New Love

Miss Penelope,

sweet girl.

two Moms

five cats

not even in her new home for a week

and already loved times a thousand,

adored for life,

praised to the moon,

and spoiled with oodles of cuddles.

You fight to go in your crate.

we will work on that

After you get out of your crate,

you shit and piss all over

the new carpet.

we will work on that

Already in three fights at the dog park

(I know you were just claiming

Bels and I as yours.

We understand.)

but we will work on that

We know you hate the car rides

they are so new to you

we will work on that

Baby girl,

Your separation anxiety is unbelievable.

Why hurt yourself like that?

we will work on that

when you rest

your eyes in my hand

and you snort when I

scratch your back

and rub your ears

when you chase me around the yard

wag your tail when I walk in the door

follow me down the stairs

stay right with me

without a leash

when you come to your name

when you wait patiently for us

to find your Ever Missing leash

even after we teased you

30 minutes ago

that we were going outside

when you lick the kitty's ears

when you steal the blankets

when you look at me

with those sweet eyes

You seep further

and further

into my heart.

Miss Penelope,

sweet girl.

The Squad

Penelope
5 months

Bindi
Roomie's Queen B

Mika
My first cat after leaving my parent's house.
She is my security blanket.

Stuart
This badass cat is a special boy.
He bites.
He is a bastard.
But he is crazy and silly and I adore him.

Gypsy
This little girl is barely 4 months.
She is the youngest of all the pets.
I had no intention of keeping her when she was found
thin and frail in the woods.
She stole my heart and my bed.

Bug
The Mooch
Roomie's

Content

Starring at the shadows and heavy morning sun playing against the city buildings, I realized that I feel content, a nice wash of Every Thing Will Be Alright. I normally come to this blog with my mind full of conflict and in need of a Vent-My-Brains-Out release, but today feels like a good day (even if I had to be at work before the Sun cracked it's shiny ass over the horizon). Frequently, I have been coming to work and before I can settle into my swivel chair, a gloom settles over me and I just want to go home. Home, to my bed that snuggles me in tight, to my cats who annoy the bastard hell out of me, and to my roommate who makes me smile and feel normal.

During my wallowing, I sometimes forget that I adore my job. There are things missing to it (like ANY sense of creativity) but the job is perfect for my current lifestyle. My supervisor is amazing, she is flexible with my class schedule. My work load is never cumbersome - I frequently have time to do homework. I get a biweekly paycheck, I can go to the doctors without worrying about bills. I can buy a pair of shoes without (much) guilt while still throwing in a few beers and several bottles of gin.

Now, I have Penelope. Beloved doggy of mine. She fills a hole that I didn't know was there before. I'm already sick of cleaning up shit and piss stains but when she snorts and wiggles her ass whenever I come in the door... it is so worth it.

While the sun finds way to the top of the storied buildings, I'm looking forward to going home, but not to run away from the office cubical, but to walk my dog and keep filling that hole.

New Baby

We got a puppy - we meaning roomie and I.

Don't ask me how we are going to handle it. I have no idea. But we fell in love and couldn't leave without her.

She is adorable.

Pictures and name on the way.

Daily Impact

There have been many things circulating through my brain this last week, most of which involve what I would like to be doing with my life right now. I've always used the excuse that I'm busybusybusy and I don't have the time to start adding table scrapings to my daily meal of chaos. When I step back and really look at my life on a daily To Do scale, I'm not horribly busy. Or, better put, I'm not too busy to start doing things that peak my interest or that I want to do. Goals, yes, I have goals that I would like to see molded into my life. I have my priorities of full-time work and college classes, but I know I can evolve my outlook on daily life.

For one, I'd like to start exercising again. There are so many excuses as to why I stopped and what keeps coming up is that I ache afterwards, I don't have the energy, and again that pesky notion that I don't have the time. Bullshit. So, I joined a WAY too expensive gym and I'm trying to work myself into going twice a week. Then I'll build on, adding more days. I truly believe that I'll start feeling good and healthy, and then I'll realize I was a dumbass for not doing this sooner.

Along the same lines, I want to start working on my "sores", the daily aches and pains. My knee. My back. I'm doing research and finding a chiropractic doctor, and I'm also going to start working on the knee.

Secondly, I'd like to start playing the piano. Another one of those skills that was thrown to the sidelines. I've bought a very decent keyboard, I have all the sheet music, and I've been dedicating myself to the black and white keys every night. An hour, at least. I'm already seeing this old talent of mine spark back to life. It feels amazing to glide and flex my fingers along the octaves.

Thirdly, I want to learn how to drive a manual car PROPERLY. I know how, but I've never taken the basics out of the road. I've only ever done fast speed, track driving. I want to know how it feels to ride in the city and in traffic while shifting and easing the clutch (instead of pounding and spinning the tires.. ahhhh.. the smell is fantastic though).

Lastly, I want to participate in the flickr craze of 365 days. For a whole year, people take daily pictures of a certain topic to post and share. I'm trying to think of a good topic to focus on and all I'm coming up with is.. myself. But a great topic, RIGHT?

Do you have any daily additions you'd like to add into your life?

Practice Tool

I got this Casio PX 320 digital keyboard, that normally retails for about $700, from a guy on craiglist for (WAIT FOR IT) $270!!! He included the pedal and stand as well.

He was asking $600, which was a decent price, but when I got there to look at it I came to realize he didn't speak a word of English. I'm not sure how this effects his math skills, but I gave him $270 then said, "This good enough?"

He counts.

"Yup! Thank you!"

Deal. Done. I now have a keyboard to practice with. An 88-key, portable keyboard. Who's your bartering daddy?