I love this video. I’m trying this out next chance I get – but watch *me* get my face clawed to hell.
VICTORY!
I know I’ve blogged about this before, I just can’t find the original post from like two years (or so) ago right now. But there was this book I read in eighth grade, and it’s been haunting me – it wasn’t even a book I particularly loved at the time, but I keep remembering the cover (a soldier holding a baby) and wondering what the title was, who wrote it, wishing I could read it again.
Well, today I did it. I knew there were catpeople in the book, and today I remembered there were telepaths, so I googled “book telepaths catpeople” (after many other combinations, like “science fiction catpeople” which was NO help at all), and found it: Daniel Keyes Moran’s Emerald Eyes. I even found a used copy in good condition on Amazon Marketplace for $3.43, so I’ll be reading it soon. The site that came up in Google, and kindly confirmed the book, lundblog, seems to recommend the book pretty highly. Which I’m glad to see, since honestly I was assuming that whenever I figured out what the book was called and re-read it, it would suck, since I’d originally read it in eighth grade, and I think I’ve changed quite a bit since then, and I was more easily amused by shitty books. (For instance, back then, I read V.C. Andrews voraciously. Nowadays, I, uh, normally disavow any knowledge of her opus. I mean, they were incest stories, for fuck’s sake. UGH.)
The reason I absolutely had to figure out today what the book was, was last night, out of nowhere, I remembered one of my classmates from eighth grade shared a name with the author, and that gave me incentive to track the book down. Unfortunately I was completely wrong, as there really is no similarity between “Daniel Keyes Moran” and “Amin.” (So, yes, there was much googling involving different combinations of “science fiction,” “book,” “author,” “catpeople,” and “Amin,” and none of them were helpful, really. Remembering there were telepaths was really the key.) Although, now that I think about it, I think I read the book in between classes, and Amin gave me alot of shit for reading a book that had a soldier holding a baby on its cover, so maybe that’s why I linked his name with the cover. I don’t even remember why he was giving me shit for the cover, either, just that he was.
Also, from all the googling today, I happen to know some of what Amin’s done with himself since eighth grade, and I have to say – divinity school? I would never have guessed. He’s also apparently living in my town. The more people I realize that I know and they live in Durham, the more I’m amazed. I mean, I know on one level that it’s a small world, but sometimes it really hits home more than others.
Speaking of old acquaintances, I ran into one coming out of the grocery store as I was going in last night, after work. It could have been awkward and painful, but luckily it wasn’t, and we just passed each other with no to-do. I’m half-certain that’s not the last I’ll hear of her, though, since she’s back in town now. I’m a little anxious, I’ll admit it, and probably with no cause – but there’s a potential there for drama, and I don’t want any. We’ll see.
I don’t normally like when people call early on the weekends – I just think it’s kind of rude, unless it’s a pre-arranged call (like, you and I agreed you’d call me at this ungodly hour, for whatever reason), or important. But if it can wait until later, if you just want to chat, or if you’re a telemarketer, call me later. (Actually, since I’m on the do-not-call list, if you’re a telemarketer, don’t call me ever. Muhahahah! Yes!)
But Friday was a little rough, and yesterday I was fucking miserably ill. (And I don’t know yet if today will be smooth sailing or not – it’s not as bad as yesterday, but right now it feels like it could go either way.) And I’ve had a hard time sleeping, because Greg’s out of town. So I’m especially not in the mood for assholes waking me up.
But someone called this morning – someone I don’t know, since they’re not in my little SIM card phonebook thingy, and their name didn’t show up. So of course, even though they woke me up, I screened it, so I could listen to their message and know who I’m dealing with and what they want before we actually get into it.
They didn’t leave a message.
Are you fucking kidding me? If it’s important enough to wake my ass up early Sunday morning, isn’t it important enough to leave a goddamn message? Seething. Hate. They better not ever call back, or they will be getting an earful. (I’d call them back and bless them out, but I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt – maybe they hit my voicemail, realized how godawful early it was, and hung up, not realizing that at that point, in my opinion, it was ruder not to leave a message.)
Showers are pretty awesome. And I have a confession to make: I actually feel awesome and full of energy and I’ve been in a good mood the past couple of days, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’ve been exercising in the morning. Part of me wishes that weren’t the case, since I hate exercise. It would be a lot easier to bitch about exercising if I didn’t have to admit that, actually, yeah, I’ve been feeling better, have had way more energy than “normal,” and am in a good mood all day because of exercise. But I still hate it.
I guess we’ve had Chalupa for almost three years now? Two and a half? Anyway, she’s starting to get much better, in terms of skittishness and nervousness, with me and Greg anyway. (And with certain people – she loves Danny, for some reason. I mean, Danny is a loveable guy, but Chalupa is a big fat old scaredy cat, and I don’t understand why she will brazenly climb on Danny’s lap, when she runs away from everyone else when they merely look at her, but there it is. It’s pretty cute, actually.) Greg told me she let him bodyslam her on the couch the other day, and she not only didn’t run away afterwards but let him continue to pet her! That is a huge deal for Chalupa. She’s really coming out of her shell, and it’s very cool. Anyway, since she’s spending less time hiding and being nervous, I think we’re starting to see more of her actual personality, and she is a funny little lady – she cracks me up. She’s also started…well, I consider it “actually hanging out with us,” rather than “merely managing to stay in the room with us and not bolt.” I was watching tv the other day, and she hopped up on the mushroom and stared at the screen, like she was watching it with me. But when I reached for the camera, she hopped down, of course. But she’s watched tv since then, and I’ve managed to tape it. (I know cats will sometimes watch television, but this is the first cat *I’ve* had that’s done it.) Her favorite, so far, seems to be Planet Earth, and I have to wonder if it’s because of the animals, or what. I’ve also been watching Dark Shadows and Danger Man lately, and she’s not really into those so much. Anyway, here’s Chalupa watching Planet Earth with us.
GAGG: 12.2 miles I must have been hauling more ass than I thought – I did 1.85 miles today, in 30 minutes. I think that’s a record for me. Now I need a shower. But first – the first video finished uploading. With no further ado, here is Skeeter’s Reality Show. Episode 12: Skeeter covers “Dead is the New Alive.”
It’s Friday, so I ought to be posting another episode of Skeeter’s (boring-ass) Reality Show. (I mean, really. I think me and Niku’s kitten, Zoe, are the only people watching this*. Unfortunately for you, you are reading the blog of not only a spinster-in-training** but a crazy-cat-lady-in-training, so I’m going to keep posting these sporadically.)
But I’m still in the process of loading those videos to Youtube and shit, so I’ll just drop you this link where you can download the video Greg and I made in honor of John Green’s birthday, where we blenderize a cake (with ice cream and milk, natch, but it wouldn’t work without it) and eat it. It’s about eight minutes long, eight-ish, thereabouts, and I do drop a couple naughty words, and you can get it here. You might also see some of it on Brotherhood 2.0 (there’s another birthday/nerdfighter-related vlog due today). I figure I’m not ruining the surprise at this point, so it’s safe to post here.
Alright, now I’m going to bend Youtube to my will. (Watch it refuse to upload my vids, now that I’ve typed that.) I’ll be back later with some *riveting* cat videos. I know you can hardly wait.
*Did I just call Zoe a “people”? Yes, I did. And, well, yeah, I guess I do think of cats as little peoples. (Frequently grumpy little peoples, at that.) I guess I’m well on my way to crazy-cat-lady-hood. Sweet.
**I guess since I’m married I can’t really ever be a true spinster, so maybe I should say “honorary spinster”? “Spinster at heart”? Except that I don’t feel like changing the blogname again. Yay, laziness!
I finally bound off the Luna Moth Shawl! And weaved in the ends! (Usually it takes me a while to get around to that – I don’t know why I hate weaving in ends, I just do.) Now all it needs is a good blocking – but I don’t like blocking. Plus, unblocked, the scallop points look sort of ruffly, and I kind of like that. But if I blocked it, it would probably open up a bit, and be a little larger, which I’d also like. Anyway, here it is, on the dining room floor, and the top of the shawl is actually at the bottom of the picture, because I am a photographic genius. (I tried flipping it, but it just looked upside down to me, or like I was looking at a ceiling instead of a floor – I think it’s because I know where the light source is, and how it hits the floor, and so I can’t see that picture and not know how it’s supposed to be oriented.)
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It’s my first shawl*, and I love it!
*With the exception of a scrap yarn shawl that I gave to my littlest sister ages ago, and it really shouldn’t count.
