Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Here kitty kitty
Freeman has a theory that all pets are normal until they come to live with me. He feels there is something about me that causes my pets to become more and more freak-like every day. I would love to disagree with him, but my pets continually provide fodder for his theory.
Lately Cleo (a.k.a. Wonder Kitty) has become, well, a little nutty.
She comes to visit me every morning while I am getting ready in the bathroom. A few months ago she was all about playing in the shower after I had finished taking one. Since I got rid of the old shower mat she has lost all interest. (My theory is the old shower mat collected all kinds of good smelling bacteria and grew yucky gross stuff that attracted her because of the smell. Since I got rid of the old one and the new one doesn’t smell, she doesn’t see any reason to go in the shower.) Instead of waiting for me to get out of the shower, it seems she has discovered the mirror. More specifically, it seems she has discovered herself in the mirror.
Every day, as I take my shower, she comes into the bathroom, jumps up on the counter, looks at herself and immediately starts letting out these blood curdling meows. She sounds as though I am attacking her. As if she is experiencing the worst kind of kitty abuse imaginable. I tell her to stop, I yell at her to get over it; short of covering the mirror I am not sure how to handle this problem.
It wouldn’t bother as much if I wasn’t totally aware that my neighbors can hear her. The bathroom is right next to the hallway and her voice carries. Also, there is something about the bathrooms that allows sound to travel more effectively between floors.
I know it her yowling bothers me, I can only imagine how my neighbors feel…(perhaps this is one of the reasons the guy downstairs and guy next door are moving out…)
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Mom got the Job!
Everybody do the HAPPY DANCE!!!! 
Updates People! Updates!
#1 – They have finally found someone to replace me! Whohoo! In two weeks the new person starts. In one month I will be done killing trees for no reason. I am so ecstatic I could jump up and down. If only she cold start sooner and make all the copies for this week’s meeting. But I guess she has her previous job to get out of….
#2 – The downstairs neighbor is moving out! Whoohoo! It’s a good thing. It’s a really good thing. And not just for me, but for him as well. He moved here from South East somewhere (I want to say Tennessee) and has been unhappy ever since. Not only did he constantly complain when I made any noise (apparently just walking across my floor was too much for him) but the few times I talked to him he did nothing but complain. It’s too cold here, even in the summer time. He’s always sick. He can’t sleep. Blah blah blah. He’s been here for 3 years. They say if you aren’t happy after two then you should find somewhere else to live. He’s taking “their” advice and leaving. Yeah! I will miss his heat though. I never really had to turn mine on much…
#3 – The four hour meeting I was roped into for this afternoon was cancelled. CANCELLED. Talk about having a good day. And the other meeting I have today? Yeah, I get to call in for that one! This means I do not have to hustle off to another building lugging armfuls of stuff I could care less about! Yippee!
Monday, April 18, 2005
I’ll have a large plate of “Jaded” with a side of “Who Cares” please
I like to think of myself as a pretty happy, go lucky kind of gal.
I like to smile to myself and to others when I’m walking down the street.
I would always stop and give someone the time of day, or directions, or help when I can.
However, this attitude seems to be disappearing, especially with the move to a different building. Today at lunch I walked 2 blocks (one block there, one black back) and was approached for money no less than 6 times. People took various tactics, I’m hungry, I need bus fare, I’m homeless and need help, etc. It was all the same. Please open your pocket book and give me cash.
I don’t smile anymore. I don’t look at people; they are apt to ask me for money. I don’t stop and help, they just want money. I even went so far as to interrupt a beggar today and just say, “I don’t have money, get out of my way.” Morally I feel bad. It isn’t good to be mean to people, Karma and all that, you know? But in reality there is no way I can help all of these people. And once you give them change they mark you and keep coming back again and again, acting as if you are a piggy bank.
It sucks.
Plus, they get right in your face. They don’t smell pretty, some of them smell down right rancid. And then there are the crazed looking people, who look at you without seeing, but are so used to begging that they don’t notice you as anything more than a piggy bank. It bothers me, a lot.
It bothers me because I have changed my attitude. I am mean, where before I was annoyed. I find myself turning cold when one of them appears at my elbow. I’m angry. I won’t smile. I am not open.
I know it is self defense, but that doesn’t make it okay. It makes me jaded. And sad. Very sad.
If you are thinking, that should be safe, then you should think twice…
Freeman’s friend, Jay’s, girlfriend’s (Kat) birthday was Saturday.
As Jay & Kat live South of Seattle, they thought it would be great to come to “The City” for Kat’s birthday. Freeman promptly put me in charge of finding something for all of us to do as he feels I am good at finding “unusual” things for us to do.
I was happy to do some searching and was coming up with suggestions. I gave Kat a call and she said she would like to see a play. Hmmm… a play. That put a different spin on things as I was mostly thinking a comedy club was in order.
So I started searching for plays, theaters, and various other things we could do. I came across this: Umo.org and thought, perfect. They were doing a “Radical Aerial Telling” of Repunzel. I distinctly remember thinking “Repunzel, we should be safe with that, after all what could they do with a fairy tale like that? And an aerial Telling, that should be fun!”
Uh huh.
Apparently they can twist the story so that Repunzel and the Evil Witch have an affair. Then they can have the prince come in and, well, get involved with both Repunzel and the Witch. The telling was fraught with sexual innuendos between all of the actors. To top it all off there were some great acrobatics performed.
I enjoyed the show, and everyone insisted they did as well. I was concerned when I looked over at Kat, only to see her mouth hanging open in shock. She recovered, though, and I think she had a good time.
Of course, next time Freeman puts me in charge of “finding something for us to do” they will be well aware of what they are getting into 
As you wake in the morning
What do you feel?
Does a rush of happiness
wash over you when,
Suddenly, you realize you are alive?
