Syllabus #262

Childless cat lady, reporting for duty.  

We tried to take our cat visitor to animal control, but they were like, "So sorry, no vacancy, that's your cat now, lady!"  And I was like, "Is that because I touched it last?  Are we really doing this?"

So $300 and a flea comb later, Lucy is my new Drug, Disease, and Drama Free roommate.  No FeLV, no FIV, no parasites.  All her shots and a clean bill of health.  A flea or two.  We're working on it.  Does she have a uterus?  She's not telling!  I guess the vet tried all the non-surgical ways of discerning whether she's been spayed, and none of them were conclusive.  So she could be spayed, or she could be about to spray a littler of kittens all over my bathroom in a few weeks.  She's probably spayed.  But if she's not, we learned that cats can still get all the abortions they want in the state of Tennessee, so there's that.

We are slowly introducing the idea of her presence to the other cats, and so far they are surprisingly unbothered.  We served them dishes of Special Occasion Wet Food on a towel that Lucy has been sleeping on.  They ate with gusto.  We'll do that again tonight, and then tomorrow we'll graduate to setting up Charlie's big dog crate in the doorway to Lucy's room and feeding all of them at the same time where they can see each other through the crate but not get at each other.  If that goes well, the next night, we'll collapse the crate and stand it across the doorway, so they can see each other and be in closer proximity while eating.  If that doesn't result in a lot of hissing and yowling, then we might be ready to let them eat in the same space the next night?  

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Analog Reading:

Still plugging away at The Institute.  It's not my favorite Stephen King ever, but I'm not not enjoying it.  The main problem is that I have had mostly abbreviated segments of time in which to read lately, so I haven't gotten into a good flow with this book.

Syllabus #261

 

The Universal Cat Distribution System has struck again.  

This Very Hunger Cat(erpillar) showed up on our porch a few days ago, absolutely demanding to speak to the manager food.  No ordinary stray, this cat is large in stature, appears relatively well-fed, does not have a tipped ear, and was torn between snarfing food and being petted.  He/she/it wanted it all, and they wanted it right. meow.  This is definitely someone's pet, or at least it was until recently.  We think it's probably a female, but if it's a male, it's definitely neutered.  It shows up, meow-shouting, without fail, every time we open the door to put out food for the other community cats.  

I posted pictures and descriptions in multiple neighborhood Facebook groups and nobody seems to care about this poor kitty.  We suspect someone may have given it the boot because it's loud and annoying, but it's also very sweet and friendly.  I don't want to say anything I can't take back, but I'm afraid we might be edging into 3rd cat territory with this visitor.  It's unlikely that Lola will accept this friend as a sibling, but I feel like we are the suckers who will bring this cat inside and let it live rent-free in our guest bathroom until we can find it a foster.

Mystery cat

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No links this week.  I barely had time to read my book!

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Analog Reading:

On the subject of books, I read Elevation by (do I even need to say it?) Stephen King.  It was uncharacteristically short, and almost eerily non-violent and sweet.  I'm not sure why this novella-length work was packaged as a standalone book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  

Now I'm reading King's The Institute, which seems like a somewhat self-conscious play on the concept of the X-Men.  I'm just getting into it right now, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it.  Stephen King is like pizza.  It might not always be the best pizza you've ever had in your life, but it's still gonna be aight.

Syllabus #260

Oh hi there, how was the first week of school?

Me:

 

I kid, I kid.  It was actually pretty productive despite the long hours and the warp speed at which I had to accomplish a lot of tasks in a short period of time.  But now I'm tired and will remain in a state of mid-level exhaustion until May, so it's been nice knowing you.

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How do I sign up to become an Italian mayor?

“It’s not about being selfish and saying, ‘I’m not having kids because I want to sleep in all the time,’” Dr. Guzzo said. “When fertility rates are down, to me, that’s because people don’t feel like they have a future that they feel confident in.”  Por que no los dos?  I have enough trouble sleeping through the night without throwing a crying baby in the mix, AND ALSO the world is on fire.

These censorship laws are enraging.  I read V.C. Andrews' twincest manifesto, Flowers in the Attic, when I was in 6th grade and I turned out just fine.  Trust me, whatever a kid doesn't already have context for goes right over their heads.  It does not warp them, it does not groom them, it does not turn them gay.  If reading a book about a character who is different from you can turn you into that character, hoo boy, I'd be in some serious trouble.  

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Speaking of reading, I'm still chipping away at Pet Sematary.  I can totally see why this would be the Stephen King book that, ahem, puts the nail in the coffin for a lot of women, especially those who are or want to be mothers.  Fortunately, I'm a soulless monster/childless cat lady, so I can read it with detachment, but damn, Steve, this one's especially messed up!

Syllabus #259

Hi, guess who?

Fun's over

Ok, fine, it's me.  We don't have to play games about it.  I'm back from my self-imposed hiatus.  For today, at least.  And this time, I did my homework.  Here's some junk I glanced at around the internet:

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Omg!  I lol'ed.  I rofl'ed.

Just in case you need some new reading material:  What to read next?

God I love a hydrangea.

What I'm taking away from this is twofold.  First, I'm excited about Kamala.  Second, maybe I should run for President so I don't have to do the dishes anymore.

Don't get me wrong, dogs are great and loyal and loving, but winning the affection of a cat feels like true validation.

How to party without regrets?  Lol that's cute.  The only way for me to do that is to stay home and pet my cats instead.  Go to a party and stay totally sober?  Well everyone thought I was uptight and boring.  Go to a party and I don't really know anyone besides the host?  I'm probably going to eat all of your cheese and leave with a tummy ache.  Go to a party and have even one drink?  I will lose several nights of sleep obsessing over every possible weird or unintentionally rude thing I may have said.

Analog Reading:

Also, I've been reading books.  The Summer of Steve marches on:

After I finished Amanda Montell's The Age of Magical Overthinking, I devoured Kathleen Hanna's autobiography, Rebel Girl, and then jumped straight back into the arms of our dark overlord Stephen King.

11/22/63 was incredible.  Yes, the supernatural element of time travel sounds corny as hell, but once you suspend your disbelief about that, it's honestly a delightful book with very few n-words and not that much violence.  It's also kind of an anti-Candide.  Maybe the 'best of all possible worlds' is the one you already happen to live in.  Don't complicate things trying to perfect them.

Misery started off kind of slowly for me, but once I got into the groove of it, I couldn't put it down.  The movie version with Kathy Bates is excellent, and I think she was perfect for the role of Annie Wilkes, but SWEET JESUS the book is so much more graphic and the gore-meter definitely goes to 11 in this one.

Now I'm halfway through Pet Sematary and it's doing that thing that King does so well, where he lulls you into a false sense of complacency.  He builds this world that actually seems kind of nice, with characters you find endearing, and then he lets the evil creep in, little by little.