fatrockstar

Grady has developed a belly. He is not a "fat" cat, but he has a belly. I took him to the vet back in April and the vet said "well, he doesn't seem to be in any pain, and if he's behaving normally all I can tell you is that he's getting old and fat." He then offered to cut Grady open for me to see if there was a tumor or fatty growth or something in there causing the belly. I declined.

Since then Grady's belly has varied in size. Recently it became bloated enough that he couldn't squeeze through the bedroom cat door and it broke my heart. He got halfway through it and just stood there. One little push was made, maybe two... nope. It's all belly. Now I have to re-hang a curtain in my bedroom doorway so he can get in and out. Not that it matters. Since he grew his belly-melon, he doesn't sleep in the bed with me anymore. Access to the bedroom is more a means for him to come bug us for food in the morning, and if he can't get in on his own he will tear up the carpet to get our attention.

Other than that, he seems fine. Grady is about 7 now, making him roughly 40something in human years. He has a healthy appetite, plays with his toys, and demands affection like any other cat. The belly worries me, though. I often wonder how much of his current behavior (or lack thereof) is due to his very round middle. Taking him back to the vet is on my re-employment to-do list.

For now, he is happily snoozing on the folding chair next to me by the computer. If he's not there I usually end up accidentally sitting on him in MY chair, or he's playing in his litterbox. Yay. He's getting older and has settled into a routine.

Took seven coats of sealant before it looked right. Dang.

Not even a day after posting it, my "I am Loved" plaque was purchased (thanks, Michelle!) I shared this news with a couple of the people who I had shown the finished product to, and they were a little bummed. "You should make more," they said. I will probably do that. I bought enough balsa wood for it. I like the whole "remind me of good things" theme.

There's a tin in my oven right now with a raised and "gilded" guitar design on its lid. The rest of it is covered in black and silver. Usually I line the inside of the tin with felt, but this time around I'm thinking something else would do. It's got a guitar on it, maybe a music emergency kit? I could insert some foam and include a 9v battery, some slots for picks, and an extra guitar string or something. I dunno. I'm just brainstorming here.

Tonight I finished a violet-and-gold heart-shaped pillow bead that I'm pretty proud of. It's on a satin cord now awaiting some clasps. I have another heart-shaped pillow bead necklace that is done and ready-to-go. I need to whip out the light box and start taking pictures. I know absolutely nothing about jewelry -- hopefully it's nice enough to get someone's attention.

Someone pointed out that there is a lot of testosterone in my house. Even the pets are male. Oh well. At least I'll never have to lift anything heavy or have to struggle for items on a high shelf.

Grady has been more clingy than usual. Wait, that's a lie -- he's always clingy, he's just been more aggressive about it since I started working at the office again instead of from home. I have to beg him to eat. When he doesn't eat, he will beg me for whatever I'm eating. God forbid I have a tortilla chip in my hand, because if I'm not careful I'll pull back a stump.

This morning Grady was given some kibble and fresh water. He turned up his nose at it, then walked over to the sliding glass door to look outside. When I looked over at him a minute later he was licking it. A lot. Grady will also lick the refrigerator, the floor, and any condensation off a standing glass full of iced beverage. I have never seen him lick a window before.

I'm a little concerned at this behavior. Yes, Flea has given Grady quite a bit of stress with his presence alone, but as far as anyone can tell nothing has really become of it. I'm thinking another round of Feliway is in order soon if his odd behavior continues.

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In other news, I am downloading the trial version of Microsoft's Songsmith software. There are too many songs in my head that can't wait for me to become a piano virtuoso. Don't let their cheezy infomercial put you off -- the program itself is actually pretty cool.

Ethan asked me yesterday if I was up for a gig on Sunday. I said sure, the rest of his band said okay, and then he had to quickly throw together a rehearsal. He then said that it would be tonight, and late. Given the series of events that happened this afternoon I don't think I'll be at that show on Sunday. Around 4 he texted me that the garage door wouldn't shut and he had to leave. I called him right back and he was already on the freeway -- why he didn't call me when he realized it wouldn't close I have no idea. I thought I'd have to go home early to fix it, but Ken stepped in. He's one of those people who does the 6 - 3 shift, so he was available. Problem solved.

Ethan wouldn't open the garage if he didn't need something out of it. In this case it was his amplifier. I guess I won't be at any rehearsal. Not that I'm upset, but man... what is it about humans that makes communication so difficult? Grady is better at this than we are, and he speaks NO LANGUAGE KNOWN TO MAN. True facts.

Anyway, the door is fixed, I'm at home, and things are okay. If anyone is interested, Ethan will be playing the early show at The Skylark Cafe this Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll be performing with him or not.

( In case you've been skimming )

This will be the third year in a row I have not bothered to put up a tree. I just never felt the need to once Garret left. I have a fake tree that I used to like a lot, but now that Grady is part of my life I can't really use it (he likes to chew on the lower branches and then barf 'em up).

One year I draped a green sheet over my easel and then tied my Pikachu stuffed toy to the top of it. Wrapped the whole thing with some lights and it was good.

I get more joy this time of year out of donating to charity than anything else, but nobody likes getting a card that says "I donated to charity in your name." That's one less piece of loot, dammit! Where's my Vuitton bag I asked for?

If you are enjoying your holidays, I salute you. It really is a nice time of year. People are nicer to each other, and there are things in stores that you can't get any other time of year -- I *love* those things!. I am just going to stay in my cave and watch y'all enjoy yourselves. It's better than getting trampled at the mall or embarrassing myself at a holiday party.

Two weeks ago I put out a lawn waste bag with my garbage can for pickup. The garbage can was emptied, but they left the lawn waste bag, and then the crows pulled it apart. Yay. I ended up having to clean up a mess of birdseed, shredded paper, and weeds, put it in a new trash bag (that was way too small, but I made it fit), and stick THAT back into the garbage can for the next week's pickup. It took up almost the entire can.

The next week we had a small windstorm, so the garbage didn't get taken out. More garbage accrued.

In the meantime, Grady's litter box was in need of a full change -- not just the remove-the-clumps-add-more-litter type, either -- because it was beginning to STINK. There had been no room in the garbage can to do such a thing, but I was left no choice. I needed to call Waste Management about putting out an extra can.

The girl on the phone was nice and answered all my questions, but informed me that my garbage collection had been canceled at the end of August. Because I had paid my bill eight days late, online, the service wasn't automatically reinstated. Apparently it is policy that online payers have to make a phone call to get their service back. It sucks, but oh well. I had her restart service and arrange to have a second can picked up.

But how did my garbage get picked up all in all the weeks since? The girl wasn't sure, because once my service was terminated THEY REPO'D MY TRASH CAN. Suddenly things made a lot of sense. For your convenience, I will recap:

Can you see where the mystery suddenly became clear? For the last two months the garbage men have been emptying my can and hers, believing that both of them were hers. This is the ONLY reason they have been picking up my trash. The new can was because I had taken hers not realizing that it wasn't her son that took my can, it was Waste Management. She hasn't bothered to come by to talk to me about it. If anything, she's been avoiding me, and probably because I confronted her son about the damn cans to begin with instead of coming to her first -- something that wouldn't have happened if she was ever home.

I have garbage service again, and that's all I really care about right now. That, and Grady having a spanky clean litter box.

Well, except for the hook on the back, I got a dozen santas done. I just have to bake them, figure out the backing, and bake them again.

Ken made me a signature cane out of clay. It has my initials: WCB. Now all I have to think of is a name for my Etsy store that uses those initials. So far all I can really think of are things like:

Wayward Cat Bellowing
Where Clay Bakes
Wanton Clay Baking
Whipsy Candy Boodle

...yeah, I can't figure it out. I want something a little "out there" that nobody in their right mind would name their store, but I don't want to alienate any buyers.

Wicked Clay Baubles? I dunno. I like the bellowing cat one. It reminds me of Grady.

I went home Monday feeling so queasy I could hardly function. It didn't help that my officemate was wearing a fragrance that made my nausea worse. He must wear it every day -- he was genuinely surprised I asked him what that smell was.

I originally thought "food poisoning," but that usually clears up after a purge. After the third trip to the bathroom I ruled that out. I must have a stomach bug. Today I worked from home.

I haven't eaten much over the last 48 hours. Saltines, some Sprite, maybe some Gatorade. Tonight I felt well enough to eat half of a turkey sandwich, and now it's sitting like a rock in my gut. Ugh. At least I'm not vomiting (knock on wood).

Grady has been by my side constantly during all this. He's such a good boy.

There's more stress-inducing crap that has made my recovery slow, but I won't go into it here. It's hard enough to focus on getting things uploaded to my Etsy store: wynnec.etsy.com

I should be back at the office on Wednesday. Should.

If you donated to Grady's vet fund and have not received a sculpture from me, please do not fret -- I miscalculated and had to go back into production mode. They should go out soon. In the meantime please take solace in knowing that your generosity is much appreciated, even as Grady plays his nightly OH NO I'M IN THE WRONG ROOM game like his tail is on fire.

Next weekend is going to be a little crazy. I am participating in the town Junk In Your Trunk rummage sale at Juanita Beach this Saturday. There is so much to get rid of... I had no idea. I've been decluttering this house with a little more determination for the last couple of years and managed to fill up half of my garage with furniture, knicknacks, dinnerware, and other items I haven't used in ages AND a bunch of stuff that could only be what Garret abandoned when he moved out. The things I think I can cash in on are working their way to eBay and Craigslist. The rest will be at the JIYT rummage sale.

A while back I submitted my resume through a site called JobFox. Last week I got an email letting me know that as a "member" I was entitled to a free resume critique, no strings attached. The good news: I am a qualified program manager. The bad news: My resume doesn't express that as clearly as I think it does. According to my resume I'm a "doer" and not an "achiever." This makes sense to me, actually. I've been contracting for so long I still write my resume like a contractor. "This is what I did at my last job. This is what I did at the job before that. This is what I can do." instead of "I'm an awesome manager because I took action and made changes that people benefited from. Let me tell you how cool that is." It probably doesn't help that I'm still on the lean side of experience in my new management career and have been relying on an old resume format. I gotta get on that.

It was a nice weekend. There was a strange smell coming from one of the rooms I don't go in very often and I tracked it down and REMOVED IT. It is now in the garage. Don't ask.

I paid a bunch of bills. Now it's time to tighten the belt again.