(no subject)
Hi. Still actually check this thing occasionally.
Resume Revamp
Complete revamp, now actually with an objective section.
http://www.visi.com/~epowell/resum…
Comments welcome.
http://www.visi.com/~epowell/resum…
Comments welcome.
RIP: Lucy ca.1995-2009
Lucy... Lucy-fur... little mouse... Jenn's cat, who adopted me as soon as we met.
First real memory I have of her, she wandered up to me, and started pawing at my knee. (She was declawed, I have no doubt she would've been shredding my jeans otherwise.)
Second memory, not very long after that one: Jenn and I had driven from Atlanta to her grandmother's (where Lucy was staying at the time). Since we drove straight through, we were both extremely tired. Jenn's grandmother gave us her bed for the night, which we gratefully accepted. Now, this was just after we had been robbed in our own apartment in Atlanta, so we were a bit on-edge. We're getting comfortable and falling asleep... when *WHAM* the bedroom door slams open. Jenn gasps, then starts laughing. I turn over and look... and there's Lucy, silhouetted in the doorframe. She looks around a bit, then wanders off.
Typical cat.
She was never a cuddly cat... I'd pick her up to get fuzz-therapy, but she'd almost immediately struggle to get out of my arms. And then paw at my leg for petting.
She'd regularly sleep next to my head while I was sleeping. If it was chilly, she'd paw at my blankets, demanding that she'd get under them. I'm just a heat source, after all...
There was that (fortunately brief) period of time where she'd like to sniff my eyes while I was trying to sleep. I'd get a fisheyed-lens view of HUGE CAT NOSE if I opened my eyes.
She was a damn good cat. Never annoying, always quiet... always cat like.
I was starting to come to terms with the fact that she was getting old, though. Never very active, she was getting even more sedintary. Then there was the issue with her getting nosebleeds in late September, before I went on vacation. I took her to the vet, they prescribed some pills, and I arranged to have her boarded while I was gone.
I don't know what it was... the medication, the stress of being boarded for a week... but she wasn't the same when I brought her home. She didn't sleep in bed anymore... in fact, she spent most of her time in the bathroom, where the litterbox is. She started having problems walking. She started having problems keeping herself clean.
She was thirteen and a half... a good age for a cat. I made the hard decision to have her put down on October 17th.
I got her ashes back... I still need to figure out what to do with them. I don't want to get a mass-produced urn or other vessel... she meant a lot to me, and I'd like something that represents that.
Nearly a month later, and I'm working on moving on. Its quieter in the house, which is odd, since she wasn't a very loud cat. Ricky has gotten a lot more cuddly and needy, which is to be expected. I'm torn about getting another cat... Ricky really does need company, but I don't know where I'll be in six months, and having to work an additional cat (or two) into the mix doesn't seem like a good idea. I figure that, if the universe wants me to have another cat, it'll drop one on me (like it did with Ricky.)
First real memory I have of her, she wandered up to me, and started pawing at my knee. (She was declawed, I have no doubt she would've been shredding my jeans otherwise.)
Second memory, not very long after that one: Jenn and I had driven from Atlanta to her grandmother's (where Lucy was staying at the time). Since we drove straight through, we were both extremely tired. Jenn's grandmother gave us her bed for the night, which we gratefully accepted. Now, this was just after we had been robbed in our own apartment in Atlanta, so we were a bit on-edge. We're getting comfortable and falling asleep... when *WHAM* the bedroom door slams open. Jenn gasps, then starts laughing. I turn over and look... and there's Lucy, silhouetted in the doorframe. She looks around a bit, then wanders off.
Typical cat.
She was never a cuddly cat... I'd pick her up to get fuzz-therapy, but she'd almost immediately struggle to get out of my arms. And then paw at my leg for petting.
She'd regularly sleep next to my head while I was sleeping. If it was chilly, she'd paw at my blankets, demanding that she'd get under them. I'm just a heat source, after all...
There was that (fortunately brief) period of time where she'd like to sniff my eyes while I was trying to sleep. I'd get a fisheyed-lens view of HUGE CAT NOSE if I opened my eyes.
She was a damn good cat. Never annoying, always quiet... always cat like.
I was starting to come to terms with the fact that she was getting old, though. Never very active, she was getting even more sedintary. Then there was the issue with her getting nosebleeds in late September, before I went on vacation. I took her to the vet, they prescribed some pills, and I arranged to have her boarded while I was gone.
I don't know what it was... the medication, the stress of being boarded for a week... but she wasn't the same when I brought her home. She didn't sleep in bed anymore... in fact, she spent most of her time in the bathroom, where the litterbox is. She started having problems walking. She started having problems keeping herself clean.
She was thirteen and a half... a good age for a cat. I made the hard decision to have her put down on October 17th.
I got her ashes back... I still need to figure out what to do with them. I don't want to get a mass-produced urn or other vessel... she meant a lot to me, and I'd like something that represents that.
Nearly a month later, and I'm working on moving on. Its quieter in the house, which is odd, since she wasn't a very loud cat. Ricky has gotten a lot more cuddly and needy, which is to be expected. I'm torn about getting another cat... Ricky really does need company, but I don't know where I'll be in six months, and having to work an additional cat (or two) into the mix doesn't seem like a good idea. I figure that, if the universe wants me to have another cat, it'll drop one on me (like it did with Ricky.)
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sad
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(no subject)
Yeah, a lot of shit in the past month. I'll write about it at some point.
In the meantime, for
bramblekite: The Scotch MegaEgg. The bacon wrapping is a bit overkill, I think, but... *shrug*
In the meantime, for
bramblekite: The Scotch MegaEgg. The bacon wrapping is a bit overkill, I think, but... *shrug*-
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blah
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(no subject)
Took Lucy to the vet yesterday, get her checked up and talk to the doc about her nosebleeds. Of course, she didn't have one all of yesterday, so it may have just been a temporary thing. She's on some pills for a couple weeks, anyway. Weighed in at 8.6 pounds, which is about where she's always been... I guess she's doing well for a 14 year old cat.
I also discovered that Ricky can't handle being ALL ALONE for even a half hour. I get back from the vet, and he's all puffed up and growly and completely kerfluffled that he was ALL ALONE!!!!1!. So now I'm going to have to get both of them boarded while I'm off on vacation... was only going to have Lucy boarded, since she needs her pills, and I can't do that from thousands of miles away.
Stupid, expensive fuzzy bastards. Love 'em all the same.
Notes to self on things I need to do in the next 32 hours:
- Pack (clothes, swimtrunks, towel, passport, meds, stuff)
- Clean out and prep my laptop bag
- See about getting a couple more nice shirts
-See about getting a cheap, smaller camera... don't want to lug around the D70 this time
I also discovered that Ricky can't handle being ALL ALONE for even a half hour. I get back from the vet, and he's all puffed up and growly and completely kerfluffled that he was ALL ALONE!!!!1!. So now I'm going to have to get both of them boarded while I'm off on vacation... was only going to have Lucy boarded, since she needs her pills, and I can't do that from thousands of miles away.
Stupid, expensive fuzzy bastards. Love 'em all the same.
Notes to self on things I need to do in the next 32 hours:
- Pack (clothes, swimtrunks, towel, passport, meds, stuff)
- Clean out and prep my laptop bag
- See about getting a couple more nice shirts
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(no subject)
Well, that was a new experience: a cat with a nosebleed.
It was Lucy, my eldest, and I grow more concerned about her health as time goes on. The bleeding was from only one nostril, and stopped on its own, but its a bit worrisome when you cat sneezes and blood sprays everywhere.
Time to schedule a checkup with the vet, methinks.
This isn't what I wanted just before going into a cold medicine-enhanced sleep.
It was Lucy, my eldest, and I grow more concerned about her health as time goes on. The bleeding was from only one nostril, and stopped on its own, but its a bit worrisome when you cat sneezes and blood sprays everywhere.
Time to schedule a checkup with the vet, methinks.
This isn't what I wanted just before going into a cold medicine-enhanced sleep.
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worried
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The week ahead
Just got a couple more books: "Zoe's Tale" and "The Android's Dream", both by John Scalzi. Damned bookstore didn't have "The Last Colony", which is what I went in for... bah. Well, these two will be devoured in short order.
Thursday evening, I'll be going to the Eden Prairie AMC theater to see "Plan 9 From Outer Space", with nationally simulcast riffing from the guys at RiffTrax. http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Comedy/R…
Nothing much in-between. Work. Beer. Sleep.
Thursday evening, I'll be going to the Eden Prairie AMC theater to see "Plan 9 From Outer Space", with nationally simulcast riffing from the guys at RiffTrax. http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Comedy/R…
Nothing much in-between. Work. Beer. Sleep.
The weekend
On Friday, after leaving work a bit later than I had planned, and then fighting with rush-hour traffic, I took the light-rail train up to the Metrodome to see my first (and only) Twins game there.
The Metrodome feels a lot smaller than it looks on TV... I suspect that's due to it having a roof. The seats are also much smaller than is comfortable, which is probably going to blow out any chance of me going to a Vikings game (unless I get some smarmy box seat somehow).
The game was fun... wasn't a home run derby, but we had some solid pitching, and the Indians defense was abysmal. It really got fun when the umpires reversed a call (to our benefit), and the Indians manager got into a heated argument with the umpire, and got thrown out. Everyone was on their feet for that.
I realise now: there's the game, and there's the other entertainment that goes on during the game.
I was on the lower deck, 20 rows up from the field, just a bit down the first base line from home plate... just past the end of the foul ball netting. Had a couple fouls go 5 feet over my head... no chance of catching them, but it was a bit unnerving. Taking a hardball to the face isn't my idea of a good time.
So, yeah, I had fun. There were some annoyances, but it didn't detract too much from the evening. Except for the yutz sitting right in front of me who would stand up for most everything, entirely blocking my view. And the wait to get space on a train back out of the city... I mean, its good that people use the light-rail line, but MetroTransit could have arranged things better. Put a few more trains in, or something. Took me an hour to get space on a train (one that didn't cram everyone in like sardines), and even then I still had to stand for the half-hour jaunt back to where I parked.
Ah well. Bitch moan kvetch. I still enjoyed myself.
The rest of the weekend was inadvertently spent sleeping. My brain has a nagging feeling that today is Sunday...
The Metrodome feels a lot smaller than it looks on TV... I suspect that's due to it having a roof. The seats are also much smaller than is comfortable, which is probably going to blow out any chance of me going to a Vikings game (unless I get some smarmy box seat somehow).
The game was fun... wasn't a home run derby, but we had some solid pitching, and the Indians defense was abysmal. It really got fun when the umpires reversed a call (to our benefit), and the Indians manager got into a heated argument with the umpire, and got thrown out. Everyone was on their feet for that.
I realise now: there's the game, and there's the other entertainment that goes on during the game.
I was on the lower deck, 20 rows up from the field, just a bit down the first base line from home plate... just past the end of the foul ball netting. Had a couple fouls go 5 feet over my head... no chance of catching them, but it was a bit unnerving. Taking a hardball to the face isn't my idea of a good time.
So, yeah, I had fun. There were some annoyances, but it didn't detract too much from the evening. Except for the yutz sitting right in front of me who would stand up for most everything, entirely blocking my view. And the wait to get space on a train back out of the city... I mean, its good that people use the light-rail line, but MetroTransit could have arranged things better. Put a few more trains in, or something. Took me an hour to get space on a train (one that didn't cram everyone in like sardines), and even then I still had to stand for the half-hour jaunt back to where I parked.
Ah well. Bitch moan kvetch. I still enjoyed myself.
The rest of the weekend was inadvertently spent sleeping. My brain has a nagging feeling that today is Sunday...
Obligatory Birthday Post
Okay, so I woke up this morning not in a bad mood. Had 12 hours of sleep, was okay with realising that I just turned 33 (or 0x21 in hexadecimal... you're only 0x21 once...)
I get to work, and almost everything was broken. Literally. Fortunately, it didn't affect the platform I'm stuck with terribly much, so I just started working on my own projects. Which stubbornly refused to work like they should.
Then I get a call from my brother: "Happy Birthday. Mom's in the ER." Buh, wha? She tripped on a porch step and landed on her face. She's fine... got superglued back together.
So I go on with my day, getting more and more frustrated with my projects not working, and dealing with people who should know better than to email/phone me directly... I mean, I've been telling them not to for years now, we have a competent team to take care of their problems and questions... but nooooo, I have to be the one to wipe their collective ass...
I'm sitting at the bar now, not in a good mood, and trying to salvage the rest of my birthday. At least I'm avoiding the debacle of last year, where I tried to get people out to celebrate with me, and only a couple people showed up. Tonight, I expect nothing but to sit at my regular bar with some gin.
I get to work, and almost everything was broken. Literally. Fortunately, it didn't affect the platform I'm stuck with terribly much, so I just started working on my own projects. Which stubbornly refused to work like they should.
Then I get a call from my brother: "Happy Birthday. Mom's in the ER." Buh, wha? She tripped on a porch step and landed on her face. She's fine... got superglued back together.
So I go on with my day, getting more and more frustrated with my projects not working, and dealing with people who should know better than to email/phone me directly... I mean, I've been telling them not to for years now, we have a competent team to take care of their problems and questions... but nooooo, I have to be the one to wipe their collective ass...
I'm sitting at the bar now, not in a good mood, and trying to salvage the rest of my birthday. At least I'm avoiding the debacle of last year, where I tried to get people out to celebrate with me, and only a couple people showed up. Tonight, I expect nothing but to sit at my regular bar with some gin.
Joey's political thought of the night
Bipartisanship shouldn't be between two parties.
It should be between the Executive branch, which (theoretically) represents the whole of the nation, and the Legislative branch, which only represents various regions.
The Legisvative branch is more concerns with providing only for their regions (and, cynically, ensuring they get re-elected), while the Executive branch is concerned with addressing the concerns and goals of the nation as a whole.
And the two ideas are, sadly, nearly always incompatible...
It should be between the Executive branch, which (theoretically) represents the whole of the nation, and the Legislative branch, which only represents various regions.
The Legisvative branch is more concerns with providing only for their regions (and, cynically, ensuring they get re-elected), while the Executive branch is concerned with addressing the concerns and goals of the nation as a whole.
And the two ideas are, sadly, nearly always incompatible...