HomeNovember 5, 1997
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early to riseearly isn't it?The thing about jet lag for me is I can't seem to predict when I will need to sleep and wake. My cycles don't seem related to specific time zones. So this morning I was wide awake at 4:30. I ate a slice of cold pizza and read the LL Bean catalog until I drowsed again for awhile until 6:00ish. I finally got up and went to Dunkin Donuts for a bagel,egg, and cheese sandwich and a small dark roast coffee black. Not only do Americans still look foreign to me, but a substantial number of the ones who frequent Dunkies smell like aftershave. They all must wear the same one. Not one I could stand to be married to... six impossible things before breakfastI left for the shelter by 7:30 and was there plenty early. Katrina was still feeding the beasts their wet food, so there weren't any dishes or litterboxes for me to wash yet. There was, however, a backlog of laundry so I started up a load in the washer and put away the stuff that was in the dryer. For once I was at work before Roberta. This is a milestone of some kind. By the time Roberta arrived, I had done three loads of laundry and washed one litter box plus about 6 dishes. I was practically hovering over Katrina waiting for dishes to wash because I knew I'd be behind soon enough. those workaholic washing machine bluesRoberta and Katrina both cleaned slowly and kept me supplied with dishes and litterboxes slowly so I had plenty of time to dry things and put them away between times. I did the sick room and the rabies room laundry. I bleached the rabies room dishes and litterboxes and the sick room stuff too. Then suddenly I was behind again. Dishes were piling up. Litterboxes were piling up. Roberta wanted a specific medium size litter box washed right away. I didn't hear the washing machine stop. Roberta suddenly asks if she can take the load out of the washer and start up another one. I start apologizing. A few minutes later the laundry hamper is full again. Roberta says "It looks like I haven't done anything." Hmmm, since I've been doing the laundry this statement is confusing to me. Since I'm a workaholic, I stop and check in with my higher power (what exactly somebody who has graduated past the Catholic God visualizes as a higher power is a topic for a whole 'nother week's worth of entries). I see I am responding to pressure. I relax. I turn back to the dishes and slowly squirt more dish detergent on them, watching the green squiggles form patterns and then turn to suds when I turn the water on . I get through the next half hour and then the next half hour and so on... I have this intense moment of clarity... it passes... catsthat is why we're here, right?Have I forgotten the point is not the laundry? It's the cats! That's why I do this. Cats. Lots of 'em. ElliotElliot is still having diarrhea and vomiting. Before I left, Eileen thought he was coming down with the bug that had been going around. But now, 3 weeks later, he's still having problems. It could be stress from being back in the shelter again. First he gets adopted by someone who ups and dies on him and he's back. Then he goes to someone who gets evicted and he's back again. Heck, I'd have diarrhea and vomiting too if were him! adoptionsWhile I was gone, Shanti got adopted.Shanti!!!!! She actually purred for the woman who adopted her. No one had ever heard Shanti purr before, not even when secure in the knowledge that her beanie baby was safe from other cats or shelter volunteers. Who knows what chemistry drew her to this woman. Apparently she bit the woman on first encounter and then began rubbing against her and purring like crazy. Go Shanti! Today the woman who is adopting Victoria, the diabetic cat, came to pick her up and get instructions on how to give her insulin, etc. The woman is diabetic herself. She saw the ad seeking a special home for Victoria and came in last weekend to see her. They fell in love. She couldn't wait to get Victoria home. happy catsJaguar is happy to see me, and much much mellower than he's ever been. We have a new cat named Thumby who has thumbs. He has the biggest feet I've ever seen on a cat, and we've had some bigfoot cats there. He's adorable. He'll find a home fast. Slinky is much happier now that Roberta is done with her computer course and back on a regular shift. He still expects her to bring steak and cheese subs though... She didn't bring him anything today. picturesI picked up the Hokkaido pictures this afternoon. I'm disappointed in them. They don't quiet catch the drama of the stormy skies -they just look gray - and the fall colors seem muted. Maybe I'm expecting too much - I want the pictures to be exactly like the experience. I'm putting together a trip diary and photo album but it'll take a few days - especially at the jet-lagged pace I'm moving at today. I scanned in a few sample pics tonight. Those of you who can't wait for the trip report, can sneak preview them:
I shot ten plus rolls of film, so culling through to find the good ones is a bit of a chore. Then there's culling the interesting parts of the diary to go with them. Could be a long while. | |
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