Goodbye, Twenty-Ten, Here Comes Twenty-Eleven

Welp, the New Year approaches..

The hugest thing that happened in 2010 was Dirk’s death.  That was a terrible blow back in February…

X-day this year was epically fun, as usual.  It marks the last X-day at Brushwood though.  Next year will be at Wisteria in Ohio.  The change doesn’t bother me as much as other people.  Maybe because we’ve only been 3 times so we aren’t invested in the place as much as the feel.  Breaking a 15-year tradition is tough stuff for veterans, but I think it’ll be a good change in the long run.  From what I gather, there were some real nasty behind-the-scenes drama and politics, so I’m sure a change of pace will be refreshing for those involved in that.  We’ll see how the new place fares when July comes..

We didn’t go to Assateague or Bethany this year.  We’re a bit “Ass-fatigued” out after going for 5 years straight.  My family decided to go to Cape Cod instead of Bethany.  I am thankful to my uncle for allowing me to get to live the “rich life” for a week.  Cape Cod was awesome!

We only got to go to Elizabeth Furnace twice.  I would have liked to go there more often, but things are hard to plan.   Maybe this coming summer we’ll be able to make more time for Elizabeth Furnace camping.  The rolling/backpack cat carriers are very helpful.  Though the first trip, I threatened to myself not to bring the cats next time because it’s a pain in the ass to keep track of them when the sun goes down.  And that is when they stop cowering in the tents and come out to play.   But I brought them the second time anyway.  The second time, Erin had a glowstick that we were able to attach to Oranjello’s collar.  The glow-stick made me realize Oranjello had escaped his leash, but I suspect it was because the glowstick was attached to the leash that enabled Oranjello to escape, so next time I’m going to find a better way to attach it.

We went to a camping rave that turned out to be pretty fun, even though I forgot to bring any sort of alcohol and they wouldn’t let us leave to get some.  I won’t make that mistake again.

I passed the CBF exam, so I am now a Credit Business Fellow.

Clint’s car had a rough year after it was totalled when I hit that deer last December.  He had a broken tie rod, and several other problems.   But now his parents gave him one of their old cars for Christmas!  Yay Parents!  Yay three cars!

I only got to go skiing for 1 day at Roundtop.  I’m going to Snowshoe in 2011, though, so I’m looking forward to that!  More breaking in of my new skis that I got in 2009.

There were two weddings:  Vicky & Ryan’s and Gigglepuss & 808′s!

I got to go to New York City for the first time for the SubGenius Devival.  It was awesome!

As always, there were plenty of parties and concerts.  I don’t feel like breaking them all out.  They were all fun.

Well, anyway, last year was awesome overall.   I’m looking forward to 2011.   Time still flies!!!

The Chili Cookoff last night was awesome.  There were many different chilis, and they were all delicious.  I especially liked Eli’s venison chili with mushrooms, and Jason’s tomatilla chili.  Parthena made a delicious Veg-ocalypse chili that had like 4 different types of beans, including chick peas.

I lost my voice shortly after midnight.  That’s what I get for screaming “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” over and over the top of my lungs.   Good times.  I did successfully pace myself so I didn’t get inebriated and I did not have a hangover.  Way to start the New Year out right!

 

 

Another survey

What annoys you the most?
tough call.. all work and no play is what I can come up with at this moment in time.

If you could, where would you go right now?
somewhere warm… I’m not ready for summer to end yet.

Generally speaking, how often do you think about love?
all the time.  I love Clint!

Choose an element: earth, wind, air, fire, water
earth (what’s the difference between wind and air?)

Which would you rather have: Ability to fly, to breathe underwater, or to move things with your mind (Telekinesis)?
telekinesis – which includes flying because I’d move myself with my mind

Would you rather not have to sleep or eat and drink?
I love all those things… I like sleeping and dreaming, but I guess I enjoy eating and drinking more.

Do you believe in aliens, UFOs, ghosts, or any other supernatural beings/objects?
I think these things are possible.  Space is in infinite thing so there is probably life out there somewhere.  I’ve seen a possible ghost, and my sister and aunt have seen unexplained ghosty things.

Choose one: Love or money?
love

Infatuation or inspiration?
inspiration

Day or night?
both, but I’m more likely to be awake during the day.

Imagination or knowledge?
both..

Describe your “perfect” place of living.
I like where I’m at, but somewhere sunny and warm would be nice right about now.  Stupid rainy cold day.

Lastly, is destruction a form of creation?
yes, something new comes in its place

 

very pointless post

Since the keyboard I use at work was purchased just for me, I’ve noticed a phenomenom that interests me (but probably not everyone else… just a warning…)

Some of the keys are more worn than others, and so I can see some insight with my typing habits based on that.

The three most worn keys are Tab, Left Shift, and the right side of the spacebar.  Surprisingly, the backspace key isn’t as worn as I would expect.

The left Alt and shift keys are very worn, and the right alt and shift keys aren’t worn at all.  However, both ctrl keys are worn, but the right one is more worn than the left one…

The arrow keys are pretty worn, especially the area on the keyboard around the up arrow..  dunno what’s up with that.

The enter in the number pad is as equally worn as the regular enter key.

the 0 and the 5 keys in the number pad are the most worn.

The escape key is somewhat worn.

OK, that is all, back to work.  Enough pointlessness.

 

The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?)

Your result for The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?)…

The Walk of Shame (NLBF)

Normal Liberal Beta Female

Believe it or not, when Johnny from Phi Betta Kappa appeared at your dorm door with a bottle of vodka and 16 Candles on VHS, it wasn’t because he wanted to be your boyfriend. Let’s just say things seem a bit less romantic in hindsight. You need a man who will respect you, and since most men are compulsive liars, it might be best to take a break from dating until you get a bit better at ferreting out the douchebags. That being said, you are likely fun, extroverted, and care deeply about your friends. In short:

You are more NORMAL than QUIRKY.

You are more LIBERAL than TRADITIONAL.

You are more PASSIVE than DOMINANT.

When picking a date, consider: The Late Bloomer (QTAM), The Suit (NTAM).

Avoid: All liberal males (LM)

(Image from http://homepage.univie.ac.at/melanie.feratova-loidolt/courses/ws2005/memos/beauvoir.htm)

Take The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?) at HelloQuizzy

 

Which Star Trek character are you?

Your results:
You are Uhura

Uhura		70%
Chekov		60%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		60%
Mr. Scott		55%
Jean-Luc Picard		45%
Deanna Troi		45%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		40%
Beverly Crusher		40%
Geordi LaForge		35%
Will Riker		35%
Data		32%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		30%
Mr. Sulu		30%
Worf		25%
Spock		20%

You are a good communicator with a
pleasant soft-spoken voice.
Also a talented singer.



Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

 

Goodbye 2008

Since I did a New Year’s post last year, I figured I’d do another one this year.

 

ganked from kittenofwrath

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you’ve mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

 

More funny kitties

So, last night, I went to bed, and Clint decided to go downstairs to play playstation.  Lemonjello came to bed with me, but then he heard Clint go downstairs.  Except, he didn’t know what the noise was, so he got all puffed up and just stared at the door for awhile.  At first, I tried to see what he was looking at, but of course, there was nothing there.  So I stared laughing because I knew he just heard Clint go downstairs.  Lemonjello didn’t pay any attention to me, though.  He decided to investigate further, so he started slowly tiptoeing to the edge of the bed.  Then he slowly jumped down, without making a sound, and he was puffed up the entire time, and he slowly snuck into the hallway.  After a minute or so standing in the hallway looking around while all puffed up, he finally decided it was safe, and came back to bed and started kneading me.  So I turned out the light and tried to go to sleep, but I couldn’t because I was laughing so hard.  It was hilarious!  The whole ordeal lasted about three minutes.

 

Funny kitties

So, today, I was planning on making a meatball meal that had been in my fridge for a couple of months (the sell-by was the end of September).  I should have frozen it, but I kept planning to make it, but then forgetting about it.  I was wondering about whether it was still good.  When I pulled it out of the fridge, the corner of the plastic wasn’t all the way closed, and some of the sauce spilled on the ground.  While I was grabbing a paper towel, Lemonjello was there ready to do some clean-up duty.  When I turned around, I immediately knew those meatballs were no good.  Lemonjello was sniffing the sauce, and then instead of licking it up, he tried to bury it like in a litter box.  Needless to say, the meatballs were thrown away.  I wonder if the corner not being all the way sealed contributed to the demise of the meatballs, but we’ll never know.  I really should have remembered to make it sooner.  Oh well.

Another funny thing that happened recently involves Oranjello.  A friend of ours had a fake fur coat (polyester leopard).  She put it on without Oranjello noticing, and then went into the bathroom.  While she was in there, Oranjello trotted up to the door to wait for her (he likes to hang out inside with you, but if you close the door, he’ll just be chilling on the outside).  When she came out, he took one look at her, and then shot across the room at full speed, bouncing off a couple of pieces of furniture.  We were like, “What’s his problem?” and then we realized he was freaked out because of the coat.  Hahha

 

Things I can’t stop laughing at…

http://totallylookslike.com/?s=grumpy+cookie

 

http://clintjcl.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/comedy-video-ninja-cat-comes-closer-while-not-moving/

 

And the part in Joe’s Apartment where Joe was standing nervously by the door, and said to the girl he’s trying to impress, “Nobody here but us…<nervous laugh>”  As he starts to move, millions of cockroaches that were standing behind him in his shape scatter…….

 

survey thing

I don’t usually do these, but a few of these questions stood out to me and I felt inclined to answer. (Ganked from Kittenofwrath)

 

House hell

I was helping my mom paint her house all day today. She’s calling in the favor from when she helped me paint my house back in August. I’m going back tomorrow before we go out to Easter dinner to continue.

Mood: sore

Music: Ministry – TV III

 

Crazy week

After we had lunch at Rio Grande for Clint’s birthday, I got onto a plane headed for Chicago. Chicago itself wasn’t very exciting. I was there for training for my new job, and so I was only there Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. All week, my coworkers and I were talking about getting out to see the town one night so we can say we did it. We planned on doing it Thursday – the reasoning was Friday was a half-day so it wouldn’t matter if we ended up tired.

 

What Tarot card are you? I am The World

 

Rate My Life Results

 

What drug is your personality?

Your Personality Is Like Marijuana

 

House hell

So, the addition is relatively finished. The staining is done. The upstairs flooring is done. The next major project we are going to undertake is painting the upstairs room. My mom & Clint’s mom are going to help me with that next week. Then comes moving in upstairs. We’re talking about buying all new components to make that possible/easier. So the main thing that would be holding us back is getting the pool table from upstairs to downstairs. And researching for a stereo/tv/computer/etc. Once we are moved in upstairs, we will start concentrating on all the projects to be completed downstairs – flooring, painting, installing bar, moving in, getting pool table in there, etc.

 

Life without a cat

I can’t believe it has been two months since Misfit passed away.  At first, it was really hard to adjust to not having a cat.  At first, I slept on the couch because it depressed me to go to the bedroom knowing a little furry animal wasn’t going to join me.  I would see that perma-Misfit shape in the curtain above the bed and would get sad to think he wasn’t hiding back there.  Now, I barely think about it.  Last night, when I went to the bedroom, I started to close the door because I knew I was going to be sleeping in, and I didn’t want Clint to wake me up with his morning ritual.  As I closed it, I thought, “Oh, I don’t have to worry about locking Misfit out.”  Then I realized that was the first time I thought something along those lines in awhile.

Meanwhile, our staining still isn’t finished, but it is very close.  My mom called me today to tell me about a kitten at her vet’s that is looking for a home.  I do want a kitten still, but I don’t know.  I wanted a male cat, and this one is female.  I definitely want to meet the kitty before committing to it.  And I don’t know.  Samhain was definitely unplanned.  We walked out of Wal-mart the day before Father’s Day.  I didn’t find a gift for my dad, but there was this family with their kittens to give away.  That was a great idea on their part, because I fell in love with Samhain and took him home.  Well, there’s more to that story, but I can go on and on.   Misfit also was pretty unplanned.  This woman had just started working at Miller’s and mentioned she had kittens that needed a home.  I said, “I have a husband and a cat at home that would both kill me if I show up with a kitten.”  Then not long after that, Samhain died, and the lady said, “I have a kitten for you!”  So not more than a week later, I had Misfit.  So, life without a cat has been different, and I’ve been waiting for one to show up practically on my doorstep so we can fall in love with it and keep it.

Maybe after Assateague, we’ll be able to go seek out a new member of our family.  I’m sure the staining would be done by then (IHOPE!)!!

 

Evil bugs

So, apparently, I am very susceptible to bug bites.

 

I need some new topics.

My blog consists mainly of posts about Misfit and my eye. And maybe a Clint one here and there.

So, anyway, like Clint mentions, we are currently working on staining the wood upstairs.

 

More about Misfit

These past couple of days have been very emotional for me. I feel like Misfit’s death has hit me harder than Samhain’s death in a way. I think it’s because his life was so short compared to Samhain. Samhain was getting up there in age, and I had 9 1/2 years to prepare myself for, “Someday, Samhain’s going to die.” But Misfit was so sudden.

 

Books I’ve read recently

Here is the list of books I’ve read lately.

 

A dream I had once and logged.

It was dated 20050214. Hey, that’s Valentine’s day.

Anyway, I came across my journal of this dream, and because I read it, it brought back the memory of that dream. Clint said I should blog it.

 

All about Misfit

As some of you may be aware, Misfit went camping this past weekend. I know, I know, it’s very foolish to think one can take a cat camping. But I had always wanted to take Samhain camping, but I thought he was too old and would freak out and get lost. So with Misfit, I wanted to get him exposed to stuff while he was young. (Still, compared to Samhain, Misfit hasn’t been exposed to much at all.) Misfit’s birthday was coming up (9/11), so I knew it was the last chance to expose him to something while he was still young enough to learn from it. So that’s why I did what I did. I was very paranoid about him escaping and getting lost, or getting eaten by a bear, or him just plain freaking out and constantly bothering everyone.

Anyway, long story short was Misfit was pretty nervous, but all-in-all, he dealt with it pretty well. He would have relaxed much earlier if it wasn’t for Chris White’s dogs showing up. I think dogs is one thing Misfit will never get used to. The worst part with the dogs was when I had Misfit on my lap, and the dogs ran up to Chris with the frisbee. Chris was right next to me, so Misfit didn’t take that very well. My hands are still wounded.

On another note regarding camping (and this has nothing to do with Misfit), I got a bad case of poison ivy. I blame the 5am walk I took with Dave N. That’s the only thing out of the ordinary that I did.

Anyway, I think I *may* take Misfit camping again. It depends on if we go again this year and if not, how his personality develops over the next few months during the winter. If he seems pretty laidback, then maybe so… If he starts acting like a skittish kitty then definitely not. Time will tell, I guess.

Last night, Misfit stayed out the entire night. When he appeared this morning, his collar is missing. D’oh! Now I have to go buy another collar and shell out another $9 for another tag. Grrr. I don’t know what he was doing, either, but also this evening he’s acting all hurt and annoyed. I’ll pick him up,and he’ll just whine and try to move himself to a better position. He’s not limping or anything, so I really can’t tell what’s going on. I’ll give him a day or so and see if he’s still acting strange.

Also, on another note regarding Misfit. “You know it’s bad when….” I went to change Misfit’s litter box, and it must have been awhile, because some of the poops in there had mold on them!!! I was thinking it may be because he doesn’t quite know how to use the litterbox properly. He’ll poop, and try to scoop the litter over it, but he totally misses the litter – he just scratches the side of the box. I blame his mom for that one. I tried so many times to show him how to scrape the actual litter, but he doesn’t listen. So his poops are just sitting there on top exposed to all the elements. So I think maybe they molded faster than poop that would have been buried.
So, that’s enough about Misfit for now . Pictures of camping will be posted shortly. Also pictures of Misfit chasing around a poor little vole last night. (Ok, this time I’m really done )

 

Concerts

Why does it seem everytime Clint & I go to a concert, there’s always some annoying person?

Carnivore – before the band came on, the club was playing this very goofy music. There was this guy running around stomping his feet, waving his arms, and yelling… and it was to the goofiest music!! the band hadn’t even started yet… I pointed out my annoyance to Clint, and he said he had already been annoyed at the guy earlier in the evening.

Violent Femmes – this guy right behind us kept yelling out, “Yes sir! Yes sir!” waaaaay annoying.

They Might Be Giants – whoever had that very bad gas was very annoying

Agent Orange – this guy’s idea of dancing was to do jumping jacks. Too annoying.

Sisters of Mercy – This one features a chick for once. This girl comes muscling her way through, so I move a bit to let her by thinking she was just going to keep on going. She decided to stop right there, and so then she and this guy following her were suddenly in my spot… so i did my best to annoy her so she’d leave. I didn’t succeed. She finally got a text message on her phone from her friend that said they were over by the bar, so that’s why she left.

 

Eye problems – Neurologist follow up

Welp, I went to the neurologist to follow up on that visual response whatever test. I told her about the CT Scan and the CD, and she called the front desk to get the results from the CT Scan. The visual response test was normal and fine. As for the CT scan results, the thing about my sinus is apparently something I was born with, and not some eroding bone like the technician had thought). The sinus itself is smaller than the other sinus, and therefore the bone is lower, and the floor of the eyeball is lower. She also didn’t know why that would just appear now. I have a feeling when I go to the neuro-opthalmologist, he’s just going to be like “Yup! You have a depressed eye floor, there’s your answer” and stop right there. That was the impression I got from him last time I was there. Even when I said “Why would it only show up now?” and he answered “I don’t know”.

Plus, the wideness has started getting somewhat better. It would come and go and now it doesn’t seem to be as pronounced…. At least when I see it. Clint says it’s still really bad sometimes…. I want Clint to notice if my eye is still open when I sleep, or if that seems to be getting better too. I need more pictures recent pictures to be taken of me too so I can see if it is still showing up in the pictures (it was actually most obvious in pictures….)

So, anyway, today, it was pretty normal. The lower lid is still more droopy and the upper lid is still higher up, but it has a look of being more symmetrical. So the neurologist was like “oh, it’s getting better. You probably don’t have to worry about it anymore”. Except for the retina thing, which actually is getting better. I have a feeling that thing is going to be completely better by the time my appointment rolls around on the 21st. Of course, it could also be that my brain is compensating for it and that’s why I don’t notice it as much. I only notice it for a split second after opening my eye. So to really see it, I need to blink my eye several times, and then i’d be like ‘yup, it’s still there”.. And it’s not a glaring spot on the paper when I am reading. So who knows…

So, anyway, after my retina consultation and the neuro-opthalmologist follow-up, I may just throw in the towel and accept that 1) I will never know what’s wrong with me and 2) I know it’s not something they know is bad and 3) at least it’s not getting worse. I will just have a wide-eye for the rest of my life, because frankly, I’m tired of this crap. And maybe, just maybe, the eye will continue to get better and better and then I won’t have a wide-eye anymore. Maybe! But I guess that really depends on what the neuro-opthalmologist and the retina consultant say about me. Maybe they will come up with some other scary disease that I will need to be tested for. Maybe I will still say “forget it.”. Whatever mood I am in at the time..

Also, nobody really notices it until I point it out at which time it becomes obvious to them. So I gotta stop pointing it out and talking about it and bragging about my brain pictures (Actually, Clint is more guilty of that than me. He’s the one who traps people at a party to force them to watch the video )

 

Eye problems – CT Scan

So, yesterday, I had the CT Scan. The machine seemed pretty similar to the MRI, except it didn’t make all that noise (atari beeps). The technician did the scan without contrast. He came back and told me that he had the radiologist look at the pictures because there “was something in my sinus”. So they wanted to do with with contrast, which meant that they would inject a dye into my system and then do it again.

So, the technician (Randy) took me to the back room and started preparing an IV. He took my blood pressure, and attached this IV to my arm. Then he injected some saline into my system. Dunno what that was for. But then he wanted me to move to a more comfortable room. And I was like “umm, what do I do with this?” and he was like “Bring it with you”. I was like “OK”.. and he was like “oh, sorry. They raise us real smart on the farm.” Before, we were chit-chatting and he was telling me that he grew up on a farm in Illinois.

Anyway, I was standing there with this IV hanging out of my arm and his idea of a more comfortable room was a room with a bench and an armless chair. So I really would have preferred to have stayed in the other room so I could just leave my arm right there on the armrest. But that’s ok. Except I was waiting for forever! Like at least a half hour to 40 minutes.

Finally I get to go again. He helped me lie down, and adjusted the head rest and the leg rest. Then he had to come back in and adjust me again because apparently he did it too much before. When he injected the dye, he warned me that I was going to feel really hot inside. He said it usually starts in the back of the throat. For me, it was more around my nose and face that I first notice the hotness. Then it started spreading through my body, and I was just kinda smiling. Then he said “It’s going to feel like you are urinating, but, I promise you, you are not”.. and then it did feel like that. It was very warm in that area. Weirdest sensation ever. I was trying hard not to laugh. But I couldn’t help smiling about it. It was hilarious.

He had told me that he was going to give me a CD with the images that I can take with my to give to my doctor(s). So once I knew I was getting that, I wasn’t going anywhere without it. That meant I was waiting an extra half hour (he said it was going to take 10 minutes, but apparently when the next patient went into the machine, it pushed my pictures back so he couldn’t access them until that patient was done). But now I have the images.

I played with the images a bit yesterday, but I really couldn’t tell much from them because I don’t know what I’m looking at. The bonus is the MRI images from 5/8/06 were also on there.. Yay! But these pictures are definately weird and definately kinda freaky.

I saved a couple but I am not sure I want to upload them for all to see.. Part of me does, but the rest of me thinks it’s too weird. Let me know if you think I should display the pictures or not.

 

Vacation at Bethany Beach & Assateague 2006

So I’ve been really slacking on posting my Assateague journal. Here it is:

 

Eye problems…..

So, today I started out at the neurologist for the Visual Evoked Response test. It involved hooking electrodes to my head and having me sit and stare at a red dot surrounded by a black & white checkerboard pattern that would flash around trippily. While doing the right eye (which she did MUCH more than the left eye), she suddenly started asking me these questions. Like “What’s an animal that starts with C?” and “What’s a reptile that starts with A?”. Then she asked what county I live in, and later asked me to give my home address. Then she asked if I had any kids, and when the answer was “no” she was like “That eliminates a whole group of questions I was going to ask you”. So then she asked if I had any pets and asked me questions about Misfit.

So, anyway, she said the results for that won’t be back for a week or so.

After that, I went to the deli and had a sandwich and still had some time to kill before my next appointment. I ended up going home and checking out the progress on the construction. They had the whole floor ripped up and were messing around in the dirt underneath. So I went upstairs and watched TV. Suddenly the bedroom door opened, and there was Clint. I was like “What are you doing here?” and he was like “What are you doing here?” so we chilled together for awhile watching TV until I had to leave and Clint had to go back to work.

So, then I went back to the neuro-opthalmologist. He told me he called the MRI Center and asked if the results showed anything about my eye socket. They mentioned there was a difference in the sinus cavity on the right side.. Apparently, the bone or something is underdeveloped or something, and so the floor of my eyeball could be lower… so i asked “Well, why would it just start now and not be like that all along?” and he said he didnt’ know. But i have to get a cat scan to see more detail on that.

The neuro-opthalmologist also looked into the back of my eye because of my complaints about the camera flash sensation. He did see an abnormality in my retina which is probably causing the camera flash sensation. He has referred me to a retinal specialist. He said that seems unrelated to the wide eye. Great. He also mentioned that having the sun reflecting into my face with the mirror in the morning wouldn’t hurt me. Go figure. (That was my theory on the cause of the camera flash sensation. On Monday morning, I awoke to find the sun glaring right into my eyes by being reflected in the mirror. So I was thinking of the horror stories of staring into the sun, and if my right eye was partially open and just having the sun reflect right into it and me not closing it….. )

I asked him if he saw that abnormality last time he looked at my retina, but he said that he didn’t notice it then. He also said he wasn’t looking for it then, so it could have been there. But I’m thinking since this spot has only just appeared on Sunday, it’s a new thing.

So, future appointments:
Need to schedule a cat scan
Need to schedule a retinal consultation
Neurologist follow-up on Sept 5th
Need to schedule a follow-up with the Neuro-opthalmologist after the catscan and retinal consultation.

Needless to say, this really sucks!

 

The Sawyer curse

So, it’s a known fact that the Sawyers have messy cars. Many-a-stories have been told about the messiness of our vehicles. Well, I have one to add to the list.

This week, I was borrowing my mom’s car (which she shares with my brother) while mine was getting its A/C fixed. Today was Greg Zumbrook’s wedding, so about an hour before the wedding, my mom calls to coordinate getting her car back today by having me & Clint take two cars to the wedding so Jay can drive Mom’s car back. No problem!

Well, needless to say, Clint & I were running late. While Clint’s following me, we are almost there, and we are sitting at a red light. Clint pulls up next to me and we roll down our windows for him to say “Why didn’t you inform me that I forgot my tie!?” I look in the backseat of my mom’s messy car, and comment “Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a tie back there”.

We get to the wedding, and Jay had just arrived with his ride. Clint gets out and asks them if anyone has an extra tie. Jay goes straight to the trunk of Mom’s car and starts rummaging around. So I go to the backseat and start rummaging around. Lo and behold, I see the tip of a tie peeking out from the depths of the mess! I pull it out, and it’s like the dirtiest CLIP-ON tie I’ve ever seen. Clint puts it on, and you can totally see the metal of the clip peeking out at his neck. Hilarious.

Clint cleaned it up a bit, and with his jacket closed, you couldn’t even see the dirt.

But I was laughing so hard because I was reminded of the typical Sawyerness of the whole thing. First the messy car where you can find anything you need including a tie. It also reminded me of the time when Sean told me a story about when Jay borrowed a suit from Dad. Sean made it a point to tell me how dirty and wrinkled the suit was…

 

“Puffed up”

Misfit got all puffed up again.  It's been awhile.  He keeps going in and out on these nice days.  So Clint & I were in the kitchen, and Misfit came out of the utility room and went into the rec room.  I called after him, and started to follow him, "If you think you're going out again, you got another think coming!".. By the time I finished my sentence, I had caught up with him, and he was normal for a second, and then boom, his tail was puffed up.  I couldn't stop laughing.   At least this time, I know what he was scared of "Oh my God! She's chasing me and talking in a loud voice!"

Oh actually, earlier when I was bringing in my groceries, I had the cat litter on the ground.  Clint came stomping home and went inside, so I think Misfit was a little skittish about Clint's mood, and then here was this cat litter on the ground.  It seemed to me his fear of Clint was totally misdirected at that bag of cat litter.He was all crouched down and acting all afraid and looking at the cat litter.  I was just like "What's the matter?  'Don't let the cat litter get me!'"  

 

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Another mouse

Misfit caught another mouse last night. This one was in the house. Clint & I were watching TV, and Misfit came in batting a toy around. Then suddenly, Misfit was still, but the toy kept moving. For some reason, I started screaming because I realized it was a mouse. I didn't realize I had a mouse phobia, but the thought of that mouse running right towards me was as if a mouse-sized spider was coming at me full speed. So then I was like thinking to myself, "OK, my screaming is going to freak Misfit out and he's going to drop the mouse and then run away and the mouse is going to get away." Well, that just made me scream louder.

Then I saw Misfit run away, and I thought my fear was happening, so I got up and hightailed it across the room in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Clint had no idea what was going on or what I was screaming about and so I finally get the word "mouse" out.. As it turned out, Misfit still had the mouse in his mouth. So Clint & I followed him into the kitchen and watched him play with the mouse. However, the mouse ended up escaping behind the refrigerator. I made Clint help me pull the refrigerator out some so Misfit could fit back there, but the mouse was long gone.

Later, when I walked into the kitchen, Misfit was just sitting there staring at the stove. Guess the mouse went under there. Even today, he was obsessed with sitting in front of the stove.

Last night, I set the mouse traps up with some cheese. Misfit kept trying to eat the cheese, so I tried to explain that if Misfit doesn't eat the cheese, the mouse will come out and eat it, but of course he doesn't understand because he's a cat

Today, I thought the mouse had snagged the cheese without getting trapped, because the cheese was gone. So I put some more cheese on this evening.. I turned around to do something else, and when I looked back, Misfit was messing around with the mouse trap. Hopefully, my yell taught him not to do that again, because I can't be there all the time to yell at him and I'd hate for him to learn the hard way of getting caught himself…

 

Misfit just got his first (verified) rodent kill

He's been outside for hours and he's currently batting around a dead mouse/small rodent thing. It has started to rain and he doesn't even care.

His pet ID tag came today. I had a brochure that came from the vet for a reflective tag. So one side has a reflective sticker on it, and the other side has the engraving of his name, etc. They couldn't fit the entire street address on it, but i told them to leave off "Rd" instead of going to the bigger sized tag…. i made the right choice.

9 times out of 10, people in NoVa will know it's Road (it's a very popular street), and if he's far enough away that they don't know it, then they need to be using the phone number anyway.

The reflective sticker works pretty well.. You can really see it when he jerks his head around.

 

Surgery

Vicky's comment on Clint's blog about the recovery room reminded me of my experience getting my appendix taken out.

After waiting for hours in the waiting room (and puking into a trashcan), they finally took me in and started interviewing me to determine what kind of pain I was having. Then they put me into another room. That's when they told me they were "concerned about my appendix." So they wanted to do a test or something where I drank some dye or something.. I can't remember, but they did want me to drink something. The problem was I was vomiting, so they had to give me an anti-nausea medicine first.

Well, needless to say, the anti-nausea medicine didn't work, and I continued to puke. If I'm remembering correctly, they finally gave up, and were like "We're pretty sure it's the appendix. Let's take it out". (A couple of years later, there's a commercial that reminded me of it: Surgeon #1 "That looks like a healthy spleen to me." Surgeon #2 "I could have sworn it was the spleen.")

BTW, this is even more hours later. Clint was dog-tired and miserable. They wheeled me out on a stretcher in the hallway. There was a stretcher next to it, so Clint laid on that for a while and slept.

I vaguely remember them wheeling me into the operating room and drugging me up. Then I vaguely remember them putting these socks on my feet. They told me it was to help with circulation…. Their drugs and the tiredness were really taking over by this time…

The next thing I know, I'm waking up in complete darkness and I hear a faint yelling, "I'M IN PAIN!!!!!"… It was me yelling. Then a nurse comes by "oh, you're awake"… A few seconds later, I was completely awake and realized that while I was in pain, it wasn't as bad as I thought, and certainly didn't require that amount of yelling. Worse than the pain was throughout the time in the recovery room, I had to pee like 10 times. I have no idea what was wrong with me, and the nurse even commented on it… She kept saying "Again!?" It was crazy… soooo much pee. And of course, it had to be in the bedpan… sooo embarrassing… but there was no way I could have held it.

Then they finally decide I've recovered enough… As they're wheeling me to what was going to be my room, I had to urinate again. No bedpan this time. I had to hold it. I think I may have told them to hurry up. So they're wheeling me around on this stretcher and I'm holding it in. Then I looked down the hall and I see my dad wandering the halls. Clint later admitted he was miffed that I saw my dad first before him.

Anyway, they finally get me to the room, and they're trying to help me in the bed. At some point, I got attached to an IV.. But i didn't even get into the bed, I went straight for the bathroom to finally let it out… by the time i was done, the rest of my family was there. They didn't stay long… They could see I wasn't dying anymore so there wasn't much point in staying.

Then later, Clint brought me a box of comics, but I ended up not reading any of them. I just spent the entire 2 days watching tv. And I got so spoiled by having three meals a day brought to me..

After the hospital, I spent the next 5 days on the white couch in our rec room. I watched a lot of TV that week. By Saturday, Kipp & Sarah suggested we go mini golfing, and nothing was going to get in my way… I was soooooo tired of being cooped up inside. I was still sore, so I wore a skirt… and my legs were so unshaven that I wore a looong skirt. I wasn't trying very hard to golf, I was just there to get out of the house. And guess what…. I WON! I've never won mini golfing EVER!

And I don't think they let me win either. It was awesome!

 

Misfit cuteness

Since I've gotten Misfit, sometimes (seemingly randomly) his tail will puff up like cats' tails do when they are scared. We can never find a reason why Misfit puffs up when he does..

Anyway, one time, soon after I got him, I picked him and a toy that he was playing with up. Then I threw the toy, and put Misfit down. I think my plan was he would go and fetch the toy. Well, the toy went around the corner from the kitchen into the rec room, and Misfit followed.

When I came around the corner, however, I found Misfit cowering under Clint's chair. Not only was his tail puffed up, his whole back and head were puffed up as well. He was also arching his back. It was totally "Halloween Cat."

I was mortified. I was like, "Misfit! Are you scared of me?" I pet him and tried to calm him down but he stayed puffed up. He finally relaxed when I gave him a "yum yum" (cat treat).

Another time he was puffed up, I pointed it out to Clint. Clint said Misfit's tail looked was so big that it looked like a raccoon tail. We tried to take pictures of it, but Misfit was somewhat calmed down by the time we got our act together.

 

 

 

Blog

By the way, I’m not much of a blogger, but you can also refer to http://clintjcl.wordpress.com/ which is Clint’s blog.

 

Birthday presents

I put some pictures of the presents from my parents up.

Carolyn’s presents

 

Carolyn is going to turn the big 3-0

Yay Castle Greyskull cake! My 30th birthday party is complete!

 

oh no

i have inherited my boss’s “rounding” ability… i just told clint that $24.95 = $30

 

Hello, World

I guess I am setting up my own blog.