"We're just one big happy litterbox...."
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OCCUPANTS Rissicat Gryphoncat Changeling
Household Interests: Final Fantasy, herding cats, anime, manga, reading, avoiding housework, more anime and reading, art, writing, encouraging artists and writers Weblog and Ficblog Links: (Header cartoon kitties by GryphonCat; BG and layout by Changeling; page title by Riss.) This weblog hosted by PITAS.com |
Rissicat Secret Elf Talent Quite simply, a secret elf talent is anything that you do spectacularly well, especially if it is unexpected. I love to cook, that is my hobby and talent. But I destroy brassieres at an impressive rate, without even trying. Therefore, that is my "Secret Elf Talent". I don't even TRY to destroy them - they self destruct. The first one was while I was in college the first time around. I was leaning over a table doing a crossword puzzle with my friend Chuck, and one of the straps on my bra just snapped. Ever since then, periodically, a bra I am wearing will just - for no understandable reason - give up the ghost. Yesterday, I twisted very slightly to the right to look at something. *POP* (under my right armpit) I give the underwire a little grope. Yep. Snapped. Another one bites the dust. I'm thinking maybe NASA has a material for my underwires that will last a whole year. One of my friends at work aternately suggests that I look into German engineering for my chest support. School starts next week. I have my books, I have my schedule rearranged to "flex" around my Monday-Wednesday daytime class, I'm both nervous and excited. This summer has been a good break. As for you, Luny, what is all this hedging and justification in your lj, lady? "Supposedly" my patootie! We'll be on your doorstep, because you my dear ARE our summer vacation! Bet on it. See you between 5 and 6. ...scratched in the box at 06:54 a.m. on Thursday, August 26, 2004 GryphonCat: I've been fiddling around with a dozen different things this summer, and not getting any of them done. I have a wonderful idea for an animated music video -- but first I need to learn Flash. I have a whole universe full of characters banging on the back of my head to let them out -- but I need to convince myself that I can write. I have a ton of artwork I want to show to the world -- but I need to create a website to put it on. I have glassware to etch and wood parquet flooring to lay (unfortunate verb, that) and carpet to put down and shelves to put up and a blog layout to change and many many things to put up on eBay -- but first I need to focus and *do* each project one at a time. That's the tough part about having a lot of time for me. I get all ambitious and start a mess of things, but I don't get many done. I either talk myself out of being able to finish or I get distracted away from the current project to a newer, shinier one. Or I guilted into not doing the stuff I want by the stuff I should be doing, like dishes, laundry, pet care, job hunting, etc.. As for job hunting, even though I had a fine interview at the pet store, I received a "thanks, no thanks" postcard from the store shortly thereafter. Back to the old grindstone...I really decided to get serious, and picked every job I was halfway qualified for in the Sunday paper, and sent in applications for all of them. In the meantime, a tech contractor who found my name on Geekfinder gave me a job cleaning a printer at our state representative's office...interesting. But I had just finished going through the Wednesday paper and marking up the ads when a friend called me from the local university. She told me there was a temporary tech job opening up, and could I please get my butt down to the university's temp service and sign up because it was right up my alley. So Thursday morning I submitted an application and my resume. Friday morning I had a general interview at the temp service (And how the hell I tested out that good on Excel, I will never know...I guess RissiCat's excel review kicked much more ass than I realized! ^_^). That afternoon my friend called me and told me her boss just got the resume and she wanted to interview me. Today I interviewed with her boss and the boss of the Help Desk there. Then I went to the temp service to let 'em know how I thought it went.... ...or money but no time... Me: "It was an awfully short interview. I'm not sure if that's good or bad." I HAVE A JOB!!!! WOOOO!!!!! I start Wednesday, and it's only for four months, but I have heard from almost *every* person I talk to at Carnegie Mellon University that they got their job there by going through the temp service first, then getting hired for the job full-time. And I can't think of a better place to start than the Software Engineering Institute. Ho... ...which one would you choose? So I guess I am going to have to learn to focus, because I will not have the time to waste any more. I have already made one choice...not even a new job shall stand in the way of all of the Mewses I am a very very very happy GryphonCat, who... ...scratched in the box at 07:09 p.m. on Monday, August 23, 2004 Changeling: Quick Update Since Rissi's job has kept her overtime more nights than not in the last week, thought I'd be a butt-insky and say: the biopsy results *did* come in on Tuesday. Small annoying lump is a benign small annoying lump, and can be ignored from this point on. Mewses are muchly relieved. ^_^;; Household *felines* at House of Mews are semi-traumatized tonight. Rissi's mother sent a new cat toy home with her, called "Thing in a Bag". This is, basically, a small paper bag (somewhat smaller than lunch-bag size, but of heavier paper) with a small battery-operated motor inside it that makes the bag vibrate and move at random intervals. Eventually, the Thing will turn itself off - but it starts up again if smacked by a cat. So the girls call me downstairs to watch as they fire up the Thing. Kiri (our big rough, tough closest-thing-we-have-to-a-tomcat) circles around the Thing but won't come quite close enough to connect with Thing when he bats a paw at it. Neutron, the little black female, won't come within three cat-lengths of said Thing. Tavi (who's actually the largest cat in residence) jumped every time it went off at first, but after a few minutes was trying to act blase and ignore it... until G-Cat pushed the Thing a little closer with her foot. Thing: ***BUZZrattle*** Lather, rinse, repeat. I had to come back up to the computer before I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. G-Cat can't wait to see what Hanabi-chan the studio kitty makes of the Thing. GryphonCat: Addendoom de doom doom doom.... After Changeling left the room, Tavi tried changing his tactics: Tavi: "I bite u HARDER!!!"Thing: ***BUZZZrattle!*** Tavi: "I bite u, I clamp my jaws and close off your windpipe, I drool on u...." Thing: [pause] ***BUZZrattleBUZZZ!*** Tavi: "WTF!?! I chew on u! U will asfic...azfixulate... U will choke on my spit! Die, do you hear me? DIE DIE DIE!!!!" RissiCat: "Okay, Tavi, that's enough..." [picks up Thing, turns it off, wipes it dry] Tavi: [walks off, tail high, purring the Final Fantasy victory music to himself] ...Hanabi-chan, that's going to be a very tough act to follow! ...scratched in the box at 11:51 p.m. on Sunday, August 22, 2004 Rissicat Survey says... "Not too bad." I was much more nervous than was warranted by the reality. Novacaine is a wonderful thing. Biopsy complete, results to be delivered early next week. It really didn't hurt, and I only ache a little bit afterwards. Though I didn't hop right up to plow the back forty, I did return to my office and put in three to four hours at my computer before shutting down for the day. Such a dork. ...scratched in the box at 07:58 p.m. on Friday, August 13, 2004 Rissicat Torpedubes and Bermudorts I'm proud to announce that the irrepressible Mews can finish the New York Times crossword puzzles. Even when those rotten rat-bastard creators do sneaky-assed things like leave letters (or batches of letters) out of the clues. Just drop them like a bad date. Thus the "ot" from "Torpedotubes" and the "ash" from Bermudashorts was left out of the answers, which keeps them from fitting the spaces allotted until you realize what the puzzle author did.... Not nearly so hard when the dropped letters don't span separate words. Nonetheless, we have conquered. The long silence is due to a couple of factors; the first being that my boss is taking advantage of my July/August off to step up the amount of work and projects that he has assigned to me. Bless his heart. But school starts again in 2 weeks or so, and I can smile and say "Leaving now. Sorry." and just *do* it. And I will. This Fall's full time school means that I have to stay pretty focused for four months. I'm hoping to really kick ass and push my grade up to Summa Cum Laude by Christmas. (Why yes, I am a masochist... why do you ask?) On the other hand my Senior thesis has been greeted with great enthusiasm by any number of people who say wonderful words like "publish-able" to me wriggle with glee. I'm looking forward to seeing where (and how far) I can take it. In other news, the baseline mammogram from last month has spawned a flurry of doctor appointments that is culminating in my being scheduled for a biopsy tomorrow morning. Of course, I plan to work before and return to work afterwards. I swear, if I lived a couple hundred years ago, I'd probably be one of those scary frontierswomen who give birth to their children and then get up and go plow the back 40.... "Well, the fields aren't going to plow themselves, are they?" Gotta admit though... I'm getting a little nervous. Not about the mass; about whether the needle biopsy going to hurt much. I shouldn't worry though, should I, G-Cat and Changeling? I'm the one who described the broken leg/torn tendons/dislocated ankle as "a five or six" on the pain scale of 1 to 10 with a spike up to 8 when they re-seated the ankle into the joint. I'm such a baka. ...scratched in the box at 09:47 p.m. on Thursday, August 12, 2004 Rissicat Well, you don't see *that* every day... The high-rise I work in has a beautiful river-stone floored elevator lobby that is flanked to the left and right of the bank of elevators with 10-foot high glass double doors. Nice, because you can see if anyone if approaching, and avoid getting whacked with the door on your way in and out. Today, the hinge on one of those glass doors just let go, and the whole door fell into the paved lobby with safety glass scattering everywhere. I desperately wanted to stop and rubber-neck, but thought better of it, and kept on walking. In other news: ...scratched in the box at 12:02 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Rissicat As incipient panic comes home to roost Hello all! The only reason we've been so quiet is to avoid frightening all of our friends away as: I try to cope with: Upcoming parental visits, doubled workload while my West-coast teammate has been on vacation, fear of going full-time school this Fall while doing Full time work, increased cost of living when raises don't even keep pace, a damned scary government, and trying to fit in much-desired visits to friends with our diverse and unpredictable work schedules. And the roomies try to cope with (in no particular order): Upcoming parental visits, job hunting, increased cost of living when raises are non-existent, preparing for conventions, scheduled minor surgery, not-so minor surery that should be scheduled but isn't, personal insecurites, the insecurities of roommates. Some of us are better at getting online and hanging out... some of us just go hide in our manga. Bad me. But eveyone is in our hearts and thoughts, and both G-cat and I appreciate the birthday wishes. We think of you all much more often than we say. Much love! Drabble for G-cat: The rail was freshly painted for the next Session, Cyd noticed, though the stairs were still worn from the tread of hundreds of feet. The school's cleanliness showed in the fact that the stairs while worn, were not particularly dirty either, and he lowered himself to sit on the top step and watched the last streaks of color fading from the evening sky. Not so long ago, he could feel the warmth radiating from his lover's shoulder when he sat like this, admiring the sky. Cyd could almost feel it still, if he closed his eyes and thought about it hard enough. But that was then, and Troy was somewhere out among the stars that were beginning to decorate the night. Was it one of the ones he could see? Or was it on the day-side of the world, obscured by the sun? He picked the small sand-stuffed frog from his pocket, and sat it up on a bent knee. Looking at the heavens he chose one dual-colored binary, and and made a brightly colored foot wave at it. If I get to choose, then I believe it's *that* one tonight. Good night, Troy. Be safe. I miss you. Blinking once, he clamped down on his emotions. It was video night, and there was no sense in getting his housemates upset over something that couldn't be changed. It didn't truly matter that Troy couldn't stay, because neither could he. Their promises, their obligations took them in opposite directions. And boy, didn't that just suck? ...scratched in the box at 05:12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 GryphonCat: This weekend I attended the local science fiction convention, tried to catch a completely feral calico kitten (at least I fed the poor little thing!), sold far more art than I had a right to (since I have not worked on any in far far too long), got a gorgeous scarf from Kosagi, got lovely birthday prezzies from Rissicat and Changeling, was bday greeted by Twig, and played around way way too long online. [No calls from family yet, but my parents are to visit next weekend (note to self: panic about that tomorrow) and my middle sis' will visit for the first time ever the week after that.] All in all a wonderful birthday, and not a flamingo in sight. Cool! says Gryphoncat, who... ...scratched in the box at 10:37 p.m. on Sunday, July 25, 2004 Rissicat ...Lift up your hand and let the fireflies dance, silver moon sparkling... Happy Birthday, Gryphoncat!!! May this day be filled with all kinds of wonders and happiness. May you play like the child that has always lived in your heart. And may you have many, many more! With love - Your roomies. ...scratched in the box at 10:27 a.m. on Sunday, July 25, 2004 GryphonCat I just completed a job interview with PetsMart, and I think it went well. I'll know when they call me back for a second interview...I should hear by the end of the week. But for now, I'm gonna hop in the car and drive across state to be with my little sister (Phoenix) for a day. Phoenix had to deal with the double upset of losing a sick but beloved pet and dealing with the mess left behind by said kitty. I'm going up there to help clean; if I'm lucky, I'll get to rip up all the carpet on the stairs...woo hoo! Another bonus; I get to see my brother-in-law Lifewolf and my lil' nephew the budding giant. He's only 16 months old and already almost 3 feet tall!!! Must scoop cat boxes, pack dust masks, feed kitties, get in car and drive. I'll be home tomorrow. Y'all take care of Changeling and RissiCat for me, will ya? ...scratched in the box at 03:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 I am such a goober! I meant to post this on July the 6th, and I wrote it up and saved it and actually thought I *had* posted it. Go figure. I even told some friends I'd posted. D'oh d'oh d'oh. ...I think I need more sleep. GryphonCat So we really did go see the fireworks at the Point State Park on July the 4th. Woooooo! This involves getting there early to get a spot close to the point that the three rivers converge, then watching the great bangs and booms that are set off from a barge in the river. I gotta say, it was a blast. (Told you, I had to say it!) I'll admit I might try to find a different viewing spot next year...we were on the grass right next to a paved walkway in front of the big park fountain. The area about 3 feet in front of us was clear, but when the fireworks started, the rest of the fountain area was crowded as masses of people teleported (BAMF!) in front of us for a good view. We ended up standing to watch as well, and I missed seeing the reflection of the fireworks on the water. Nevertheless, I'd say it was a good first year. I want to do it again next year...hope Changeling and RissiCat don't want to scalp me. We were definitely close enough to catch the percussion of those booms...I love the feeling of fireworks! The Park was fun all day long, because the Three Rivers Regatta has taken over the fireworks and the Fourth of July celebration. This is good, as our financially distressed city would have probably had to drop it otherwise. But there were boat races and frisbee catchin' dogs and stunt competitions and tons and tons of stuff to eat all day long. And it was all good...today I am down another pound. Woo hoo! That might be attributable to the fact that we walked across the entire city in order to get back to our car. RissiCat stopped at her work building, went in and did about 10 minutes' worth of work that would save her a couple of hours today, and then we got to the car and drove home. Because we know the back ways, traffic was light too...talk about a perfect evening. ^_^ Well, now I should go out and spend some time with our studio cat, Hanabi...next post, I'll link to some pics of her so you can all see what she looks like. And for those of you who read to the bottom of my post, tomorrow is RissiCat's birthday...yes, I *am* finking early! Bwaaa haha ha haa! ...You can see how effective the "finking" was. Eh heh heh. Maybe I can just bury my mistakes; that would explain why I... ...scratched in the box at 03:38 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2004 Rissicat Couldn't be much happier Finished my classes last week, Friday, and turned in the last paper. (Note to self: Write to teacher to arrange for return of hostage.) I think I did well, and now all I have to do is rest up for the Fall term, where I will switch to full time status for 3 and a half months. kiss having a life goodbye, so I better enjoy it now! Received my upgraded PC at work this morning... Aside from one hardware problem/quirk, and having to re-load all the job-specific software I use, it wasn't too bad at all. My PC is now shiny and silver and pretty zippy. To top it all off, Changeling brought home lots, and lots of anime for us to watch, so everything is spiffy. ...scratched in the box at 11:14 a.m. on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 Rissicat Wai, Wai, Wai! Just a quick sneak online to wish a very, very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our darling roommate Changeling! May today be wonderful to you and bring you lots of things you like! We want you to call the shots, and let us know what you want to do today - even if its giving you time to read without interruptions, or watching anime until our eyeballs fall out. Love and hugs! Rissi ...scratched in the box at 08:19 a.m. on Sunday, June 27, 2004 Rissicat Duhhhh... Oh yeah, Catt, Thanks for your good wishes on my finals. You must be my lucky charm, and I didn't fall too far down the GPA, after all. **HUG** ...scratched in the box at 04:07 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Rissicat Not quite long enough As holiday weekends go, this wasn't too bad. Our company opted to stretch the Memorial Day holiday into a paid 4 day weekend, and so they gave us Friday off, too. I kicked back Friday and Saturday, reading like mad. (All my books for the multicultural literature course are now read at least once.) Then I worked for a couple hours on Sunday, and took home my laptop with about 3-4 hours of work that I completed on Monday, from the comfort of my messy newspaper-strewn couch. The things you do to stay ahead of the mayhem.... Much staying up late to watch anime. Much sleeping in late, and snuggling. *Happy sigh*. Even a little grilling to celebrate the official start of summer, with steaks and marinated tofu on the grill yesterday. (G-cat left her eyebrows in place, this time.) And best of all, a great deal of happy bubblies that you two have the chance to spend some time together. Makes my whiskers curl! ...scratched in the box at 01:50 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Changeling: While I'm not saying *every* morning around here starts out quite so... scintillating, we do get some interesting conversations before the caffeine really hits our brains. Take this morning, for example. Rissi was clearing the caller ID on the phone, and ran across one from a not-really-quite-local cemetary that had called to try to tell us we won a free burial plot at their facility. (I kid you not.) G-Cat - who of the lot of us gets most outraged over telemarketing calls when we're theoretically on the do not call list - began to work up to a rant. Then we devolved into this little snippet. Me: "...besides, I want to be cremated."
G-Cat: "Then what? Anything special you'd want us to do with your ashes?" I love my roomies soooooo much. X D ...scratched in the box at 12:37 p.m. on Friday, May 28, 2004 Rissicat ...Make love to you with visions clear... *Happy* I have 7 weeks of being forced to read books for school. Oh such a hardship. Finished "The Piano Lesson" and "Kitchen" already... gotta pick up a copy of "Like Water for Chocolate" from the library. Squee.
...scratched in the box at 11:36 a.m. on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Rissicat Happy Birthday, Thorne! We're so happy to be a small part of making your day special! And remember that you are only 4 short hours away.... Mews have hit the road to Baltimore for less wonderful reasons! Much joy to you on this day! **Hugs.** ...scratched in the box at 09:04 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 Rissicat OMG, OMG, OMG... Survived the weekend and my Mother's attempt to clean her house by stuffing all the junk she has accumulated into the trunk of my car everytime I come over.... This time I kept her down to only a trunkfull. Oy. Love my Mom, even when she drives me wonko. Thorne, I'm so sorry to hear abou your family.... It's sad and painful and inevitable, and I don't know what else I can tell you but I wish we could be there to hug you and make you laugh. I really wish we could. Started Summer term today... Paid the bill, bought the books, and cleaned out my email... Good news in there: My funding to switch to full time was approved. Damn. They must think I can pay this back. Baka. Then I took a deep breath and did the hard thing and logged into the grading database, to see what I got for Spring. Macro=A (expected), Law=A (better than the "B" I expected, woo!), Evil Statistics and Research Design... "B". Whaaaafuuuu???! Anou.... *blink* **sniffle**. "B"? Really?? I mean I studied my ass off for the last four weeks.... but "B"? I need a drink. I did it. I really did..... ...scratched in the box at 05:53 p.m. on Monday, May 24, 2004 |
