Sprinting to Hell with Jim Gaffigan

How to Tell When Your Cat's Mad at You

No one would say that my cat is sweet (except for my mom -- but she's a bit delusional when it comes to her perfect children and beyond-perfect grandcats and granddogs). He's come a long way in that you can pet him three times before he tries to bite rather than immediately trying like he used to. The only time he pretends to be sweet is when he wants fed. When that doesn't work, he tries to trip whoever is walking through the kitchen, and eventually wraps his paws around your ankle while nipping your Achilles tendon. At any rate, I digress. Long story short: my cat is neither shy nor is he hesitant about expressing himself.

Tonight we shared a new experience. I was at work until 6:45, came home for about 10 minutes, and then spent the next four hours at my father-in-law's. Apparently, that did not afford Mr. Precious adequate me-time. When I sat at the desk to check my emails and do various other things on the computer, he climbed up in the chair behind me. He does this occasionally as sitting on my lap is *completely* out of the question. Instead of settling in behind me per usual, however, I received a pretty good chomp on the behind. Now, I'm no animal communicator, but I'm pretty sure that means, "I'm unhappy with you."

So, to any pet owners out there: beware and don't neglect your four-legged furry ones. Or at least watch your back if you do.

Most Smartest HR Quote of the Day

I get to meet the smartest people working in HR.

Today's quote from an insurance agent: "My requests for information from [insert insurance company here] have fallen on deft ears since March 17."

Oh, my kingdom for a six-figure salary and talented ears...

I'm Updating Because I Have To...

All two of the people who read my blog have complained about my lack of updates. I promised to update this week and, seeing as how I'm a big-time procrastinator, I've waited until the last day.

Since my last post, a lot has changed. My father-in-law has had a brain tumor removed from his head that was the size of an egg. It was in the control center for speech and he has pretty severe aphasia. Whether that will improve over time is yet to be seen, so we just have to ride it out. He was in a rehabilitation hospital until Thursday. He was making good progress with the intense rehab he was getting, but today I could tell that he hasn't had therapy for a couple of days. Luckily, my husband pushed the local hospital to make room for him to get started again next week.

We have a caregiver coming in during the day to help make lunch, take him to appointments, etc. and someone has to be with him in the evenings and through the night. I always thought of myself as a fairly organized person, but I'm realizing just how lax my time management skills have been. I've also come to realize how totally unprepared I've been for this sort of thing. We have no idea what his insurance will cover, whether he's filed his taxes, etc.

Along with the practical questions raised by this incident, I have one philosophical question that keeps coming up: What is the point of cancer? I really hope that when I die, I get to ask God that one question. I can usually find the silver lining to most things but I just can't seem to do it with cancer.

So there we have it. My sunshine-y blog for today. Enjoy!

Takes One to Know One

President Bush's comments re: the death of Rep. Tom Lagos, Democrat and Holocaust survivor:

"After immigrating to America more than six decades ago, he worked to help oppressed people around the world have the opportunity to live in freedom," Bush said. "As the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men."

Truly moving words from man whose administration regards the Geneva Convention provisions as quaint. Sometimes it's better not to say anything.

Pardon the Interruption

Today should have been another peaceful day at the Celery Bog nature center. The eight inches of snow and frigid temperatures usually keep all but the most intrepid visitors away. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the chance to share info about the natural world with visitors but I also look forward to the long stretches of meditative silence on days like today.

The problem is not boisterous children but a mob of nasty, constantly squawking birds. We have a bird feeding area set up at the corner of the building that attracts a variety of feeder birds. An enviable viewing area is set up inside the building where visitors can view the birds, squirrels and bunnies dining through one-way glass. There are two mics set up as well. On most days, I get to enjoy the birds singing and woodpeckers cackling. This morning was especially nice with about two dozen doves cooing and feeding outside.

Now, however, we have apparently entered one of the levels of hell. An invading squadron of European starlings has run off all the other birds and are constantly screeching and fighting each other for the suet. Did I mention that the commotion is constant? And deafening? My kingdom for a volume control. Even the Cooper's hawk changed his mind about grabbing a meal after doing a couple of flyovers. (Of course, he could have changed his mind after knocking himself silly against the glass the last time I was here. The photo above is of the feathers he shed on impact. I didn't photograph the other evidence he shed on impact (you're welcome).)

Usually I don't like when people talk about "good" animals and "bad" animals but if I could catch all of these little minions and send them back to Hades, I would do it in a heartbeat. If there is an afterlife, I hope I can meet the twit who introduced these birds to the US so I can thank him properly. Seriously folks, this is a good example of why introducing non-native species to an ecosystem is a bad idea.

Who'd Have Thought...

... that I would ever post a blog? Certainly not me. Davo assures me that I should and, apparently, whatever he says must be true. Hmm...

I'm not at all sure I will have anything interesting to say as my life is fairly average (read boring) but I'll give it a shot. Maybe I'll be inspired to do something exciting or at least new. We'll see what happens.