Dorothy Update

on January 29, 2004

Dorothy had her stitches removed on Tuesday, and her energy level has since reached an all-time high. I think the stitches sort of pulled at her skin a bit, and kept her from being too much of a daredevil.

Despite our constant vigilance in applying the bad-tasting cream to her wound, Dorothy still managed to pull at her stitches. She gave herself a small sore, but it seems to be healing nicely, so nothing to be too concerned about. The kitten is definitely happy to be able to wash herself properly again, and her coat has regained its phenomenal softness.

So, the kitten’s all recovered, and the spaying is behind us. What’s next? Well, some of our houseplants have managed to survive Dorothy so far, and she is having none of that!

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Movies

on January 27, 2004

Over the last couple of days I have actually had the pleasure of watching a couple of movies. I don’t think I’ve watched that many movies in that short of a time span since I was 17.

The first one was Adaptation, with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, amoung others. It was done by the same guy who made Being John Malkovich, and was a little on the weird side in much the same vien. While the story is quite hard to explain, it was quite engrossiing. The acting was wonderful, and it benefitted from being very different than the usual formula piece of filmmaking. Quite enjoyable.

The second movie was Raging Bull as it was something I had wanted to see for quite some time. Probably the best presentation of boxing ever done. It captures both the artistry and brutality of the sweet science. Another anti-hero that made De Niro and Scorsese famous, the film does not shy away from the reality that is the life of Jake La Motta. Very well done.

All About Skates

on January 26, 2004

So, tonight my Brownies and I are working on our Winter Adventure badge, in advance of our skating sleepover this weekend. Any one of several Winter activities will help you earn this badge, including skiing and snowshoeing. We’re doing skating. As part of the skating component, you need to learn how to take care of your skates.

I have a confession to make. I am a very poor choice when it comes to teaching our youth how to take care of their skates. I own a pair of figure skates, which I got brand-new for Christmas 1995. I took the skates to Ottawa, and used them on the Rideau Canal twice. After the second use, I failed to properly dry the blades off, and now they’re rusted. I haven’t repaired or used them in 8 years, and since repairing them costs several times more than a skate rental, I’m not doing it now.

Of course, the beauty of life, 8 years later, is that you can use the internet to make up for your lack of knowledge in almost any area. After a 90-minute crash course I know how often blades should be sharpened, boots polished, and so forth. I also know that the oldest pair of skates known to humans are about 5000 years old, made of bone, and were found at the bottom of a lake in Switzerland. I think that the reason that they’ve survived this long is that bone doesn’t rust when not dried off properly. :-)

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Bad to the Bone

on January 23, 2004

Before Dorothy was spayed, I laboured under a delusion. This delusion was that getting her fixed would result in a calmer, better pet. Yeah, right.

Now that it’s been a week since her surgery, Dorothy is pretty much back to normal, and then some. Examples of her recent exploits include an empty toilet-paper roll in the downstairs bathroom, some injured houseplants, and bite marks on our toes. She’s also eating more, chewing her stitches, and knocking over anything in her path.

When we got her spayed, we also got an ID tattoo in her left ear. You never know what will happen, and since she was sedated anyways, it was the time to do it. We think that now that she has a tattoo and a scar, she considers herself quite the Tough Guy. ‘Bad to the bone’ is her motto, and she’s out to create as much disarray in our otherwise tranquil suburban enclave as possible. Meee-ow!

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This and That

on January 20, 2004

I’m amazed at the cooling capacity of the new fridge. The spacious interior, with drawers that open and shelves that hold are a beautiful thing. I will not miss the old appliance when it finally takes its leave on Friday.

I’m trying to get back into the swing of things at the gym after New Years, but the problem is that the gym is the worst place to be in January. All those resolutions are valiantly trying to be kept, and that clogs things up for everyone else. Whenever I’ve started any kind of exercise habit, and believe me I’ve had to restart a number of times over the years, the best time is during the summer. The gym is empty, there’s plenty of light which gets you in the energetic mood, and all those New Years resolutions have been given up for another year. I think we should have June resolutions. Much easier to do it by fiscal year instead of calendar year.

My New Office

on January 20, 2004

So, I’ve been in my new office at work for over a month now, and I think I like it. For one thing, it has its own heat controls, which is a huge thing for me. For another, it’s actually bigger than my old office. Finally, it has a real door, which affords me slightly more privacy.

There are a few drawbacks to my new digs. For one thing, my white board is propped up against my bookshelves, rather than hung on the wall. The facilities people swear they will get to me, but I’m not holding my breath. Also, I am much further from the printer, but I don’t print all that much, so this is not a big deal.

So, the move isn’t all bad after all. And it will be even better once I have my white board mounted to the wall. :-)

The Dorothy Report

on January 18, 2004 1 Comment

Dorothy came home late yesterday morning after being spayed. Yesterday she had much more energy than I would have expected, jumping up on everything. Still, she wasn’t quite herself. Her fur was rough, her mew was plaintive, and she was definitely not very playful.

We did have to thwart her, because she wanted to chew at her stitches. The vet said that if (or, more likely, when) she did this, we had two choices. The first was to put a cone on her head, and the second was to put some bitter-tasting cream around the incision site. We opted for the latter, because it seemed more humane. Unfortunately, she still hasn’t caught on, and will go to lick her wound and then leap back, shaking her head.

Today, Dorothy is more back to normal. She’s eating a ton, and attacking things at will. She’s still holding herself a little funny, but I bet that by Tuesday she’ll be at 100%. Now all I have to worry about is forcing her back into the carrier when it’s time to have her stitches removed. Wish me luck!

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Poor Kitten

on January 15, 2004

Big things are afoot at our house, and none of it’s good news for Dorothy.

First, our new fridge was delivered this morning, which was very exciting for us. However, it was not so exciting for the kitten who was locked in our bedroom for twenty whole minutes, while the new appliance made its way into our kitchen. Jon’s accounts are that Dorothy mewed pathetically, and threw herself bodily against the door. Which is sad, but also kind of funny.

Second, Dorothy is getting spayed tomorrow. This means, in addition to being forced into her carrier and taken to the vet, that we’re leaving her there overnight and they’re doing awful things to her. This also means that she gets no food after 8pm tonight. I am sure that she will be particularly upset when I get up tomorrow morning and feed Tilly, but not her.

Poor Dorothy. It’s very tough being a kitten.

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The New Fridge

on January 15, 2004

The new fridge arrived today, and after much removing of doors and lots of grunting we managed to get the fridge into the kitchen. Modern fridge design is really quite amazing. I took all the food out of the old fridge and put it in the new one, but now we look like we have nothing to eat. This thing is quite cavernous, and I’m very pleased that we have something that won’t destroy everything in the freezer at odd intervals.

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Christmas Lights

on January 13, 2004

So, now that we have a house and we’ve put up Christmas lights, the question of when to take them down arises. My feeling is ASAP, after January 1st. Thus far, due to inclement weather and so forth, we have not taken our lights down. Since most of the other houses in our neighbourhood still have their lights up, I don’t feel so bad.

However, I do draw the line at plugging the lights in. Despite what seeems to me to be common decency at this point, many of our neighbours are still plugging their lights in every evening. Unless you’re holding out for Groundhog Day, the holiday season is over. Although, perhaps they actually believe that ‘Boxing Month’ is a holiday, and that lights are appropriate as long as we can get up to 50% off at The Brick.

So, Season’s Greetings from my neighbours, and a big ‘Bah Humbug’ from me, on January 13!

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