To Be a Cat

Thanks to my 2 readers for the get well wishes. No bird flu here! :) I'm still not 100%, but am feeling much better.

After visiting SoapBox Blog, and commenting there on my pets' behaviors...I've decided I want to be a cat.

Reasons to be a cat:
1. Cats can sleep whenever and wherever they want.
2. Someone else cleans their bathroom.
3. Someone always makes sure they have plenty of food and water. And if the water isn't fresh enough, all they have to do is knock the bowl over, spilling the "bad" water, and it will be quickly replaced.
4. If they want attention they simply demand it. Can you imagine crawling onto the couch next to your significant other, discovering that their book/magazine/newspaper is still more interesting than you...So you simply climb onto said book/magazine/newspaper and place a paw on their chin. Fidget chuckles when the cats do this. She also slaps me when I do.
5. On the other hand, if you try to pet a cat and they ignore you, most humans will simply shrug and say, "Yup, acts like a cat." (Try this with your significant other and you will most likely find yourself sleeping on the sofa while the cat sleeps in your bed.)
6. If cats get a sudden urge to be in another room...ZOOOOOM!! They're there. Maybe it's just our cats, but every once in a while one of them will awaken, stretch, sit and think for a moment and then ZOOOOOM! What is this about? (Again, imagine your other half's reaction if you would get out of the easy chair, stretch and then tear hell for a random room, only to sit down, whip out a wash cloth and begin wiping at your face upon arrival. No, I haven't tried this one yet...I wonder what Fidget would say?)
7. Conversely, no one thinks much of it when a cat just sort of wanders aimlessly through the house. When humans do this, we call it "dementia".
8. If someone pisses off a cat, the cat will twitch their tail and hiss. Try this the next time your boss hands you an assignment at 4:55 on Friday afternoon...Shake your butt and hiss loudly. Let me know what kind of reaction you get. (I know some of you want to do this, and are giggling like a school girl just thinking of it.)
9. You can get away with anything. You can chase your tail, the dog's tail, the sunbeam, lie in wait and pounce on your human's feet...And humans simply shrug and say, "Crazy cat" whilst chuckling. (Fidget asked me what the hell was wrong with me when I tried to pounce on her feet. All in the name of research, my friends.)

I know that Letterman's lists always have 10 items...I'm not Letterman. Can you come up with any more ideas? Or perhaps some other odd things for me to do to Fidget?

Illness Happens

I hate the flu. I've had it for 3 miserable days. I didn't even go to class today. I hate missing class almost as much as I hate being sick. Will be back when I'm feeling more alive. Hopefully in the next day or so.

Heat Wave

It's 32 today! I didn't even have to wear a jacket when I ran to the store. The breeze is still a bit brisk, but compared to 40 below, this is spring!

Had a nice day off yesterday...Went car shopping, and to the store to get the dog a new chew toy. Nothing exciting, but a nice, relaxing day.

Watched SAW II last night. Great movie, highly recommend it. I wasn't really too excited, because sequels are never as good as the first...This is an exception. Fidget watched most of it from under her blanket, but even she said it was good.

We still don't know who broke into our house, and I'm now resigned to fact that we will probably never know. I now keep the gun in the bedroom, and I also now know exactly when I can shoot an intruder...So if one of you assholes is the culprit, know that the next 911 call I make from my house will be for an ambulance because, "I've just shot an intruder." (Thank you to Julia Roberts for that line.) :) In any case, whoever it was will be better off holding me up on the street. If my family is threatened again...Well, we're praying it doesn't happen again.

That's the current report from here in La-La land.

Inner Tantrum

Fidget and I have been talking about buying a third vehicle. We were thinking of an older, smaller truck/SUV. Something we can drop the tailgate on and throw in a few bags of leaves and grass to take to the burn site. Or haul small furniture in. We were talking about spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000-1500. So we're not looking for something real pretty, right? Well...We live in Minnesota, land of the expensive 4X4. We can't find anything in our price range that runs. Yes, we are being a touch finicky, but as neither one of us is any type of mechanic, we decided that one of the criteria should be that it runs. The closest we've come to our goal is a 1990 Blazer...It runs, but the clutch doesn't disengage. After ending that call, we amended the "must run" criteria to..."must run without someone having to manually pull clutch back out or put their feet through the floorboards to stop the vehicle."

"My" car is a 1999 Chrysler 300M. I like my car okay...But it's not a truck. I've driven a truck for the last several years, and I miss it. But for a car--My Chrysler is nice. Fidget had a job where she was driving between 300 and 500 miles per week, so "her" car is a 2003 Ford Focus. She prefers to drive my car. Sigh.

The biggest problem here is this: I am anal-retentive about the cleanliness of my car. It's okay to splash in a puddle on the highway...But don't even THINK about making a mess IN the car. Fidget has a tendency to "forget" to clean up the car she's just driven. If she's had a soda, the can will be there 2 weeks later. This makes me crazy. So...I was thinking. (Those of you who know me are already grinning...)

I bought Fidget's car outright, as in it's paid for. I still owe a little on my car. So I find this 1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition--with only 73000 miles on it. A lady who works at a local bank drove it, and she and her husband bought it new. It is in mint condition. And it can be mine...er OURS...for the Focus and about $1000. And I think..."Perfect. Fidget can have my car (since she likes it better anyway) and I can drive the Explorer."

Enter Fidget into the equation. A little background...Fidget is very smart in many ways...but she can't handle money, has no budgeting skills. So the money decisions are generally left in my court. I need to be accountable for my actions, and so I consult her about my new fantabulous idea. And Fidget...who never thinks ahead about anything says, "So, how much are tax, title and license going be? How much will our insurance change?" WHAT??!! So I explain about the insurance, and how it will most likely stay about the same. I tell her I don't know exactly how much the other will be but I give her a ballpark. She wants us to think about it.

WAAAAAAAA! Enter my inner tantrum. I've solved the problem, spent no more than we had budgeted...And even given her my car (with leather seats and butt warmers no less).

Sigh...back to the drawing board...

Random Thoughts

It's cold. Beyond damn cold...It's fucking cold. It's -11 right now. As in 11 below ZERO. The wind chill rounds out nicely at 40 below. BRRRRRRR!! So help me, when Fidget's kids are grown we are moving someplace warm.

I'm stalling on the questions and answers for now, as I can't find the damn list.

Watching the Olympics earlier...A woman actually came down the hill with a TIARA on. Not a helmet--a tiara. Not to be outdone, her teammate followed wearing pearls. What the fuck?! Oh, of course they were Americans.

A note to the 30 pound girl who couldn't get the outside door open today at the college...Yes, I did open the door without trouble. No, I didn't get blown off my feet like you did. Yes, I am fat. But I also know this: It was me who caught your skinny ass before you hurt yourself.

I'm going to go and warm up by the heater and snuggle with Fidget before she leaves for work. Y'all stay warm.

Blah

Nothing to say today. It's just your ordinary average day. It was -3 this morning when I left for class. It's a balmy 12 now, with the wind chill right around 0.

I officially dropped Anatomy today. Had a nice long chat with the instructor, she's a very cool woman. I actually made her cry--by simply paying her a compliment. And we wonder why no one wants to be a teacher these days...

Valentine's Day

I'm such a sap. I told Fidget that I didn't get her anything for Valentine's Day. Not even a card. She said, "That's okay, I just got you a card." Then one of the big-mouths that she works with called and blabbed about the 3 dozen roses I had sent to her at work. She loves flowers. I love her.

Psychology

I love psychology. Really love it. I don't always agree with everything, but I really enjoy it. We've been discussing Freud...And that is always good for a few laughs. The instructor handed out an article entitled, "Freudian Analysis of Hansel and Gretel". It was written by Bruno Bettelheim, a 1950's Freud fanatic.

After much thought, I am dropping my anatomy class. I don't need it, and it is taking up way more time than I have to devote to it. It is a really interesting class, and I will probably end up taking it later just for fun. I've already taken basic anatomy and physiology, so this is just sort of an upper level refresher.

That leads me to my other recent decision...I'm going to try to get back into the nearby four-year university. I've taken some classes there in the past, and with the exception of a statistics class, my grades have been decent. Wish me luck.

A Brief Hello

Welcome to my shiny new blog. First a little about me...

I'm a thirty-something lesbian from Minnesota. I live with my partner and small zoo of domesticated animals. She shares custody of her 3 sons with her ex-husband, so they also live with us part-time. I'm an EMT and a student. My other half, affectionately called "Fidget", is an RN.

This is my little space on the web, and I will utilize my first amendment rights...I will speak my mind. If it offends you, then don't read here. I'm not here to change your opinions, please don't come here and try to change mine. That said...Disagreement is welcome, as long as we remain respectful of one another. Teasing is welcome, hate is not. I shut my last blog down due to hate-mongers.

What will you find here? Hmm...I suppose this is sort of a knick-knacky type of blog. As in, "a little of this, a little of that". I have a list of questions that previous readers have asked, and I will start by answering those. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to fire away. I don't promise to be perfect with spelling and punctuation, but I will do my best.

Welcome to my corner, enjoy yourself.