(no subject)
Ok, back from FABULOUS LAS VEGAS. My impression of the city is
two fold....on the one hand, it would be a great place to go and party
with a group of friends (I was there with a much older male coworker
who doesn't drink/smoke/gamble, was staying at a different hotel, and
goes to bed at like 9). It's an assault on the senses, there is
something to see, hear, or taste at every degree of the compass from
every point in space. On the other hand it's hotter than fuck,
depressing to watch hordes of idiots throw their money away, and
expensive. If I never go back, I won't lose any sleep over it.
The conference was really good. Cisco knows how to take care of its customers (free food, free liquor, and free entertainment) and the classes were valuable. I spent four nights there not counting the night I arrived (at 12:30AM, which was 3:30AM my time) and spent two nights partying and two nights studying and recuperating from the party nights. I took a certification test while at the conference and passed, which recertifies me as a CCNA for 3 more years and gets me a quarter of the way towards a CCNP certification. I left with $200 and came back with $1 and I have no idea how I spent it or how I got back to my hotel room on Thursday night. I guess what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas because you can't remember what the hell your crazy ass did after that 10th margarita.
Meanwhile, back at the hacienda, Alison took in a stray cat that she found at a truck stop near Burlington on Sunday evening. Well, I call it a truck stop because it's one of "those type" of gas stations. The cat was dirty and malnourished and she figured she could find a home for it relatively quickly, so no big deal, right? Today this feline climbed into the ceiling of our basement rec room and HAD FUCKING KITTENS. It's in a completely inaccessible space and we have no way of knowing if all the kittens are OK. The mama has come out at least once to eat and drink so she's ok but we don't know how many kittens there are or if any were still born. We can hear at least 2 crying from time to time. I'm a little worried about what kind of damage cat placenta, amniotic fluids, and other delicacies of the birthing process can do to a sheetrock ceiling, but Alison says that cats EAT that shit so I guess it's ok. I haven't seen any stains on the ceiling yet anyway. I have named the new arrivals Truck Stop Annie and the Mangy Horde (which would be an awesome name for a band), so I'm up to my armpits in cats, if anybody needs one (or another one).
Later today, while hanging out in the back yard after mowing, I hear my 95 year old neighbor crank up his Taurus and start backing out of his driveway (yes he still drives). Then I hear a sound. Kind of a crunching sound, but not very loud. I thought he probably backed into the fence we built last month but I didn't see the fence moving or any damage or anything. So I open the gate and sneak a peek into his driveway only to see a an unknown old man lying in the driveway with a pool of blood around his head and his feet under the rear bumper of the car. I ran over, saw this GIANT bloody goose egg on the old guy's head and asked what happened. The injured didn't respond and my neighbor, who is hobbling his way from the driver's seat to the back of the car, shrugs and says he doesn't know. So I haul ass after my cell phone and call the paramedics and tell Ali to get a towel. Then I called my neighbor's son, who has given me his cell and home phone numbers for emergency purposes, and tell him there's been an accident. I turned the car off cause it was blowing exhaust in everybody's face. The fire department, the cops, the paramedics, and the son show up (in that order) and start dealing with the bloody guy. By this time, he's confused but talking in complete sentences and answering questions and stuff. As best I can tell, these two geezers were leaving my neighbors house to go have dinner at the son's house. The unknown geezer is my neighbor's brother in law who is visiting from California. He either fell or was bumped by the car and cracked his head on the driveway. I'm 90% sure my neighbor hit him but the cops don't think that's what happened, even though his lower legs WERE UNDER THE CAR. So they all head off for the hospital and as far as I know the old guy got away with nothing but a goose egg, a headache, and blood stained shirt. My neighbor shouldn't be driving and this was a missed opportunity to get him off the roads for the sake of all of mankind.. It's scary and sad living next to old people who need help but insist on living alone. But you get to have great new experiences like dialing 911 for the first time.
That's enough drama for one post. I'll try to get some pics of the kittens whenever they decide to come out of hiding. Oh, and
troubadour76, (got it right this time?) I'm working on names for the publishing company if it's still up in the air. Give me a day or two.
The conference was really good. Cisco knows how to take care of its customers (free food, free liquor, and free entertainment) and the classes were valuable. I spent four nights there not counting the night I arrived (at 12:30AM, which was 3:30AM my time) and spent two nights partying and two nights studying and recuperating from the party nights. I took a certification test while at the conference and passed, which recertifies me as a CCNA for 3 more years and gets me a quarter of the way towards a CCNP certification. I left with $200 and came back with $1 and I have no idea how I spent it or how I got back to my hotel room on Thursday night. I guess what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas because you can't remember what the hell your crazy ass did after that 10th margarita.
Meanwhile, back at the hacienda, Alison took in a stray cat that she found at a truck stop near Burlington on Sunday evening. Well, I call it a truck stop because it's one of "those type" of gas stations. The cat was dirty and malnourished and she figured she could find a home for it relatively quickly, so no big deal, right? Today this feline climbed into the ceiling of our basement rec room and HAD FUCKING KITTENS. It's in a completely inaccessible space and we have no way of knowing if all the kittens are OK. The mama has come out at least once to eat and drink so she's ok but we don't know how many kittens there are or if any were still born. We can hear at least 2 crying from time to time. I'm a little worried about what kind of damage cat placenta, amniotic fluids, and other delicacies of the birthing process can do to a sheetrock ceiling, but Alison says that cats EAT that shit so I guess it's ok. I haven't seen any stains on the ceiling yet anyway. I have named the new arrivals Truck Stop Annie and the Mangy Horde (which would be an awesome name for a band), so I'm up to my armpits in cats, if anybody needs one (or another one).
Later today, while hanging out in the back yard after mowing, I hear my 95 year old neighbor crank up his Taurus and start backing out of his driveway (yes he still drives). Then I hear a sound. Kind of a crunching sound, but not very loud. I thought he probably backed into the fence we built last month but I didn't see the fence moving or any damage or anything. So I open the gate and sneak a peek into his driveway only to see a an unknown old man lying in the driveway with a pool of blood around his head and his feet under the rear bumper of the car. I ran over, saw this GIANT bloody goose egg on the old guy's head and asked what happened. The injured didn't respond and my neighbor, who is hobbling his way from the driver's seat to the back of the car, shrugs and says he doesn't know. So I haul ass after my cell phone and call the paramedics and tell Ali to get a towel. Then I called my neighbor's son, who has given me his cell and home phone numbers for emergency purposes, and tell him there's been an accident. I turned the car off cause it was blowing exhaust in everybody's face. The fire department, the cops, the paramedics, and the son show up (in that order) and start dealing with the bloody guy. By this time, he's confused but talking in complete sentences and answering questions and stuff. As best I can tell, these two geezers were leaving my neighbors house to go have dinner at the son's house. The unknown geezer is my neighbor's brother in law who is visiting from California. He either fell or was bumped by the car and cracked his head on the driveway. I'm 90% sure my neighbor hit him but the cops don't think that's what happened, even though his lower legs WERE UNDER THE CAR. So they all head off for the hospital and as far as I know the old guy got away with nothing but a goose egg, a headache, and blood stained shirt. My neighbor shouldn't be driving and this was a missed opportunity to get him off the roads for the sake of all of mankind.. It's scary and sad living next to old people who need help but insist on living alone. But you get to have great new experiences like dialing 911 for the first time.
That's enough drama for one post. I'll try to get some pics of the kittens whenever they decide to come out of hiding. Oh, and
troubadour76, (got it right this time?) I'm working on names for the publishing company if it's still up in the air. Give me a day or two.