RedJen's Rearview Mirror

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James

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And then I was going to write an update, until I realized that upgrading the Gallery software I use on the site was going to take me until after 1 am. Oh well, I guess the world will just have to wait a little longer… I’m going to sleep.

There are more pictures of Blue in the "Meet Blue" photo album. I usually won't put a picture here that is so big, but I'm making an exception for this one. Check out Blue's eyes. This picture really came out well and you can really see the different colors.

The incorporation of Blue into Omega and Neko’s lives is coming along better than I expected. At some point on Friday, Omega decided she was fed up with not being allowed in my room (Blue’s containment area) and either jumped the baby gate or crawled under in the 4 inch gap I left for Blue to use. Since then she and Blue have managed to sleep on opposite sides of my bed for the night and wake up without immediately hissing at each other. So far Blue has been good at backing off when Omega rumbles at him. It is funny to watch him get ready to pounce on her from behind, only to have her turn at the last second and growl low in her throat. Seeing him abort mid-pounce is cute.

Neko hasn’t ventured back upstairs in the last few days, preferring to spend time in the living room, which has always been her room. She hasn’t been welcoming of Blue, but she seems to be building a tolerance for his kitten ways. When he plays with her favorite toy, she’ll come into the room and watch, but she doesn’t say anything.

In related news, Omega has been seen multiple times sitting in the family room doorways. Why is this news? Eve has now seen what Omega looks like and there were other people in the room at the time.

Rugrat is back from camp. I picked her up Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, she appears to be tired out and isn’t feeling well at the moment. In a rare bout of talkativeness, she has admitted to enjoying the canoe camp I sent her too last year, although one of the counselors was (in her opinion) annoying. I’ll check into that for next year when summer camp sign up comes around.

Eve had her birthday party Friday night. The house is still here. It was fairly small, but a nice party all the same. I have a few pictures, but my camera is downstairs, so I’ll put those up later. Eve’s car decided to take a break on Thursday night, but thanks to a handy friend, the car is once again mobile. For those who would care about such things, to my knowledge, the water pump and serpentine belt needed replacing.

The weather for the past three days has been wonderful. The temperature has been in the 70’s, the skies have been blue with fluffy clouds and the winds have been rather gentle. This has definitely been good convertible weather. Yesterday, Rugrat and I went out to Fuquay to assist as part of the chase crew for a hot air balloon flight. Once the balloon was ready to take off, our job was to make sure we could see it, so that when it landed, we could find it. Getting a balloon ready to take off is not small matter. It took a little over half an hour to get everything ready and I definitely got my workout as part of the crew. Unfortunately, this was when Rugrat started feeling poorly and I don’t think she enjoyed herself much. Once the balloon was in the air, there really wasn’t any way for us to get back to my car so she had to tough it out until the flight was over, the balloon packed up and everyone back in the van to go to where the car was parked.

Rugrat – Strep Throat, cold stuff to drink and icky gargle medicine.
Blue – Slowing making progress with Omega. Neko is being more stubborn.
Bagel & Stormy – Haven’t heard back from their human, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s having second thoughts about giving them up at all. I completely understand having reservations, it would take a lot to get me to give mine up.
Reading – Just finished the third Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton (Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned). These are easy reads and addictive. If you are looking for an in-depth work of literary greatness, these aren’t the books, but I enjoyed them.
Softball - We had the semi-final game tonight and won. We'll play the finals next week.

Pictures from Eve’s birthday are now in the photo album. More pictures of Blue are in his album.

Blue’s ninja skills are growing by the day. His most recent exploits include the following learning experiences:

• His light fur blends better with the carpet on the stair than on the red couch
  
• If he hides in the corner of a step, he can pounce on the unsuspecting ankles of people walking down the stairs
  
• Under the TV, couches and dressers are great places to both stalk ankles AND hide from other angry cats
  
• Neko and Omega do not like to play tag my tail
  
• Neko hits and Omega eats his food
  
• Cushions and pillows that are leaning away from the couch make good hiding places
  
• When hiding under the covers, getting inside the duvet cover probably isn’t the best idea

Jeff Foxworthy on Blue Collar TV - I believe that people with low enough SAT scores, should be able to park in handicap zones.

RedJen’s Corollary – Stupid is a extra special form of handicap.

The good - My doctor took my word for the fact that I was sick and most likely developing strep throat Had I not already known that I had been exposed to strep for a fact, the doctor probably would have said it was too soon to tell if I had caught a bad cold and needed to wait out the virus or if antibiotics were called for. Yeah antibiotics, getting on them yesterday should help me avoid feeling like death warmed over while driving up to Ohio.

The bad - If there was any doubt about whether or not I picked up strep, waking up this morning removed it. A person shouldn’t feel so many aches at one time as a result of sleeping. I won’t be sleeping much for the next week. I have a talent for manifesting the possible side effects associated antibiotics. For the last 5 years, my favorite antibiotic has been Biaxin. Possible side effects include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bad taste in mouth, indigestion, stomach pain or discomfort or headache. Other side effects listed with the warning CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE include emotional or mood changes, confusion, hallucinations, depression, nightmares and trouble sleeping. Like I said, Biaxin has been prescribed for me fairly regularly while I could live with the rare bout of nausea and vomiting, my favorite is the trouble sleeping.

Last night rather than sleeping and since I was WIDE awake, I read a The Lunatic Cafe and the first six chapters of Bloody Bones. Did I mention I started reading after midnight? One night down, nine to go.

It’ll be an interesting week since I won’t be sleeping much…

Not one to be able to pass up a dare, I’m accepting ShaeSin’s challenge.
___________________________________________

From the Ranting Virgo:

"Post your completely honest opinion of me as a comment to this entry. Please post anonymously, and don't feel afraid to say whatever. I want you to be brutally and completely honest. Write as much or as little as you want, but if you're reading this, I want you to comment. Once you're done, put this in your own journal if you're not a big wussy.

Do it! You know you wanna ..."

1. Law of Cat Inertia
   A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
2. Law of Cat Motion
   A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.
3. Law of Cat Magnetism
   All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.
4. Law of Cat Thermodynamics
   Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.
5. Law of Cat Stretching
   A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.
6. Law of Cat Acceleration
   A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.
7. Law of Dinner Table Attendance
   Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.
8. Law of Cat Sleeping
   All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.
9. Law of Cat Elongation
   A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any countertop that has anything remotely interesting on it.
10. Law of Cat Obstruction
    A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum amount of human foot traffic.

• The Triple Threat Birthday Party – Saturday, September 25th
• Halloween Party – Saturday, October 30th

Evites will be going out soon. If you want to make sure you're on the list - email me or ShaeSin or post here. If you want to make sure other people are invited (or not invited) email or post ... that especially applies to the birthday kids. Need those addresses asap.

11. Law of Rug Configuration
    No rug may remain in its naturally flat state when a cat is present.
12. Law of Obedience Resistance
    A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.
13. First Law of Energy Conservation
    Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, they use as little energy as possible.
14. Second Law of Energy Conservation
    Cats know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.
15. Law of Refrigerator Observation
    If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.
16. Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
    Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.
17. Law of Random Comfort Seeking
    A cat will always seek the most comfortable spot in any given room.
18. Law of Bag/Box Occupancy
    All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

Happy Birthday little brother!

P.S. If you tell me when Lacie's birthday is I can a) send her a card and b) announce it here as well. Otherwise, I may have to include her picture in my navigator until I can figure out when her birthday is...

Today I’ll be heading to Ohio to take Rugrat back home. I suppose that I should get her back, since she starts High School next Tuesday. I hate leaving Blue, I’ve been really tempted to take him with me, but I’m going to be spending so much time in the car that I’ll leave him at home.

Rugrat and I will be taking a longer break in Columbus than I had originally planned. My mom hasn’t been feeling well and over the last month has been dealing with intestinal infections. Yesterday, the doctors discovered the cause the infections. Three of the arteries that feed into her intestines have blockage, which is preventing the intestines from getting the fluids they need to work properly. The doctors are supposed to decide today or tomorrow if they will use angioplasty, a bypass or some other method to relieve the blockage. It is nice to have a cause pinpointed. Not knowing what was causing the problems was frustrating. I can’t help but laugh a little. I keep thinking she’ll either be having balloon therapy or a belly bypass.

19. Law of Furniture Replacement
    A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
20. Law of Cat Embarrassment
    A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.
21. Law of Milk Consumption
    A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.
22. Law of Cat Landing
    A cat will always land in the softest place possible; often the midsection of an unsuspecting, reclining human.
23. Law of Cat Disinterest
    A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him or her.
24. Law of Cat Composition
    A cat is composed of Matter + Antimatter + It Doesn't Matter.

Rugrat and I made it to Ohio in near record time. However, we did not go to our parents’ house, instead we went to one of the hospitals in Columbus. Mom has been in the hospital since Saturday night. She went into Bucyrus Community Hospital first, but was transferred down to Columbus on Tuesday. So far the doctors in Columbus have not been able to pinpoint the case of the problem, but they have ruled out quite a few things, including the preliminary diagnosis made in Bucyrus. If there is one thing I appreciate about the hospital in Bucyrus, it is that they know when things go beyond their expertise. In an emergency, they can triage with the best of them, but if it isn’t an acute situation, then get the patient to the right care. No new news today. Yeah, I’m getting a little worried.

I’m taking Rugrat to her High School orientation in about an hour. It is weird to go back there as part of the parent/guardian group. It shouldn’t be that shocking since next year it will be 15 years since I graduated from that same school, but it doesn’t feel that way.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of when I signed the papers and "bought" my first house. I guess I should get a move on and finish getting rid of the last of the boxes.

My mom is being released for the hospital today. I'm not sure how I feel about it, there don't seem to be any answers, but it'll be good to have her home.

Mullets everywhere!

(Tomorrow - Escape from Mullet-hallow)

The first Triple Treat Party Evites have been sent out. It usually takes me a few times to get Evites to everyone that should get them. If I haven't gotten you one, drop me an email with your email address in it. I probably just typed your email address wrong...

Other:
I have a few posts kicking around in my head, but haven’t reached my fingers (Escape from Mullet-hollow, Pictures from Ohio, a better mom update and something about being naked). Watch this space for more…

1. Note to self – red hair plus convertible on 500+ mile drive necessitates sunscreen (ouch)
2. Mom is home and seems to be feeling better. Check up with the doctor in 3 months
3. Haven’t heard anything from Bagel & Stormy’s keeper
4. Blue is one HYPER kitten
5. White kitten with a naturally occurring dark halo = demon spawn
6. I’m beginning to wonder if Eve has been run off by Blue
7. Lawn needs mowed before it is declared a wildlife preserve
8. Blue says: iuuuuu
9. Did someone get the license plate number of that bus?
10. Finished reading the eighth Anita Blade novel by Laurell K Hamilton
11. Sleep good

This is the first time I’ve touched a computer today and I haven’t checked my email or anything else. That makes today different from a usual Saturday.

Happy 33rd Wedding Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Congratulations & Best Wishes, Morgan & Drix, on you wedding!

I’ve gotten to the point that I’m beyond sick of it. Honestly, I have enough of it going on in my own mind that I don’t need everyone else’s as well. If you want my opinion or insight on something, to this point I’ve been happy to oblige, now I’m not so sure.

Some people seem to need drama in their lives, others work to avoid drama and I work to minimize drama.

RedJen’s drama minimization questions:
Where is the drama epicenter? What is the base issue/event behind the drama?
Is the drama serving a positive purpose? Are there unwanted side effects?
What is feeding the drama?
What part of the drama can be controlled? What can I control?

Often it appears that there is a single point of contention behind drama. Ro says, “Don’t paint the fence with these 3 paintbrushes (PbA, PbB and PbC).” Jo says, “I should be able to paint if I want to.” It may appear that Ro and Jo are at odds with each other, but their statements don’t have much in common.

Ro’s Statement: Don’t paint the fence with these 3 paintbrushes (PbA, PbB and PbC).
This statement does not say Jo cannot paint. Neither does it say that Jo cannot paint with PbA, PbB or PbC. Only when Jo wishes to use PbA, PbB or PbC to paint the fence, does there become an issue. If Jo wishes to paint a door, house or anything except for the fence, Ro has not said that Jo cannot use PbA, PbB or PbC.

So where is the drama? If Jo agrees to go along with Ro, but then decides to move specifically against Ro’s wishes, drama ensues.

My first questions for Jo are, “Why are you painting the fence? What is it that you get out of painting the fence with PbB?”

If Jo is painting the fence to test the paintbrush (PbB) or to see what color the paint dries, then why does Jo have to paint the fence? Would painting the door not allow Jo to test paintbrush and all see what color the paint dries?

If Jo is painting the fence because the fence needs painted, then why not use another paintbrush to paint the fence?

My point is that there are so many ways to compromise in this case that both Ro and Jo get what they want or need, that it seems a shame to place so much contention on something that really isn’t that much of an issue.

1. Your potted plants are still alive. Check
2. You keep more food than beer in the fridge. Check
3. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep. Check
4. You hear your favorite song on the elevator at work. Nope
5. You carry an umbrella... because you watch the Weather Channel. Check
6. Your friends marry and divorce instead of 'hook-up' and 'break-up'. Check
7. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7. Check
8. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up". Check
9. You're the one calling the police because those damn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo. Nope
10. You no longer know what time Taco Bell closes. Nope
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you. Check (shudder)
12. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up. Check
13. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonalds. Check, but I never fed the pets McD’s
14. Sleeping on the couch is a no-no. Check
15. You no longer take naps from noon to 3pm. Check
16. The thought of having sex in a twin-sized bed is an absurd notion. Check
17. 'Dinner and a movie' are the WHOLE date, instead of the beginning of one. Check
18. MTV News is no longer your primary source for information. Check
19. You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits. Check
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff'. Check
21. You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time. Check
22. Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & Ho-Ho's. Check
23. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much ever again." Check
24. Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work. Check
25. You don't get liquored up at home to save money before going to a bar. Check