The color of infinity inside an empty glass

So, I don't discuss them much, but we have, between the two of us, four cats. My mom, who was a total crazy cat lady, had six and when I left for DC, I ended up taking three of them with me as she was sick and couldn't take care of them all. K had one of her own she was finally able to bring down to DC.

Of our four cats, two of them are old lady cats. 15 or so. We've never had much issue with their health, as a whole. Possibly because they're inside-only cats.

On Wednesday, when I got home from work, we found one of the old lady cats, Smokey, laying down on the ground. K was nervous about this because she usually comes to say hello when we get home. We put out food and she still laid on the ground. K tried to get her to stand up and she fell over.

So, fearing the worst, Smokey and I went to the emergency vets. Of course, at the vets, Smokey climbs out of her carrier and wobbles around, so i'm thinking maybe it's a sprained muscle or something.

Nope. Her balance is off. This is something that can happen to older animals. It may get better. It may not. The vet did bloodwork, did a thorough exam and she is in fine health, except that she can't walk straight at the moment anymore.

They gave her an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory and some pills to help her. And she was at least moving more this morning than she was yesterday: from a bed to the food dish, to in front of R's chair, to the other bed, etc. It was still movement.

So.. that's the good news.

On an intellectual level, I knew the cats were old. I knew something could happen. But you're never ready for it. Not even the threat of it, so...

That's the news.

At least she seems to be doing a little better.

I'm feeling better than I have in a couple days. I just woke up feeling better. For those not aware, I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), which makes me crankier, grumpier and more depressed than my usually lovable self. I dunno if I wasn't clocking enough time under the full spectrum light or what.. but I had a major bout of depression the last couple days which made me feel very blah. As a result, I was probably a bit nastier in my last post than I would have normally liked. For that, I apologize.

In other news, for those of you who normally be seeing me on Chaotic, if you are curious where I am, I've been playing Zoo Tycoon with my spare time. And I'm back at work, starting on being an RA on the Lake Ontario project (my to-be thesis)
Yay getting paid to do my thesis! :D

I had lunch with my friend Dave yesterday. It's the last I've seen of him since new years eve. He really needs (needed?) to get out of the house.. since new years eve, ANOTHER relative of his died (I dunno. Did I mention this?) and he was there when she died and he's just... well he WAS cracking.. he seemed better yesterday.
We went to the moon chinese buffet. The food was terrible but the conversationw as good. He started a new White Wolf campaign I think I'll get into and he was describing it to me. The campaign is basically... 5 or 6 werecritters (a couple werewolves, a six armed weretiger, a wereUNICORN and I may play a Wereraven.

What else?
Yay, kareila got a livejournal! I'm quite ecstatic about this since I've had... very very limited contact with her since I left Snoopydance. We're both busy and the only way we could keep up with each other was a club like Snoopydance, so I asked her to get an LJ, gave her one of my codes (that I horde like gold :) ) and she got one :)

The little one simulatenously worries and amuses me. Bandit, apparently, can't jump too well. He can get up on my bed and mom's by climbing.. but he can't jump well at all. Mom's worried about it, but I THINK he'll learn on his own. I dunno.. what do y'all in LJ land think?

What else? Meeting on Thursday for the Lake Ontario project. Probably nothing major.

I guess I'll wrap this up. Ciao

the little one's name is currently Bandit. it has potential.
We now have Smokey and the Bandit.
And M&M (Mousey and Mystery)

I love kitties :) They so cutie :)

It's been a looong, depressing week. I haven't posted because there's been nothing TO post. I'd stay home, look at the snow, shovel, come back inside and watch movies. No gym, no going out, nothing.
Today I have alot to report.
Today I think I experienced the highs and lows life has to offer: from the beginning (birth.. well.. not fully.. but you'll understand) to death to everything in between.
Well, probably not everything...

The day started early. Woke up, look outside and there was SUN! The sun WAS OUT! Wooo! Woke up, got dressed, posted to livejournal etc. I took some pictures of the snow outside. I plan to shrink them and post them so that all you bastards wishing for a white christmas can see what it REALLY means... at least in Buffalo.
The driving ban had lifted, we were all in the midst of major cabin fever and we needed things.. so we made a list, checked it twice, but didn't bother figuring out who was naughy and nice.. and we headed out.
Before going out, however, I started to scour the house. My MP3 player is missing and I'm not certain where it is. At this moment, I'm pretty certain it isn't in the house. HOPEFULLY it's in my car (which is at the mechanics.)
Did I mention my car? Let me tell you.. Wednesday (in the middle of a snow storm), we brought the car into my mechanic. My first time driving in the snow... I hated it. It was NOT fun. Mom says I did a decent job of it.
Anyways, he called me Thursday. There was problems with the electrical system. Electricity was arcing and he wasn't certain why. Problem: Thursday afternoon and Friday the city shut down. The city is STILL in a state of emergency and not dug out (as you can tell by reading phinnia's livejournal. So, as far as I know, he hasn't been able to locate the problem yet, forget being certain how to fix it and how much it will cost. So the car is at the mechnics and HOPEFULLY the mp3 player is in it. Otherwise, I need a new one. I can't work out without it... it's just waaaay too boring to do cardio without SOMETHING to listen to. The radio may work for a day or two (and I may try it tommorow), but I'll probably get bored of it quickly.
Life lesson #1: Shit happens. It just happens. You make the best of it and move on. I don't really want an extra expense to get a new mp3 player, but I need something, so i'll get something.
So... anyways... we need to go out.
First stop... Tops Supermarket. Got some stuff for homemade spaghetti sauce, some milk stuff like that. Nothing special. Just keep in mind we have frozen onions and milk in the car.
Stop two... I KNOW I mentioned my mom is hell-bent on getting a kitten, right? So she drives all the way to the SPCA (luckily, it's open and accessable) to A) get pre-approval so that when she FINDS a kitten, she can adopt it no problem and B) look for kittens.
I (silly me) figure there's absosmurfly no way that there will be kittens. The SPCA has been closed for a couple of days.. how would they get there? I was wrong.
There were 7 kittens there when we came in. Not all of them were "good enough" for us. Two were longhairs and we prefer shorthair breeds (partly because brushing kittens is not easy nor fun and partly because we just like the way they look better. When we think of cat, we think of something along the lines of an american shorthair, applehead siamese or russian blue. Not a long-haired persian or even a Maine Coone with the big fluffy tail.), one was a hisser... there were three that got out attention, though.
One was a little orange and yellow striped kitten (you'd probably call it tiger) who was happily chasing a toy mouse around the play room. I had dreams of calling such a cat Spitfire or FireBolt or something akin to that.
The next was a little grey cat who reminded me of Smokey without the white in his fur. He was trying very hard to get the ball out of one of those toys where the ball is in a circular track. It kept trying and trying and we thought it was very cute (We like playful troublemaker type of cats.)
The next was a little mostly black cat who LOVED the teaser I was shaking around. It jumped and lunge and was too cute.
So mom was like "we need to decide." and it was a difficult decision. In the end, I think it was when I lifted the little grey one and it put it's head on my sweatshirt and looked sweet that decided it for us. So we got the little grey one.
When I say we got, I don't mean we brought it home. Tommorow they're closed. Monday, he'll get fixed, Tuesday they're closed and Wednesday we'll bring him home.
We'll probably call him Sherlock (we were bouncing names around in the car and that one came up. Choice #2 is Shadow.) but... who knows, right?
Once I get the kitten home Wednesday, you can all expect pictures of course.
So, with that stop out of the way, next stop was Blockbusters to return some videos and return more. We ended up leaving with Saving Silverman and Scary Movie 2, which my brother wants to watch and I don't care to.
Next stop, Target. Mom is looking for photographic paper and she likes the cheap walmart and target brands which are as good as Kodak and HP, but cheaper. We also leave with a thermal top for myself and a couple of other things.
Next stop, Barnes and Nobles. Mom is looking for a certain book. No luck, though.
By then, it's about 2:00 and my belly is yelling that if we don't eat soon, it'll start eating me from inside. So we go out to eat at the Buffalo Wild Wings.
Finally, we go to Rite Aid and go home.
Listening to the messages, my friend Dave's grandmother, Eva Niles whom I knew from when I worked in Beechwood Nursing Home has passed away. Eva hasn't been the same since an accident a couple weeks back and her health has been deteriorating. I haven't gone to see her because I don't want to think of her as any way besides how she was when I worked there (more on this in a few). So I told Dave I'll be at her Funeral (Monday morning at 11:00).
Issue: Monday is New Years Eve and we were SUPPOSED to have a big New Years Eve bash, but he's not up to it (he wasn't looking forward to it anyways, for a few reasons none of which I'll discuss.) I suggested that we modify the bash to a few small friends and I'd be glad to host. In other words, if he can get away from his family, come to my house... hopefully we can get Carl, his girlfriend, maybe our mutual friend TJ. Whatever. Just a small Friendly New Years Eve party.
I hope it happens. I really do. I don't wanna be stuck spending New Years Eve with my mom. I love her, but.. that's not my idea of a blast of a time. On the other hand, mom says if it doesn't happen, we'll try to go see a movie, so that's cool.
Eva Niles... I remember her very well, even if she never remembered my name, she certainly remembered me. She hassled me and I hassled her (and for people who know me, that's how I treat the people I love. I give them hard times and joke with them.)
I remember that the nurses (who disturbed and angered me because I never felt like they cared a bit... well, most of them.) complaining that she'd take these fortified orange drinks, bring them into her room to drink and forgot about them completely. They went bad and the nurses had to clean it up. She was such a matchmaker. She'd always ask me.. am I married? She'd often point to some of the female workers on the floor and said "I bet she's single. You should ask her." She'd also come and help me put table clothes on the tables. It gave her someone to talk to when her family wasn't here. I remember, she loved to play bingo. (she loved all the activities. Hell, she was jewish and she'd go to the catholic masses and stuff, because she wanted to be out and about and do things.) One day, I was her "lucky charm". I came over (having finished my floor) to help her play bingo and as I sat, she won not once but twice. If I saw her in her room, she'd offer me one of her many peppermint patties her family would give her.
I do remember Eva Niles. She was... definately a personality. (Much like the rest of her family)
Continuing on with the day...
After calling Dave and taking a nap, we went out AGAIN. This time, we started off at Rite Aid (her last prescription had recieved part of a shipment, so she got some.). we went off to the mall and, despite the fact that I figured it would be swamped, it wasn't. We were at the mall to look for thermals for my mom and a snowblower (all sold out. Surprise Surprise, I guess.)
Then we went to Walmart where I got some more thermals, some of my flavored water (yum!) and a bedspread for my mom.
Came home, watched Saving Silverman and then watched the news.
Now they're saying we might want to stay home tommorow due to blizzard-like conditions (not because of new snow coming done, but high wings resuspending the snow into the air and whiting out our vision. Not to mention a REALLY cold Wind Chill.)
Let the frustrations continue.
And so, that's my day... a new family member, the death of a person I liked and frustrations with life.
I guess I'll post this and head to bed. Good night everyone. Have a safe and warm New Years Eve if I don't write before then. And wish me luck in finding something cool to do!

It's snowing.
and snowing.
and snowing some more.
Winter has officially arrived in Buffalo. With a bang.
And silly us.. we were out there.
As you may or may not remember. Today was the day I went to the dentist to get the crack in my tooth fixed.
As it turns out, it's not a crack. It's a stain of some sort. So I'll get it buffed out Friday. I'll go back Friday to get a filling put in too.
Blah, I hate drills.

What else? I haven't written since Saturday so y'all don't know I went to see LotR with the family and a bunch of friends Saturday.
That makes #2.
I plan to see it again maybe at the end of the week on the big IMAX screen too. That oughta be cool.
Did I mention I really love this movie?

We're thinking we might see a (non-LotR) movie tommorow. Or maybe rent one. The problem with christmas is that EVERYTHING closes...We (weather permitting) will be going to my grandma's for dinner tommorow. Other than that, no real plans...

Did I mention my weight for the week? Here goes... 259.5 :D I'm under 260 :D Go me :)

So, my mom is talking about getting a new kitten again. I think she's serious. She really fell in love with Merlin and is still very upset that he died. She's talking about going to the SPCA Wednesday. We'll see, I guess...
I can't deny I wouldn't like a new kitten.. still...

Well, I guess I'll go and work on my web site a while. Ciao folksies!

It's 6:21
I think I only got MAYBE 5 1/2 hours or sleep last night.
Something tells me I'm going to have a short workout and go home, exhausted, and try to nap.

To all my friends who replied to my post last night, I thank you.

I would like to believe in the Rainbow Bridge. Maybe little merlin did wake up somewhere surrounded by little kids to love him and other baby animals to scamper with. I think he'd love that...wish I could see it. Especially as he tried to pounce their tails or scamper around happily.
I wish I could see a little more of it for myself now.

In an exhaustion-prone state I had an epitome: Litltle Merlin, white as snow, was an angel (I'm not going to bicker here on the definition of what I mean by an angel. It doesn't matter!). For three weeks he was in our lives and brought happiness and joy and love and youth and vitality. He wasn't perfect... he was mischievious and naughty as all kittens are wont to do, but he never got into any REAL trouble... his biggest mischief was pouncing toes and fingers at 3AM and purring happily when we woke up so that we'd pet him.
I would still have prefered it have been longer, but I thank Merlin whererver he is for having brought so much joy into our lives.

In any case, I still have four more fuzzy bundle of joys who need me. (And whom I need, atm, also). In the end, I think that's what helped me get over the death of my dog Sir Lancelot 3 years back.. because cleo and smokey were cute and fuzzy and it was hard to mourn his loss as they cuddled up next to me and purred or went around doing their kitten antics.

***
Today's Quote Of The Day
"While we are mourning the loss of our friend, others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil. " - John Taylor

Well, as promised, I said I'd post my average weight and I shall.
Are you ready?
You sure?
OK, then!
Drumroll please!
*drumroll*
And my current average weight is...
are you sure you want to hear this?
What do you MEAN "Get on with already!"
Well FINE THEN!
*ahem*
And my current average weight is..
AH-CHOO!
Damn dust.
Never anyone around here to clean up these sort of things.
Well *I* don't know why there's a pile of dust over there!
Fine, I *AM* getting on with it!
And my current average weight is... 277 lbs!
There, see? Isn't that special?
Good, then!

In other news, Merlin (the new kitten) is an adorable little dork. As dorky as they come, is Merlin. And a little purr-factory to boot! I hope he isn't TOO lonely up in Josh's room all by his lonesome.
Poor kitty :(