Another Goodbye

We have another goodbye to give today. My mom and dad had to put their kitty Patches to sleep yesterday. She had lung cancer and it turned out that they couldn't do anything for her.

Patches was a beautiful cat. I don't have any pictures here I can post of her, but I'll try and find one. She had a beautiful brown and cream coat and lovely blue eyes. She was a fined boned kitty with short silky fur and a long brown tail. She never really liked me, but that was part of her kitty charm.

She will be missed very much.

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done,
For this -- the last battle -- can't be won.
You will be sad I understand,
But don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.
We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me till the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.
Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close -- we two -- these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.


Author Unknown

Screen House - A Disaster

Well, as I suspected getting a screened tent thingy for the cat was a total disaster. I let Greg talk me into getting a big one that can go over a picnic table rather than the little (and more expensive) one that was designed for cats. The one we got was admittedly a cheap one, but it was impossible to put up and didn't have a bottom in it, so the cats could just walk under it. Which was my argument from the beginning. It took us forever to put it together and then we couldn't get it to stay up. Stupid design.

I took Zinger out and put him in it and he totally FREAKED out. Poor guy. I've mentioned before that Zinger is a big ole fraidy cat. Well, this didn't help. When I put him down he dashed away, ran headlong into the screened wall twice before he found the opening and zipped back into the house. The whole event took less than five seconds.

Cleo actually hung out in there for a while. I think she was trying to make us feel better.

So a trip back to WalMart is in order to return this thing. I think I'll be ordering the cat one.

Goodbye to Q

Sad news today, I'm afraid. I came in to work this morning and found that my fishy Q was dead. His bubbler tube tipped over sometime last night and he must have swum into it and then couldn't get out. Poor guy. Bettas are air breathers so he must have drowned. How ironic is that? A fish drowning.

My desk looks very empty without his tank there. I'll miss his inquisitive little fishy face checking out everyone who came up to my desk. He had quite a following around the city.

R.I.P little fishy.

What I've Been Up To

Time sure flies these days! I haven’t written anything for a while. I haven’t even managed to update my “What I’m Reading” section. Guess I won’t be NaBloPoMo for September!

So, what have I been up to, you ask? Not too much. Here are some highlights:

Went to the home & garden / RV show - that was pretty cool. It’s been a while since we looked at RVs. Things have sure changed in the industry. Several of the companies that make trailers have gone out of business. We are still thinking about selling the house and living in a trailer full time. We’ve been kicking around this idea for a long time, and I think Greg has finally talked me into it. More about this at a later date.

Did the Strut Your Mutt walk. The walk was fun. It was at Lacamas Lake in Camas. We thought we got there early and beat the crowd, but later I got an email from Second Chance Companions and was disappointed to hear that only 16 people participated and they raised less than $700. They plan to make this an annual event, so hopefully they will have lots more people next year.

Spent a week working many hours on the budget document at work. I think I worked 15 hours of overtime last week – and that was a short week because of Labor Day.

As a result of the work on the document, I’ve really hurt my shoulder and have numbness and pain shooting down my arm and into my hand. I guess since I was doing so much work on the document which included a lot of mouse work, I over used it. This totally sucks because it hurts to use the computer…meaning I can’t play Farm Town as much! Gasp! I’ve been trying to use my left hand to mouse, but it is so awkward. I get frustrated at how slow I am and before I know it I'm back to right hand mousing.

I did go get a massage to help the neck and shoulder. It was soooo wonderful. This place only charges $39 for an hour, which is awesome. My insurance doesn’t cover it, but I don’t mind paying 40 bucks. The other places I’ve gone have been $60 for an hour!

My neighbor got a kitten. His name is Dean Martin – Deano for short. He is so cute! I love kittens. We went over to meet him the other and got a kitten fix. They had to put their older kitty to sleep last week and said the house was just so empty without a cat that they had to go get a new one.

Cleo has been very weird the last couple of weeks…she’s been jumping in the trash, running around, trying to get in the window, clawing everything, and trying to sneak out every time someone opens the door. It’s annoying. I think we’ll have to get her one of those little houses that she can be in outside.

I got my 2010 calendar. I know that sounds really boring, but I always love getting the next year’s calendar. It seems like I’m always looking out for the perfect calendar (much like the quest for the perfect bag). I’ve tried really expensive ones that have lots of ways to keep you organized and have lots of areas to write in to-dos and even have and hour by hour section. I’m not so good with those. I’ve finally found one I like. It’s just a monthly calendar, but I really like it. Lots of room to write in the days and a place to store reminder cards and stuff. Best of all, I got it at the dollar store! How awesome is that? The other planner-type calendar was $40+ each year. This one is a buck.

Got my car washed and vacuumed out. I love Washman Car Wash. For twenty-five bucks (including tip) I can get the car washed and waxed, have it vacuumed and the windows cleaned and the doors wiped down. It’s so great. I totally hate doing it myself and sure don’t mind paying less than an hour's pay to get it done.

I think I'm getting a cold and I'm not at all happy about it. I've been feeling progressively crappier as the day goes on. My throat is all scratchy and no matter how much water I drink I can't seem to make it better. Now my nose just started running. A great big sarcastic "Thank You" to all of you employees that came to work sick!

Twenty-Nine Lines to Make you Smile

1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn't.
2. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.
4. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5. Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.
6. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
7. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
8. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
9. I'm not a complete idiot -- some parts are just missing.
10. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
11. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
12. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
13. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
14. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
15. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
16. Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it!
17. Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.
18. Procrastinate now!
19. I Have a degree in Liberal Arts; do you want fries with that?
20. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
21. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
22. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
23. They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.
24. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless DEAD.
25. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
26. Ham and eggs... A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
27. The trouble with life is there's no background music.
28. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
29. I smile because I don't know what is going on.

Why I'm Not a Parent

PARENT - Job Description

This is hysterical. If it had been presented this way, I don't believe any of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION TITLE :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.

Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!

Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required, unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.


A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance , no pension, no tuition reimbursement , no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

NaBloPoMo - DONE!

Well, my faithful readers, my National Blog Posting Month is done. I posted every day in August, which was my goal. I never said they had to be posts of any kind of substance, but I did post every day. I even got a guest poster in there (that was Greg, by the way).

So I hope you enjoyed (or even noticed) my daily posts in August. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program of whenever I get around to it.

That is all.