Cat Adventures and DSL Woes

Cats are funny creatures. This has become extremely apparent over the course of the past week seeing as our home is the residence of 3 littles. One orange tabby named Sammy who has a big belly and is somewhat skitterish. One gray tabby named Little Green whom has serious OCD and it clearly becoming the alpha. And finally Zomie who is the smallest calico on the planet. They have all adjusted to life with one another pretty well but it will be a while before they are NBF's, if ever.

Little Green has decided to show her dominance by eating everyone's food. She eats and eats and the next thing you know, it's all over the floor in puke form. This happened the other night after Miss B took some codeine cough medication which clearly knocked her out. It's not so fun to deal with cat food barf at 3am. Oh the things ya do for love. Little Green has also been extremely obsessed with the kitchen cupboards under the sink. There are repeated attempts to open it with her paw creating a good loud slamming noise each time it remains closed. This gray tabby also likes to perch. It's a constant retraining battle to keep her off the kitchen table and other places she should not be hanging out.

Zomie is small, light, and fast with the sharpest claws I've ever felt. She likes to prance around and is very chatty. Constantly talking with the sweetest meow. Also enjoying a good perch, I awoke this morning to her atop my dresser attempting to eat the bamboo plant. Zomie hides during the day and comes out at night only to sleep more on the corner of the bed near Miss B's feet. She also likes to rear up on her back legs like a horse and push her head into your hand.

Sammy and his little heart mumur is holding up best as he can. It's been a rough week learning to share the house with two girls and now a second mom. He keeps looking at me as if to say "Did you really need to do this? Weren't we happy where we were?". Sammy has spent a whole lot of time under the bed, waiting for the coast to be clear so he can hang out. He sprints around whenever Little Green appears to get away from the devil cat. He did manage some time with me last night on the bed and snuggled until Zomie came in and under the bed he went. Eventually I am sure he will overcome this and feel more comfortable.

Oh my god, I AM A LESBIAN! I just wrote an entire posting about cats. Oi.

And to note, we are having some technical difficulties with AT&T transferring DSL service so the only time I get to post is from work which is often hard to do. Lord knows it will take them 800 days to get the order right to set up operations. Rather hard to do from India, don't you think?

It is Finished

If any of you know anything about Jesus, you will recall that his last words on the cross before dying were "It is finished.". I would think it to be more appropriate to say "These fucking nails in my hands and feet hurt like a bitch!" but what do I know. Anyway, to quote the bearded do-gooder, the phrase It is finished! is now what I have been walking around the house saying because our move is complete. Finished up with the very last of it around 7pm on Tuesday evening. We will not be moving anytime soon, I can guarantee you that!

There will never again be a self move performed. After renting the truck and the pain which came along with it, I am hiring movers from here on out. Why you ask? Well here are a few points of interest:

• Driving a 15 foot long truck is not easy. Previous experiences from growing up on a farm driving feed trucks which were huge was no problem. However, there was never a need to park amongst city traffic nor drive across the Bay Bridge. Driving big trucks is tough on the nerves!
• While attempting to park in front of Becky's apartment I hit a 1985 Nissan Sentra. Not only did I dent in the front wheel well and take out the driver's side headlight, but also the car did a 180 into traffic. This of course had to be reported to the insurance company and there is a potential for my rates to increase.
• After the move was complete Miss B and I took everyone who helped us out for burritos. It was yummy and well deserved. Once back at the new homestead we went to return the rental truck and lo and behold, the keys were no where to be found. Thank goodness the man at the rental agency took pity on us, handed over the spare and said not to worry about the lost key charge if we got another one made. Did so in a hurry and returned the beastly vehicle.
• I am bruised all over my body beyond belief. The welt on my elbow has three colors at the moment (green, yellow, purple) as well as my hip from the previously mentioned fall. To make matters worse when I opened the hatch of my lesbaru to get out the last load to be hauled into the palace of cohabitation a huge wooden cutting board fell out into my knee cap. It's sore and bruised, just like the rest of my body. I'm old and this move just took another 3 years off of me, I swear!

We (an appropriate we) are now living out of boxes and attempting to get the cats to tolerate one another. They have been sequestered in separate rooms but are getting used to one another gradually. We watched a movie last night while they explored the respective rooms. Lots of hissing, some growling, but no bloodshed so looks like it's going well! We are also having a good time making decisions regarding what goes where, what duplicates have to go, picking out a shower curtain, and other general household decisions which I have never made with a special lady friend before. The move may be finished but it's also a new exciting chapter opening up right before my eyes! It's worth all the toil and trouble listed above!

Dust Yourself Off

Holy moley, today was the fall of a lifetime. While moving boxes, storage containers, CD holders, and several other pieces of my current apartment to the car, the wipeout of the century occurred. Today's weather has been the traditional February San Francisco downpour. Picture a continuous pitter patter of droplets while streams fit to sail paper ships on developed as the afternoon went onward. Taking several trips in and out to the car, the steep cement steps in front of the apartment became increasingly more slippery. Making a mental note, thoughts of falling entered my head. Several precautionary measures were taken and I was down to the last load prior to driving off to the palace of cohabitation. Carrying a very old lawn chair and the file cabinet which contains every bit of financial historical data as well as owners manuals from televisions or phones which probably don't own any longer, I tumbled down 4 steps in slick fashion. Landing on my elbow and falling flat on my right butt cheek and hip, stars appeared and the swelling instantaneous. Finally realizing what happened, I lay there mid-staircase stating aloud "Son-of-a-bitch that hurt!" realizing no one was there to witness a bit of it. (Son-of-a-bitch is my dad's favorite word, he will tell you that himself and has no bones about it. And who says the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!) File case in hand as well as the lawn chair in the other, somehow I managed to keep them in tact and prevent breakage/spillage. Got up, dusted myself off, and hauled the load over to the new abode.

Now here I sit with a sore ass and elbow wonder when in the heaven's name I will learn to ask for help. There's no reason to do this all myself. But then again, I wouldn't be a very good Capricorn then would I?!?!

Strange Manifestations

The other night at yoga Teacher Katchie was talking about how our bodies tell us to slow down, become grounded, and get a grip on itself even when our brains won't allow it. She discussed weight gain, catching colds, exhaustion, other symptoms of when we are forced to take a time out if we like it or not.

This caused me to think about being in a long distance relationship and the repercussions discovered in my own body over time. As it progressed, so did the feelings of living in two places at once, feeling no certain connection to either city. At the time it was seen as having the best of both worlds. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted in San Francisco. Stay out late, get messed up, cheat but not categorize it as cheating because of the refusal to adopt the title of "girlfriend" due to the distance, (boy did I get away with that for a while!), create the ability to always look like a winner by never truly letting someone in because of the infrequent interaction. While in Portland I was the doting "special lady friend", discussing what could be if we lived in the same town, living in temporary land where everything looked brilliant and new seeing only the happy happy joy joy which eventually cannot be sustained and is merely prolonged when actually physically seeing one another happened 3 days per month, if things went well. Not to mention the majority of the time spent in the bedroom. Over this year and some change experiment went on, feelings of becoming a human ping pong ball developed. As things got more and more complicated with increasing flights, long weekends, and disconnection of everything, I began to put on more and more weight. Right before taking off on sabbatical I weighed more than I had since college (all that PBR and pizza with no exercise other than walking to the bar!). I firmly believe it was my body saying "Why can't you just stay put for a while?". Along with weight gain came a constant state of sleepiness, impatience, and depression. Once removed from the situation and traveling, the weight came off, not so much sleep required, and a heaviness on my shoulders lifted. On this same trip the relationship in Portland ended and so did my body's instinctive reaction to ground me. Goes to show what living in the future can do as opposed to dealing with the here and now. It's all we have got and getting any further ahead does nothing but ruin the day which is here.

This is perhaps the most connected I have ever felt both spiritually and physically in day to day life. It's making it a whole lot easier to get through the day, and that's just it. There's no "getting through", it just happens on it's own rather seamlessly. How about that?

Tales of Valentine's Day Past

Several posts today have reflected disdain for St. Valentine's day. It's true, the only time this date deems appropriate is when you are in love or otherwise and have a special someone to share the cards, candies, and flowers to celebrate the consumer oriented day it was never really probably meant to be. Highly doubtful whenever the purpose of Valentine's Day was declared did anyone think "Now if I could only come up with the best retail stuffed animal and paint gaudy hearts all over it, sell it for $30 and call it L-O-V-E love!". Am positive there was a real meaning to it years ago. Why not show people you love and appreciate them throughout the year? Why do we have to wait for Hallmark to tell us when to do so?

Here are some examples of how Valentine's Day has been spent in the past:

• The Black Friday celebration at the Phone Booth. Several vodka tonics were had and eventually most everyone at the table ended up kissing someone else surrounding it. At one point we were told to be quiet or would have to leave. Ended up going home with a rather questionable redhead and slowed down on the consumption of vodka thereafter.
• The Anti-Vanti dinner party. Had several friends over, all of whom were single and we ate lots of tasty food, drank a little wine, and smoked some hooskow. Eventually ended up at the Phone Booth where I practiced flirting with a cute gal visiting from NYC. Later on that weekend the flirting paid off and it was the fling that got me off my arse and back into the world of dating.
• Hanging out at Cheryl's house (my best friend from grade school) making calls to the boys whom we thought were cute. I spent more time on the phone with Becky Zautke whom I was totally crushed out on at the time. Go figure. We got to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and his Valentine's Day Special with guest star Cheryl Tiegs. Hotcha!
• Gathered at the nearest bar to my village (a 20K bike ride) called Boy Bah's. It was an Peace Corps "Friday Office Party" which meant those of us whom lived within transport distance ascended upon this village and drank until our eyeballs popped out while sharing stories of events from our respective "homes". At one point in the evening I remember going to buy a chicken at the market for dinner....it's all fuzzy after that.

Wherein tonight I am spending Valentine's Day alone but it doesn't feel so bad. Miss Becky and I decided the events of the weekend were our celebrating and we didn't have to go out of our way today to chime in with the rest of the world on Valentine's Day. I tell her I love her several times a day. She is made fully aware daily how much I appreciate her loveliness, kindness, generosity, and beauty. I can't just wait for one day out of the year to do special nice things for her. I do them all the time because I want to and it feels like the right thing to do. So Hallmark, step off and quit reminding those whom don't have a Valentine why you think they should. It's lucky I am no longer ingesting pints of vodka to forget how lonely Valentine's Day can be, however I can still remember what it feels like. Make every day Valentine's Day. It's really not that hard.

Did someone say budget?

Recently received my W2 for 2004. It's beyond me at times where in the world the money earned over the past year has gone. A short list in order: rent, car payments, travel, car insurance, food, and entertainment. Making the choice to live alone was a very good one upon returning from traveling around southern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand in 2003. It was time to have a space of my own and it's been worth every penny. Just rather disheartening in looking how cash has gone to fund solitude.

Budgeting isn't really something I have had to do since working at the genetics factory. (or the jelly doughnut factory as E would like to say) Made the transition from high school history teacher to graveyard technician and the increase in pay, significant. Although still very frugal, I am also much more willing to spend however believe it's directly tied to the fact that there is money available to play with a bit. The theme learned while in Peace Corps was "If I don't need it, I don't buy it" still applies. No charging up the credit cards if I can't pay it off that month or over spending beyond my means. With that, it still shocks me that more wasn't put into savings this year. Although it is good to remember that ya can't take it with ya! Seeing as I won't ever have kids to worry about supporting or "leaving some for them", might as well take care of business now.

Perhaps the Monkey Bush administration feels the same way. The budget proposal which came out last week is abysmal at best yet typically Republican. Increase in defense spending and cuts to everything else. Gotta make the USofA "safe" and keep those terrorists at bay ya know. Whatever. I would like to sit down with some of those red state folks and ask them how they are feeling knowing the subsidies for their dairy farms is being cut, the social security program could potentially no longer exist, (hello Monkey, what you are trying to do is called a 401K and it would flood the market with more devaluated US dollars, smart? I think not.) and how much safer are their corn fields and cows? I do not claim to be a genius but do think that terrorists aren't about to blow up Farmer Johnson's grain bin to get back at the US for our freedom and democracy. After the State of the Union address which focused mainly on the "spread of freedom and democracy, but only the kind the United States will endorse", and very minimally on issues here at home the approval rating of dictator Bush has dropped to 43%. The message isn't clear what the hell what's happening in Washington DC other than hate everyone else, love the US. When will someone put an end to the neoconservatism control? What is clear would be a immediate need for shift in priority and taking care of things at home before neoconservative democracy spreads any further.

Went to Kabuki last night with the cash made on the sale of the drum kit. Miss B and I both received great massages and took advantage of the steam room, sauna, hot tub, cold pool, and serenity. Although it was chatty Cathy night with a whole lot of girlschool chit chatter in the background which did lessen the serene effect. What cracks me up is the "serenity gong" placed by the water and sea salts. There is a sign which states if it is too noisy, you should hit the gong signifying to everyone that they need to shut the heck up. Who would want to be the one to ruin the party? Just seems sort of silly. As the Power Station would say "Bangagong!".

Moving On

Boxes are being collected. Packaging tape purchased. Change of address card filled out. PG&E end and start date sussed out. The whirlwind of moving is entering it's beginning stages and reality has hit. Checked into the UHaul information today. Not only do they charge $29.95 for the rental, it's also 99 cents per mile. Thank goodness neither of us live that far away and I am moving a total of three blocks. But it just seems silly to charge per mile. Dang UHaul anyway. Although it wouldn't be two lesbians moving in with one another without one, right?

In preparing to move, I took a look at my phone which has been in my possession since 1997. It's an old school Uniden with speaker phone and answering machine. Super low tech. Somewhere down the line I got in the habit of storing old messages on it. Ones that made me smile, meant something special, marked significant events. These were left by girlfriends (now ex-es), my mom, nieces/nephews, and friends. There were 12 messages that dated as far back as February of 2000. Knowing that it's pretty koo-koo to retain words from so long ago, last week they were erased and sent into nothingness. It finally put closure on a few things which should have been resolved quite some time ago however lingered for one reason or another. The phone is now ready to be shared with no ghosts of Christmas past remaining stirring up thoughts of yesteryear which are gone but not forgotten entirely. Just put where they needed to be long ago, behind me.

Another realization took place last night. I will no longer have the opportunity to pursue my career as a drummer. While showing the apartment to a potential renter last evening, she said "Nice drums!". To which I replied "They are for sale, you interested?". She said yes immediately and I sold them for exactly their purchased value. Not sure if she will get the apartment but she did obtain a nice drum kit. As we were carrying them outside to her car I got the feeling that I have limited time to become the rock star I have had dreams of becoming since childhood. The drummer to me wasn't the showboat of the band but they held everything together. If Miss B and I ever are able to purchase a home perhaps I can get a kit again and give it another go but until then it's air drums for me. The new neighbors will probably like that as well, as will the three cats!

Spring Sprang--if only briefly

Another weekend in San Francisco which felt like spring. The air was fresh, sky blue, and sunshine all over the place. Warm enough to wear jeans, t-shirt, and light jacket. No threat of rain nor the familiar grey clouds of February from years past. It's weather like this that charges the public to get outside and stay out! Oh what a wonderful feeling!

Friday night was spent helping Miss B sort through items which had two options: stay or go. I helped to shuffle books, furniture, CDs, random ecoutremont from place to place while she made the pending decision. I did my best to remain as neutral as possible. These are her things and therefore her mandate to chuck to the curb or haul across the bay. Our tastes are rather different in home furnishings (but not completely opposite) however I refuse to be the kind of girlfriend who demands what stays or goes. It's got a fight or two down the road written all over it if I walk in and start throwing my opinion all over everything. The evening ended with her living room filled with a variety of goods for sale which she was ready to send on their way to a better place. It will be interesting to see what the combined household will look like when all is said and done.

Saturday night Miss B and I took Adriana out to the Eagle and then a random lesbian event called Ladies Love Lounge at the Cat Club. The Eagle was somewhat chuck full of women which was rather odd for a Saturday night. There was a birthday party in progress and lots of gals to stare at for a while. That's why I love the Eagle. It's just simply queer. No crowd in particular, just for any ol' queer, straight, gay, tranny, lesbo, or otherwise. The music was good, drinks a-flowin', and weed being smoked. I was an observer to all this as the wagon is still in check. It's fun to be surrounded by it from time to time just to remember what it was like without actually consuming. We eventually made it over to the Cat Club to which we found no crowd, lame music, and the same old bridge and tunnel crowd. Essentially Club Q revisited with the tierd DJ Paige Hodel, otherwise know as Paige K-tel. The tunes she chooses to spin are those from PRIDE celerations in 1980. It's tierd, old, and needs a facelift honey. We chose not to throw down our $5 and bailed to the Lexington. Here we found the same greasy lesbians we always do listening to Cat Power and the Pixies. Some things never change.

Sunday was spent in the kitchen. Made a yummy breakfast for Miss B of soyrizo, eggs, cheese, mushrooms, onions on tortillas. Also plantains with cayanne pepper. Yumolicious. But the repercussions left from that much soy and cheese hasn't been so pretty. I then made some chocolate chip cookies which also got the best of me. My tummy has been bloated all day. When will I learn? Spicy soy products and chocolate don't mix. phhhuuurrrttt!

Time to Move!

It's official--we got the flat at 327 Highland! Hooray! The hugemongous place is ours as of 2/15. Miss B and I will sign paperwork on Saturday, get keys, and there ya have it, co-habitation. It is amazing to me how much moving actually costs. Between the security deposit, pet deposit, first month's rent, and all the other "hidden costs" of taking up a new residence, I have a sneaking suspicion we will be here for a very long time. Now it's time to start collecting boxes for packing, changes of address, and the cumbersome details. Finding the place was actually the easy part. Whew. No more Crazy Baked Bean Lady or Crumudion Martion to annoy or receive nasty notes from. Oh shoot.

I have been conversing with Sammy to inform him that we are in fact moving in with two other girl cats and Becky. Not sure exactly what it is that I think is going to be accomplished by this and if anything it's probably to make myself feel better. He will have no problem adjusting to Becky. They became fast friends although for the longest time whenever we would kiss and not pay attention to him, meowing rejectedly was heard by all. Sammy's over that now and when Miss B is here he takes to her a bit more than me. Especially when it comes to begging for food from the table. Apparently she's the easier one of the two parents. As for Little Green and Zomie, (Miss B's cats), it's hard to say how that will go. Advice from friends has been BOY + GIRL + GIRL = OK. We shall find out...

Last year at the Procrastinator's New Year's Eve Party (best party ever year because it RULES!) my pal A gave me a new hair style for the evening because I went as a "girl". Mini skirt, fishnets, the whole nine yards. With this also came a long term plan for my hair to move away from the constant buzz cut. I go for several months now between haircuts and as it gets longer, it also goes UP with the aide of lots of product. This appears to be a hot topic at work. Yesterday was transition day where it's the first day of the UP style. Our new associate director asked if I stuck my finger in a light socket. Nice. A bit later on the manufacturing plant director said "My oh my, you changed your hair!". He also commented a while ago when it was long on a Friday and buzzed on a Monday. Another Associate Director stated it looks like the villain from The Incredibles. Who knew my hair could be such a company wide phenomena and point of interest. Gives them something to talk about I suppose. I like it either way and it's fun to work through the different stages as the months pass. Thanks for the tip and style A! You rule!

Tomorrow it's time for a trip to the dentist. A dreaded event. Although it's merely a cleaning, it's still an unfavorable event due to scars left from childhood. Mom took us to an old school dentist who didn't much believe in pain medicine and used a big huge purple drill. Ick. Do you think I could work in some laughing gas for this? Highly doubtful. Did have them hooking me up with valium prior but can't seem to score it anymore. Oh well, sober dentistry is probably best.

PMSday

Rather than call today "Tuesday", it would have been more appropriately titled "PMSday". The ladies at work are all undergoing the struggle of the cycle and it isn't pretty. Within our division of 17 employees, 11 are women and they all sit with one another amongst the sea of cubicles. Their menstrual cycles have now been somewhat aligned (even though some of them use birth control) due to the vast amount of time spent together. The last week of every month is a bear. Two of them showed up crying in my office today. Any other day they can handle the ebb and flow of work and struggles they may be having--not so today. This is promptly admitted and I now know when exactly to bring out the box of tissues and chocolate. It does make the last week of every month intensely challenging. This was quite obvious in our staff meeting today. Attitude was flying all over the place. People were freely letting their frustrations flow and at one point I thought items were going to get thrown around. To make matters worse, I am now aligned as well and was in no mood to put up with what appeared to be whining, complaining, and serious disgrunteledness. The three men in the room hung in there pretty well but all had this look on their face as if to say "How did this happen?". Unfortunately there will be more to put up with tomorrow. At least I have some peanut butter cups and milkyways to subside if not distract them long enough to get through another "PMSday".

Received a call from my current landlord Celia at work. She was shocked that I was seeking another place to live and I was dreading this phone call. Celia is probably 70 years old, sharp as a tack, and one of the best landlord experiences I have ever had. She lives in a retirement facility over in the Western Addition. Upon the first meeting she said "Well you seem like a real nice girl and your credit rating is impeccable! Sign right here please!". Over time we have built a good relationship. I have gone a few times to have dinner with her, just to hang out and talk about her life. Celia is one great lady and it felt like I was telling mom that it was moving day. I hope to still make a trip or two to see her from time to time and hang out. Not many of her relatives come and see her anymore so why not? Only takes a little time and it means a lot to her.

The lineup for Cochella came out on Monday. Can't believe some of the bands whom will be there! To note: Bauhaus, Nine Inch Nails, the Chemical Brothers, Rilo Kiley, New Order and about 8 billion others that I can't think of at this time. At the end of the festival last year I thought I wouldn't care to go again. It was oversold and simply too many people to maneuver through. With any luck there will be more room and fewer frat boys. Why is it they turn up everywhere? Can ya answer me that? I'll tell you what, I'm not going to let the ruin my fun in the sun and music filled weekend!