Brownie. These, I thought, are going to be seriously stylin' puppies!

I proudly brought home the new collars (ID tags as well) and got to work. I took each collar out of its packaging, made sure I had the appropriate tag for each, and then took the first collar into the living room to adjust to a puppy. I checked to see how far the first one would go around TwoSpot's neck. Lengthened it several inches. Checked again. Added another inch. Checked again...fine perhaps for a tightened choke collar but certainly not for a pup. Extended it as far as it would go. It still was too tight! Faced with the indisputable facts, as a relatively reasonable person I acknowledged the situation and made efforts to correct my actions accordingly. (ahem*BushCo!*cough!!)

So I think to myself, "Self, it's just that TwoSpot is a humongous boy. Go back tomorrow and exchange his collar for a bigger one." Satisfied, I take the next collars to adjust to the smaller pups. Much to my dismay, these collars are also too small. These puppies are only 12 weeks old!!! Stunned, I glanced around the living room. I looked at the snakes: twice as big as 3 months ago. I looked at the Aquarium of Doom: the red hook has grown by at least half and the tetras have tripled. I pondered this, and suddenly I was really wishing that Geiger counters were standard household equipment.

So perhaps I have found yet another benefit of going back to work: decreased exposure time to something akin to kryptonite (would that be the red one?). Tomorrow I shall return to the pet store & exchange the collars for medium ones. I can only hope that they won't have outgrown those by tomorrow afternoon.

THIS IS IMPEACHABLE

EXCUSE THE SHOUTING BUT THIS IS ESSENTIALLY AN ACT OF TREASON CAN WE F'ING IMPEACH HIM NOW?!?!?!?

Addendum: Ah damn. Damn, damn, damn!! From the Washington Post:

WASHINGTON - Legal experts say that President Bush had the unquestionable authority to approve the disclosure of secret CIA information to reporters, but they add that the leak was highly unusual and amounted to using sensitive intelligence data for political gain.

here here!

I do on occasion wax political, but when someone else says it best I'm happy to share. This guy supported invading Iraq, so see what Richard Cohen has to say.

aunt update

Okay the discombobulation isn't all gone, going by the nap I just came out of. Oh well.

I realized today that in the midst of all this craziness I never provided an update on my gravely ill aunt. She's home! The sepsis caused permanent damage to her heart (at least to the extent that she'll be on heart meds for life) and the antibiotics that saved her damaged her hearing so she has to get a hearing aid. She also doesn't remember much since my uncle's funeral...I keep telling her that's just her brain protecting her. (If you almost bled to death from ulcers and then got your body cooked by E.coli all within 6 weeks, would you want to remember?)

So sincere thanks to all those who said a prayer or held a positive thought for her.

Discombobulated Goose Eggs

It's probably only a duck egg, thanks to the ice pack. On my forearm, of all places. There would be another one on my knee if it weren't for the lack of sufficient soft tissue. Although I will no doubt have a lovely array of colored bruises on at least three limbs soon enough. (They will match nicely with the ones previously set in place by Caramel, who has yet to master the concept that my body is not made of the same material as the bed.) (Who needs tattoos?)

I have noticed a certain phenomenon when I take a spill. You know how they say that most of our brain processes are so fast we are not consciously aware of them? (Well I'm sure that someone has said that, somewhere.) When my brain realizes that a nose dive is inevitable, my consciousness seems to go into slo-mo. Before the fall gets underway, I am aware of my eyes scanning the target area, my brain recognizing any danger points, my brain then directing my hands/arms what to aim for & my skull/face what to avoid, and then my body getting the all clear to relax (mostly) and go with the flow. All this in what, a second? Fascinating stuff.

I'm hoping that incident was the last of a very discombobulated couple of weeks. Funky sleep patterns. Getting the flu. Fighting off the flu. (Yes, the cells of my immune system wear super suits...why do you ask?) Bringing home Jackson's ashes. Working my first day at The Probable Job. C-pap machine acting up. Cleaning up after 5 puppies (4 of which were not yet house trained) who developed The Explosive Diarrhea of Too Sudden of a Food Change. Administering a couple of anesthesia drugs to a friend's dog in the wrong order (don't worry absolutely no adverse effects to anything other than my ego). Losing my little date planner book thingy. Cleaning up after Peter and his own personal version of gastroenteritis. Proudly leaving for my therapy appointment on time, getting 15 minutes late because I-5 was backed up wayyyyyy north of Seattle, not being able to call said therapist because I forgot my cell phone on the end table, and arriving only to discover that the appointment had been scheduled for 10:15 not 10:45 & it was now after 11:00. Frack-a-doodle-doo.

So here's hoping that the current discombobulation as come to an end. I think I'll pull an Opus and find me a dandelion patch.

As if it wasn't already obvious...

You are a Social Liberal (76% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (18% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

The House of Vice Viruses

I can't do anything. Well that's not true...I can take a 2-4 hour nap at the drop of a hat. But that's about it. Did you know you can have the flu and not have congestion, sneezing, or a sore throat? It's true . Now we're not talking about the grossly inaccurate moniker of "stomach flu" here (that's usually food poisoning, unless your name is Mel ). Flu refers to influenza, caused by a multi-membered group of respiratory viruses. The "base camp" of all influenza viruses (viri?) is waterfowl. (So the next time you see Donald Duck at Disneyland...you may wish to have a word.) From here they mutate (& sometimes successfully) transfer to other species. Humans are quite good at finding these mutations (Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918, anyone?). Horses got their version started in the 1960s. The dog version is now making it's way across the U.S. The current scare of "bird flu" has been picked up by cats & humans (but so far ONLY from direct contact w/an infected bird). These are viruses that know how to travel!

But for me, we're just talking plain ol' flu. At least I think this is the flu. Curiously I have yet to have a "real" fever, although my melting body last night wanted to argue with the thermometer. I actually woke up this morning without the persistent, laugh-in-the-face-of-excedrin headache...at least for a little bit. But...I dread what should come next: The Cough. I cannot afford The Cough, not now. The end of this week I have my first of 4 days of relief work at The Potential Job. I...must...not...cough. My sole hope is that this is some other cockamamie virus of temporary duration and there will be no cough. Yes, that's it. That must be it.

I did say the house of viruses, did I not? Between myself and the antics of The Herd of Ravenous Monster Puppies (THORMP), heaven forbid that the cats be outdone. Ever since MaoMao staged the Great Escape last year, all the cats have been playing hot potato with a respiratory virus of their own. (Before I got sick, I considered naming this entry The House of Herpes...but that would imply something a wee bit different than intended.) Probably 80% of the feline population has been exposed to herpes (one of several "kitty colds" than kittens often have) & many of these cats become long-term carriers. Just like in humans, the herpes virus tends to pop back up during times of stress to wreak havoc once again. And trust me, THORMP provides plenty o' stress to The Orderly World of Cats.

So po' Benjamin has what's called dendritic keratitis; stereotypical lesions on his corneas caused by herpes, sort of like little ulcers. Treatable (no disintegrating eyeballs in this household, thank you) but for a cat that already objects to his daily pills, eyedrops 4 times per day are just such a bonus. This also means that at least B & MM will have to take lysine twice daily for the forseeable future; after all, herpes is The House Guest That Never Leaves.

Let's just hope it & influenza never hook up.

muah hah hah hahhhh

You Are 10% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

David Horsey

Mr. Horsey is a Pullitzer-winning editorial cartoonist in Seattle. I'm hoping this link will stay on this particular cartoon.... http://cartoonbox.slate.com/hottopic/?topicid=11&image=0

Goodbye Old Friend

It's taken me almost a week to write this post. Jackson was truly one of the most gentle souls I have ever met. He was my parents' dog for many years; he loved Dad and just plain ol' adored Mom. He was there for both of them when they each left this world, and so I was there for him. Despite the "herd" running around this place, it seems a little empty now... or maybe that's just my heart.

Between my aunt and my dog, I don't currently have time to author much of anything. So here, let this fine fellow distress the bejeebers out of you:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/13/AR2006031301484.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Leave my aunt alone!

My poor Aunt June. Uncle Jack passed away in January (they had over 50 years of marriage). She helped him with his Parkinsons for ~20 years, so along w/the grief this was the time for her body to heal as well (caregiving can take a horrid toll on your physical reserves). But such was not to be.

1. Seven weeks ago she was rushed to the ER for what turned out to be 6 pyloric & duodenal ulcers. She had lost so much blood that any longer and they might have lost her.
2. Two weeks ago she caught that horrid gastrointestinal virus that's been going around. She was so dehydrated she was given intravenous fluids.
3. Tuesday my cousin found her incoherent. She was rushed to the ER again and this time was diagnosed with The Pneumonia From Hell. The fever has finally broken, but yesterday her lungs weren't looking any better (x-rays) and she had developed a horribly rapid heartbeat.

The poor woman is literally sick & tired of being sick & tired! She is the only one left of my mom's siblings & in-laws. She is fighting (she & Mom were twins, so the stubborness factor is HUGE, lol). But now we have to wait to see if her body if up to the challenge as well.

I literally want to yell "leave my aunt alone!" at someone or something, but generally life is more complicated than that. For any of you that do that sort of thing, prayers &/or kind thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Editor's update: What is it about the power of a blog? Second time today that I learn something new as soon as I've finished posting. (Excuse me while I look around for Rod Serling.) Just talked to one of my cousins, and today the doctor said that she doesn't have pneumonia. Her lungs look bad because it's her asthma w/a very nasty flare-up. However, she does still have a horrible bacterial infection -- but it's in her bloodstream (septicemia). So she's going in this afternoon for a battery of tests to try to locate the original source. Keep those prayers comin'.

concerned, I am

The pups are adorable. Individual personalities are starting to make their appearance. Jackson & Peter are no longer telling them to back off with every other breath.

Yet I still have all four remaining puppies. Since I e-mailed the application forms, I haven't heard anything back from the families. For over a week now. Even emailed the best candidates again this week...nothing.

I mean, I planned to keep whoever (if anybody) was left. But FOUR PUPPIES? and their MOM? Aye carumba. This is so totally not the Correct Order of the World...you can't have more dogs than cats. Trying to train four crazy bundles of joy at the same time? Ack, give me four kittens anyday! (Er, not now, please. Oh lordy no.)

Mind you, I'm not panicking. Merely expressing. I've started teaching them their names just because it seems rather undignified to only answer to "poopy poopy". Maybe it's just me.

Addendum: Aw dammit, gumby. Just got a reply from TwoSpot's new owners...they are bowing out. Things are about to get interesting.

my eyes hurt

I don't know what it is about cats & computers, but they have some sort of strange cosmic connection. I have Yoda who offers the obligatory bats at the screen saver, five of the cats who type all sorts of things into my IMs (much to the recipients' confusion), & Wilbur Jeeves who can merely walk by the back of the CPU and the whole thing resets (strong in the Force, that one).

But leave it to Mao Mao to offer up a new one. Today, in his Infinite Kitty Wisdom, he decided to sit/lean on the left edge of the keyboard. Thinking nothing of it (stupid, stupid human) I continued to read Mel's blog. Suddenly the blog morphed from something amusing into a huge freaking BILLBOARD. I checked Tory's ...same thing. I checked my home page...nothing of the sort. But alas, as soon as I go to my blog, IT'S A BILLBOARD.

So do me a favor. The next time you see your cat(s), please grovel appropriately and ask them if they might deign to offer a solution. Seriously, I'm getting a headache from the eyeball pain.

dealing with them thar christians

Melodee & I were high school classmates; she was one of the smart & witty ones. Since our 20th reunion we have endeavored to keep in touch, and I daresay we were both surprised (well I was) to discover we were different colors, e.g. one red & one blue. (Now before you jump on me about generalizations, for two such complex people it would be far more accurate to say she is a strong violet & I am a deep purple. So hush.) Check out her latest entry here.

for all you rat lovers out there

You can read about Quinn's travails with her new charge here .