Zoomies
I drove the Sparrow to work this morning and ran over a squirrel on the way back. I felt so horrible about it. I was cruising along and the squirrel ran out across the road. I braked, and he was all the way to the side as I was about to pass him. It was then that he inexplicably decided to turn around and run right back out into the road and he went under my back driver's side tire. It was such a horrible thumping sound. Had I just slammed on the brakes when I first saw him, he would have likely lived no matter what he did, but I assumed since he was all the way across that would be the end of it, so I didn't completely stop.
I'll have to drive by his poor dead body on the way to pick him up later. All I could think was that the impact may not have killed him completely, and he might have been laying there suffering on the road in the freezing cold for who knows how long before he expired. Things like this just make the world almost too cruel to bear. In the grand scheme of the universe, could that squirrel not have just kept going to safety? Could not some brief moment of divine intervention have just let this one poor animal survive? Would such a thing screwed up God's master plan?
Work has been quiet so far today. Though it wasn't until I went to lunch yesterday that I started getting really harassed. After 16 plus years I already expect that I will get bothered if I dare go out to lunch anywhere. If I sit at my desk the entire day, nothing happens. If I leave to go to lunch, or the bathroom, or to the couch, in that *INSTANT* I will get a call or an email. Yet, I am supposed to continue to believe after years of such incidences it's all just "coincidence".
It's maddening when something is just so obvious, right there in your face, with endless amounts of data, yet you feel crazy for considering it a "conspiracy theory". If it is just "luck" or "chance" then why do I not see such outcomes of chance when I play the lottery?
We're off to the cat cafe later to see how Miss Mona and Doralee are doing. Where I will try to maintain my composure. It looks like there's already 2 reservations for the 6:00 time slot. I am hoping that it doesn't fill up, or I might just make 2 reservations for us to make sure we can be in there without causing any issues with the cafe staff.
We were watching some videos last night about that Bob Walker "Cat House" from the 90s/2000s in California. I'd always wanted the first book he put out, but it was not available for years... that is until I checked today and it seems it was reprinted, so I just went ahead and ordered it. If we are going to be doing this foster thing longterm, I wouldn't mind "catifying" the back garage a bit more. There's still the question of what to do with the big plants. I do feel it's just too crowded back there with them. At least if we built the shelving unit thing I was thinking along the one wall, instead of using carts for smaller plants, we'd be able to keep stuff locked away safely. And I think it would expand our room a bit, as some of the medium sized plants could be made to fit in such a setup.
I've had this pygmy date palm for at least 8 years or so, and it's always done great. But the last two kittens climbed all over it and messed it up, so now it's a flat, dying-looking mess. It will probably recover but I just think it needs to come out of there. I dread having to lug it into the basement, but I think it's the only good option. The only other issue with that though is getting lights setup and on a timer down there. Though there are a bunch of old fluorescent fixtures there that need to come out and be replaced with LED ones we already have in a box.
Been fantasizing a bit more about the cat cafe idea. It'd be fun to do it in a bit of a theme, like retro Austin Power's style or something like that. Though I suppose just a general eclectic style is fine. It's sort of what the one we go to is like. Just cat-themed everything on all the walls and such. It's just such a fun idea when you don't go out wandering in the weeds, panicking about how to start a business and all the stuff that comes with that.
It could really become like a family business. The BIL is a good cook, perhaps he could work the kitchen there (though it wouldn't be a full-time gig). Gayle's got a job, but perhaps she could work it on the weekends for extra money. She was waitressing before doing so. The Sparrow knows at least one girl he used to work with who is now unemployed who would probably love the job. Situations like that could really work out, where we could hire people we know to help make it a reality.
If I have confidence in anything in life, it's that I think I understand cats better than the average person. I know how to communicate with them and earn trust with them on a different level. I mean, it worked with feral Dr. Skirt, who walked right in the door when she was ready to give birth. Her brother Bosco was not as easy to domesticate, but their other brother Bacchus was probably a better candidate and might have been turned into a proper house cat had I known then what I know now. I did the best I could, but I've only really developed some of the knowledge in the past couple years.
I would say I've done a pretty good job with the kittens we've raised. For the most part Neelix and Seven are great cats and very personable, though Seven has a bit of that "tortie-tude", so she's slightly standoffish with strangers. Neelix doesn't really have fear of strangers though.
The same can be said with Miss Mona and Doralee. They aren't really afraid of people. Doralee is only struggling now because of the change of environment. But even then, she seemed to be out of her shell after I visited the other day. I think I've done a pretty good job with all these cats. The cat's own attitude is a factor, of course. Aside from Bosco, I don't think I've had any real hard luck cases yet.
Derpy was a hard luck one, but he was a mean feral and was never going to be caught or turned into a house cat. Yet, even he learned to sit at a comfortable distance on the patio and wait patiently for his food once we established our routine.
These five new kittens are all very friendly, so I am not sure there's much work there to be done. Except to break the biggest of them, an orange tabby, of his food aggression. Though I think by next week that will be gone, once they see the consistent schedule of food being brought to them.
I feel a little standoffish, with a hint of resentment, towards these new ones right now. Only because I am still processing my emotions over the previous two. I know it's not these new kittens that are at fault for that.
We were sitting out there watching 'Survivor' last night and the kittens were just hilarious. They are still very young and in the manic play stages of their life. So they were just running around attacking each other and everything else, falling all over, running with backs arched and tails curled. I don't even remember Miss Mona and Doralee being that young. I know they were, but they were just much calmer cats. Not that I could see what they were doing all the time.
One difference though, Miss Mona and Doralee would always run to the door, even if they only heard me in the garage and I wasn't going in there. These new cats are almost always sleeping, and though they know it is where we go in and out, none of them hang by the door or anything.
The big orange one, who the temp fosters called Garfield, is definitely getting a name change (the lack of creativity is almost insulting). What with his sort of domineering presence and the food aggression thing, I've thought of Napoleon as his name (because I referred to him as 'little Napoleon' instantly when I saw him bat his sibling over the food the first night). The other orange one I think I want to name Beauregard. My original thinking was to find names that all connected to New Orleans somehow... and Napoleon and Beauregard both do. But, I also don't want to get stuck in this trap of every groups name having to be some kind of theme.
The other three kittens are tabbies. One is a more traditional stripped one, and the other two I believe are called ticked tabbies. They don't have the usual stripes, but are more of an ashy gray with bits of color here and there, very unusual. And the one has a large spot on the back of her head, so we thought about calling her Domino. I'd love to give the other two Bond girl names too, but I am not sure Pussy Galore would go over well. Not to say I couldn't find some Bond girl names that were more "PC".
I have to say, I really like cats. I remember years ago (since everything is tied back to something else in my mind) how I used to get mocked and shamed by the assholes I was "friends" with for having cats. As if there was something wrong with it. I find much joy in these animals (though sometimes great frustration). So this cat cafe fantasy makes a lot of sense. Imagine, doing something fun that you could enjoy for work. I mean, it sounds insane, but I hear some people do accomplish it.
I'll have to drive by his poor dead body on the way to pick him up later. All I could think was that the impact may not have killed him completely, and he might have been laying there suffering on the road in the freezing cold for who knows how long before he expired. Things like this just make the world almost too cruel to bear. In the grand scheme of the universe, could that squirrel not have just kept going to safety? Could not some brief moment of divine intervention have just let this one poor animal survive? Would such a thing screwed up God's master plan?
Work has been quiet so far today. Though it wasn't until I went to lunch yesterday that I started getting really harassed. After 16 plus years I already expect that I will get bothered if I dare go out to lunch anywhere. If I sit at my desk the entire day, nothing happens. If I leave to go to lunch, or the bathroom, or to the couch, in that *INSTANT* I will get a call or an email. Yet, I am supposed to continue to believe after years of such incidences it's all just "coincidence".
It's maddening when something is just so obvious, right there in your face, with endless amounts of data, yet you feel crazy for considering it a "conspiracy theory". If it is just "luck" or "chance" then why do I not see such outcomes of chance when I play the lottery?
We're off to the cat cafe later to see how Miss Mona and Doralee are doing. Where I will try to maintain my composure. It looks like there's already 2 reservations for the 6:00 time slot. I am hoping that it doesn't fill up, or I might just make 2 reservations for us to make sure we can be in there without causing any issues with the cafe staff.
We were watching some videos last night about that Bob Walker "Cat House" from the 90s/2000s in California. I'd always wanted the first book he put out, but it was not available for years... that is until I checked today and it seems it was reprinted, so I just went ahead and ordered it. If we are going to be doing this foster thing longterm, I wouldn't mind "catifying" the back garage a bit more. There's still the question of what to do with the big plants. I do feel it's just too crowded back there with them. At least if we built the shelving unit thing I was thinking along the one wall, instead of using carts for smaller plants, we'd be able to keep stuff locked away safely. And I think it would expand our room a bit, as some of the medium sized plants could be made to fit in such a setup.
I've had this pygmy date palm for at least 8 years or so, and it's always done great. But the last two kittens climbed all over it and messed it up, so now it's a flat, dying-looking mess. It will probably recover but I just think it needs to come out of there. I dread having to lug it into the basement, but I think it's the only good option. The only other issue with that though is getting lights setup and on a timer down there. Though there are a bunch of old fluorescent fixtures there that need to come out and be replaced with LED ones we already have in a box.
Been fantasizing a bit more about the cat cafe idea. It'd be fun to do it in a bit of a theme, like retro Austin Power's style or something like that. Though I suppose just a general eclectic style is fine. It's sort of what the one we go to is like. Just cat-themed everything on all the walls and such. It's just such a fun idea when you don't go out wandering in the weeds, panicking about how to start a business and all the stuff that comes with that.
It could really become like a family business. The BIL is a good cook, perhaps he could work the kitchen there (though it wouldn't be a full-time gig). Gayle's got a job, but perhaps she could work it on the weekends for extra money. She was waitressing before doing so. The Sparrow knows at least one girl he used to work with who is now unemployed who would probably love the job. Situations like that could really work out, where we could hire people we know to help make it a reality.
If I have confidence in anything in life, it's that I think I understand cats better than the average person. I know how to communicate with them and earn trust with them on a different level. I mean, it worked with feral Dr. Skirt, who walked right in the door when she was ready to give birth. Her brother Bosco was not as easy to domesticate, but their other brother Bacchus was probably a better candidate and might have been turned into a proper house cat had I known then what I know now. I did the best I could, but I've only really developed some of the knowledge in the past couple years.
I would say I've done a pretty good job with the kittens we've raised. For the most part Neelix and Seven are great cats and very personable, though Seven has a bit of that "tortie-tude", so she's slightly standoffish with strangers. Neelix doesn't really have fear of strangers though.
The same can be said with Miss Mona and Doralee. They aren't really afraid of people. Doralee is only struggling now because of the change of environment. But even then, she seemed to be out of her shell after I visited the other day. I think I've done a pretty good job with all these cats. The cat's own attitude is a factor, of course. Aside from Bosco, I don't think I've had any real hard luck cases yet.
Derpy was a hard luck one, but he was a mean feral and was never going to be caught or turned into a house cat. Yet, even he learned to sit at a comfortable distance on the patio and wait patiently for his food once we established our routine.
These five new kittens are all very friendly, so I am not sure there's much work there to be done. Except to break the biggest of them, an orange tabby, of his food aggression. Though I think by next week that will be gone, once they see the consistent schedule of food being brought to them.
I feel a little standoffish, with a hint of resentment, towards these new ones right now. Only because I am still processing my emotions over the previous two. I know it's not these new kittens that are at fault for that.
We were sitting out there watching 'Survivor' last night and the kittens were just hilarious. They are still very young and in the manic play stages of their life. So they were just running around attacking each other and everything else, falling all over, running with backs arched and tails curled. I don't even remember Miss Mona and Doralee being that young. I know they were, but they were just much calmer cats. Not that I could see what they were doing all the time.
One difference though, Miss Mona and Doralee would always run to the door, even if they only heard me in the garage and I wasn't going in there. These new cats are almost always sleeping, and though they know it is where we go in and out, none of them hang by the door or anything.
The big orange one, who the temp fosters called Garfield, is definitely getting a name change (the lack of creativity is almost insulting). What with his sort of domineering presence and the food aggression thing, I've thought of Napoleon as his name (because I referred to him as 'little Napoleon' instantly when I saw him bat his sibling over the food the first night). The other orange one I think I want to name Beauregard. My original thinking was to find names that all connected to New Orleans somehow... and Napoleon and Beauregard both do. But, I also don't want to get stuck in this trap of every groups name having to be some kind of theme.
The other three kittens are tabbies. One is a more traditional stripped one, and the other two I believe are called ticked tabbies. They don't have the usual stripes, but are more of an ashy gray with bits of color here and there, very unusual. And the one has a large spot on the back of her head, so we thought about calling her Domino. I'd love to give the other two Bond girl names too, but I am not sure Pussy Galore would go over well. Not to say I couldn't find some Bond girl names that were more "PC".
I have to say, I really like cats. I remember years ago (since everything is tied back to something else in my mind) how I used to get mocked and shamed by the assholes I was "friends" with for having cats. As if there was something wrong with it. I find much joy in these animals (though sometimes great frustration). So this cat cafe fantasy makes a lot of sense. Imagine, doing something fun that you could enjoy for work. I mean, it sounds insane, but I hear some people do accomplish it.