Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Thursday, June 02, 2005
I'm B-A-A-A-A-A-ACK!!!
It is SO good to be back online. It's only been a week but it feels like a year. Our beautiful little laptop will probably have to get shipped back to HP for some warranty work. How the modem got fried, I don't know. But fried it is.
Walter and I spent a good hour on the phone(s) with HP's free support unit: Walter on the cell phone in my left ear, and HP in my right. Such a nice lady, in India. Very, very good, too.
But it was all to no avail. We were supposed to call back after doing backups and getting certain installation etc. CD's together, to do a "repair" run. But Walter knew what to do from there without them. So he and I spent about six hours on the phone, me working on the laptop in safe mode, running diagnostics, reinstalling Windows Professional - only to have it all get knocked out again upon trying to turn on the modem.
So, we ended up fixing the house computer instead. That only took an hour or two.
I read about regular people doing such things all the time. But k the phobe never, ever has. As a phobe, of course, this stressed me out. I had to work to summon up some serious self-control. It was quite an experience. We got through it. Walter was driven to the limits of his endurance, I have no doubt. So was I. I'm proud of us both.
Now I need a little catching-up time. It's been a difficult week. Better now, much. In a day or two I'll get back to you all, and answer your emails too.
It was really nice to see your notes and such, getting back online. So...cheery, and sweet. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Walter and I spent a good hour on the phone(s) with HP's free support unit: Walter on the cell phone in my left ear, and HP in my right. Such a nice lady, in India. Very, very good, too.
But it was all to no avail. We were supposed to call back after doing backups and getting certain installation etc. CD's together, to do a "repair" run. But Walter knew what to do from there without them. So he and I spent about six hours on the phone, me working on the laptop in safe mode, running diagnostics, reinstalling Windows Professional - only to have it all get knocked out again upon trying to turn on the modem.
So, we ended up fixing the house computer instead. That only took an hour or two.
I read about regular people doing such things all the time. But k the phobe never, ever has. As a phobe, of course, this stressed me out. I had to work to summon up some serious self-control. It was quite an experience. We got through it. Walter was driven to the limits of his endurance, I have no doubt. So was I. I'm proud of us both.
Now I need a little catching-up time. It's been a difficult week. Better now, much. In a day or two I'll get back to you all, and answer your emails too.
It was really nice to see your notes and such, getting back online. So...cheery, and sweet. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Having Said That...
This time, I'm going to reprint an article in its entirety. Because of dealing with extraordinary problems due to my own extreme perfume allergy, I was heartened to see this verdict. I don't expect it will stand, at least not in the amount awarded, since we have litigation caps in place almost everywhere now (contrary to popular belief).
I do hope it will make people think twice about things like wearing perfume to the workplace. It's not like you're out on a date. And if someone deliberately and knowingly, spitefully, wears the stuff around an allergic person, I believe they do deserve punitive damages. I've had people do that to me -- back in the days when I still kept trying to work, beating my head against the wall, as those folks sneered at my real and serious health problems. I never faulted most people, who simply could not understand, but tried. I do fault those very few who decided to take malicious actions on purpose. By the way - they're still able to work today.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Radio DJ wins $10.6 million in stink over perfume
WYCD personality claims she was fired after co-worker's scent made her sick.
By David Shepardson / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A former top-ranked radio host, who claims she was sickened by a colleague's use of a perfume described as "romantic, sensual, emotional," won $10.6 million in a federal court lawsuit Monday.
Erin Weber, who was on the air at WYCD-FM (99.5), contends in her suit that she was fired in 2001 after she complained about being exposed to Tresor perfume, which sells for $45.50 a bottle and is described by Lancome as a combination of ingredients such as rose and lilac. She said she was sickened by the fumes, a condition that began when a co-worker exposed her to spilled nail-polish remover in the country music station's Southfield studio.
The perfume was worn, her suit said, by another radio personality, Linda Lee, whose legal surname is Bullock.
"I'm thankful that the jury took so much time to come to the right conclusion," Weber, 43, of Cleveland, said after the verdict. "It's a great day."
The verdict awarded her $7 million in punitive damages, $2 million in mental anguish and emotional distress and $1.6 million for past and future compensation after a six-woman jury in U.S. District Court in Detroit spent eight days deliberating.
Weber claimed exposure to Tresor caused her to lose her voice and take lengthy absences from work. She also said she once "felt an electric shock quell through my entire body" and required heavy medication to combat the effects.
Weber says she been unable to get another job in radio since she was fired in 2001 and claims Infinity Broadcasting "blacklisted her" -- a claim the company rejects. She now works as a freelance voiceover specialist and can be heard on thousands of Otis elevators all over the country, announcing the number of each floor.
Weber, who began work in March 1999, claimed that soon afterward, co-workers spilled "toxic chemicals" in the radio studio and she suffered "raw chemical burns to her airways and sinuses." Her doctor, Martin Charles, "warned (Weber) that further exposure to perfume could even result in death," a brief from her lawyers said.
Her doctor said Weber shouldn't be exposed to co-worker Lee's Tresor perfume.
Weber claimed Lee, who is co-host of the Edwards & Lee afternoon show, intentionally exposed her to her perfume. WYCD said it specifically required Lee to stop wearing any perfume in response to Weber's complaints. The station said in its response that it modified Weber's schedule so they wouldn't come into conduct during shift changes.
In a May 2001 e-mail to the station manager, presented as evidence, Weber said Lee's perfume caused her to lose her voice and that Lee intentionally walked by her at the Downtown Detroit Hoedown -- a popular annual country music festival. "Linda nearly brushed past me and a cloud of perfume trailed behind me," Weber wrote.
"To have brought the perfume with her suggests forward planning. This appears to be a premeditated attack which was entirely unprovoked by me in anyway," Weber wrote. "Please tell me what steps you plan to take to ensure my safety."
Lee did not return a telephone message seeking comment left at the radio station.
Weber's lawyer, Raymond Sterling, said his client doesn't have problems with "natural smells" but does with the chemical basis of the perfume -- a fact he says was confirmed by three doctors at the weeklong civil trial.
"The real reason she was fired is that management didn't make her stop wearing the perfume," Sterling, a Troy lawyer, said. "There are co-workers in all walks of life that don't get along for one reason or another, but it's up to management to handle the situation."
Weber was fired in September 2001.
The station is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. Infinity lawyer Daniel Tukel said in a court filing that the toxic chemicals in the studio were Glade Air Freshener and acetone, used once for manicures during a morning-show "bit."
In October 2000, Weber took a three-month medical leave and returned to work in January 2001.
A spokeswoman for Infinity said the company planned to appeal. "We're disappointed in the verdict and intend to make all the appropriate post-trial motions," said Karen L. Mateo.
Mateo also said the company's lawyers believe the $7 million punitive damages verdict will be reduced to $300,000. Federal law generally caps punitive damages at $300,000 for the claims that Weber brought.
Weber's lawyer said that's likely, but they will try to convince the judge to uphold the full verdict. Weber's lawyer also said they will ask the judge to order Infinity to pay Weber's legal bills, which could hike the verdict.
Weber, who was a 26-year radio veteran, also claimed the station paid her far less than her male co-workers. She was nominated five times for the Country Music Assocation's Personality of the Year award.
The station manager, Lisa Rodman, said in a deposition that Weber "always gave top-level professional work to the station."
Weber previously worked in Cleveland at top-rated WGAR. The station admitted that "(Weber) had both the highest revenues and highest profits of all of WYCD's shows" in 2000, Weber's last full year at the station.
In 2001, frustrated with the "glass ceiling" at the station, Weber said she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The station then retaliated, she said, by taking away an endorsement deal, removing her e-mail account and assigning her a new shift.
---
You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson@ detnews.com.
I do hope it will make people think twice about things like wearing perfume to the workplace. It's not like you're out on a date. And if someone deliberately and knowingly, spitefully, wears the stuff around an allergic person, I believe they do deserve punitive damages. I've had people do that to me -- back in the days when I still kept trying to work, beating my head against the wall, as those folks sneered at my real and serious health problems. I never faulted most people, who simply could not understand, but tried. I do fault those very few who decided to take malicious actions on purpose. By the way - they're still able to work today.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Radio DJ wins $10.6 million in stink over perfume
WYCD personality claims she was fired after co-worker's scent made her sick.
By David Shepardson / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A former top-ranked radio host, who claims she was sickened by a colleague's use of a perfume described as "romantic, sensual, emotional," won $10.6 million in a federal court lawsuit Monday.
Erin Weber, who was on the air at WYCD-FM (99.5), contends in her suit that she was fired in 2001 after she complained about being exposed to Tresor perfume, which sells for $45.50 a bottle and is described by Lancome as a combination of ingredients such as rose and lilac. She said she was sickened by the fumes, a condition that began when a co-worker exposed her to spilled nail-polish remover in the country music station's Southfield studio.
The perfume was worn, her suit said, by another radio personality, Linda Lee, whose legal surname is Bullock.
"I'm thankful that the jury took so much time to come to the right conclusion," Weber, 43, of Cleveland, said after the verdict. "It's a great day."
The verdict awarded her $7 million in punitive damages, $2 million in mental anguish and emotional distress and $1.6 million for past and future compensation after a six-woman jury in U.S. District Court in Detroit spent eight days deliberating.
Weber claimed exposure to Tresor caused her to lose her voice and take lengthy absences from work. She also said she once "felt an electric shock quell through my entire body" and required heavy medication to combat the effects.
Weber says she been unable to get another job in radio since she was fired in 2001 and claims Infinity Broadcasting "blacklisted her" -- a claim the company rejects. She now works as a freelance voiceover specialist and can be heard on thousands of Otis elevators all over the country, announcing the number of each floor.
Weber, who began work in March 1999, claimed that soon afterward, co-workers spilled "toxic chemicals" in the radio studio and she suffered "raw chemical burns to her airways and sinuses." Her doctor, Martin Charles, "warned (Weber) that further exposure to perfume could even result in death," a brief from her lawyers said.
Her doctor said Weber shouldn't be exposed to co-worker Lee's Tresor perfume.
Weber claimed Lee, who is co-host of the Edwards & Lee afternoon show, intentionally exposed her to her perfume. WYCD said it specifically required Lee to stop wearing any perfume in response to Weber's complaints. The station said in its response that it modified Weber's schedule so they wouldn't come into conduct during shift changes.
In a May 2001 e-mail to the station manager, presented as evidence, Weber said Lee's perfume caused her to lose her voice and that Lee intentionally walked by her at the Downtown Detroit Hoedown -- a popular annual country music festival. "Linda nearly brushed past me and a cloud of perfume trailed behind me," Weber wrote.
"To have brought the perfume with her suggests forward planning. This appears to be a premeditated attack which was entirely unprovoked by me in anyway," Weber wrote. "Please tell me what steps you plan to take to ensure my safety."
Lee did not return a telephone message seeking comment left at the radio station.
Weber's lawyer, Raymond Sterling, said his client doesn't have problems with "natural smells" but does with the chemical basis of the perfume -- a fact he says was confirmed by three doctors at the weeklong civil trial.
"The real reason she was fired is that management didn't make her stop wearing the perfume," Sterling, a Troy lawyer, said. "There are co-workers in all walks of life that don't get along for one reason or another, but it's up to management to handle the situation."
Weber was fired in September 2001.
The station is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. Infinity lawyer Daniel Tukel said in a court filing that the toxic chemicals in the studio were Glade Air Freshener and acetone, used once for manicures during a morning-show "bit."
In October 2000, Weber took a three-month medical leave and returned to work in January 2001.
A spokeswoman for Infinity said the company planned to appeal. "We're disappointed in the verdict and intend to make all the appropriate post-trial motions," said Karen L. Mateo.
Mateo also said the company's lawyers believe the $7 million punitive damages verdict will be reduced to $300,000. Federal law generally caps punitive damages at $300,000 for the claims that Weber brought.
Weber's lawyer said that's likely, but they will try to convince the judge to uphold the full verdict. Weber's lawyer also said they will ask the judge to order Infinity to pay Weber's legal bills, which could hike the verdict.
Weber, who was a 26-year radio veteran, also claimed the station paid her far less than her male co-workers. She was nominated five times for the Country Music Assocation's Personality of the Year award.
The station manager, Lisa Rodman, said in a deposition that Weber "always gave top-level professional work to the station."
Weber previously worked in Cleveland at top-rated WGAR. The station admitted that "(Weber) had both the highest revenues and highest profits of all of WYCD's shows" in 2000, Weber's last full year at the station.
In 2001, frustrated with the "glass ceiling" at the station, Weber said she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The station then retaliated, she said, by taking away an endorsement deal, removing her e-mail account and assigning her a new shift.
---
You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson@ detnews.com.
There!
All nice and clean.
Are the articles still around? Will new ones be posted, to amuse and entertain you - your heart, your soul, your funnybone, your brain?
Of course!
Check 'em out at http://www.ksquestnews.blogspot.com/. Pretty much every day, and often more than once a day.
Just a little housekeeping thing. I like it better this way. Hope you do too.
Are the articles still around? Will new ones be posted, to amuse and entertain you - your heart, your soul, your funnybone, your brain?
Of course!
Check 'em out at http://www.ksquestnews.blogspot.com/. Pretty much every day, and often more than once a day.
Just a little housekeeping thing. I like it better this way. Hope you do too.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
I Don't Like Clutter
But I love to read. And I love to write.
I love to rehab, too.
Good thing, because all hell's broken loose around here.
We've finally applied for our refi. We're starting with the holder of our first mortgage, and will shop it a bit after we hear what terms they're talking about.
The house isn't really ready yet, but there's no more time. Our commercial creditors are losing patience - and who can blame them? - but what really matters to me is the humans we owe: my parents, a friend. They need their money back.
So here in the middle of one of the worst parts of the allergy year, I rehab away during the night, and sleep through the pollen hours of daylight.
Since our credit's poor, two things drive the refi: Walter's income, and the equity in the house. (My Social Security income helps, but it's certainly not enough.) Walter's back at work, making regular pay instead of (diminished) Worker's Comp. Good. Since truckers are paid by the mile, not hourly or by salary, he needs a couple of paychecks under his belt to prove what he normally makes. That's done.
Beside that, getting the appraised value as high as possible is critical. Fortunately, the house is worth about 5 times what we paid for it in 1996, so we're awash in equity. Unrehabbed. I may be taking this rehab bit farther than I need.
But it's fun. And frankly, I want it finished for my own sake. Nicely.
First I'm decluttering. I love my man, truly and deeply, but he clutters. I can't stand it. I can't work with it cluttered. Now that he's back at work and out on the road, out of the house, if I clean up the mess, it won't get instantly messed up again. Joy and happiness!!!
And I'm almost done.
Boy oh boy.
And in the interest of continued decluttering, I've been pondering what to do with my blog.
See, I do love to read, and to write. And sometimes I like to write about what I'm reading. But putting articles on my blog clutters it up more than I can stand.
It seems I'd have to learn html in order to put the articles on a separate part of the blog from the original material. That alone is enough to send this phobe running for cover. I know I need to learn it. But during All Hell's Broken Loose is certainly not a good time.
So I believe I'll simply bifurcate myself, and have one blog called ksquest and another called, say, ksquestnews. Then on ksquest I can write about what I read, but put what I actually read on ksquestnews. Uncluttered, each by the other.
Bear with me, folks. I'll get there.
And maybe, just maybe, by this time tomorrow I'll be done decluttering and cleaning, and instead will be mudding my joints in a nice open (slightly unfinished) house. Drywall first, yes. Walter put up almost all the remaining drywall we need; what's left is just patch work. My job. I'm also the mudder-and-taper. And painter, and mason, and...
I love to mud, too. Lucky for me.
I love to rehab, too.
Good thing, because all hell's broken loose around here.
We've finally applied for our refi. We're starting with the holder of our first mortgage, and will shop it a bit after we hear what terms they're talking about.
The house isn't really ready yet, but there's no more time. Our commercial creditors are losing patience - and who can blame them? - but what really matters to me is the humans we owe: my parents, a friend. They need their money back.
So here in the middle of one of the worst parts of the allergy year, I rehab away during the night, and sleep through the pollen hours of daylight.
Since our credit's poor, two things drive the refi: Walter's income, and the equity in the house. (My Social Security income helps, but it's certainly not enough.) Walter's back at work, making regular pay instead of (diminished) Worker's Comp. Good. Since truckers are paid by the mile, not hourly or by salary, he needs a couple of paychecks under his belt to prove what he normally makes. That's done.
Beside that, getting the appraised value as high as possible is critical. Fortunately, the house is worth about 5 times what we paid for it in 1996, so we're awash in equity. Unrehabbed. I may be taking this rehab bit farther than I need.
But it's fun. And frankly, I want it finished for my own sake. Nicely.
First I'm decluttering. I love my man, truly and deeply, but he clutters. I can't stand it. I can't work with it cluttered. Now that he's back at work and out on the road, out of the house, if I clean up the mess, it won't get instantly messed up again. Joy and happiness!!!
And I'm almost done.
Boy oh boy.
And in the interest of continued decluttering, I've been pondering what to do with my blog.
See, I do love to read, and to write. And sometimes I like to write about what I'm reading. But putting articles on my blog clutters it up more than I can stand.
It seems I'd have to learn html in order to put the articles on a separate part of the blog from the original material. That alone is enough to send this phobe running for cover. I know I need to learn it. But during All Hell's Broken Loose is certainly not a good time.
So I believe I'll simply bifurcate myself, and have one blog called ksquest and another called, say, ksquestnews. Then on ksquest I can write about what I read, but put what I actually read on ksquestnews. Uncluttered, each by the other.
Bear with me, folks. I'll get there.
And maybe, just maybe, by this time tomorrow I'll be done decluttering and cleaning, and instead will be mudding my joints in a nice open (slightly unfinished) house. Drywall first, yes. Walter put up almost all the remaining drywall we need; what's left is just patch work. My job. I'm also the mudder-and-taper. And painter, and mason, and...
I love to mud, too. Lucky for me.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
More Penis Day: Whizz Takes the Fifth
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click here to view the post.
Monday, May 16, 2005
The Whizzinator
I'm fond of various body parts. I hope we all are. So you may lift an eyebrow at this, but hey. Instead of trying to explain I have lots of OTHER favorites, I'll just let time convince all y'all down the road.
And enjoy a Penis Day while The Whizzinator's in the news.
I've had The Whizzinator's link for years now, http://www.thewhizzinator.com/whiz2.htm. It's a cute site. Pretty businesslike, too. It gets to the point and tells you how it does the job, and what products they sell. And right off, they display: ATTENTION LADIES! PLEASE CLICK HERE
I also like the side-by-side comparison:
THE WHIZZINATOR VS. THE COMPETITION
YOU BE THE JUDGE!
This article, http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050512/od_nm/health_drugtests_dc, made me think of my old friend The Whizzinator again. Seems they're all bothered about it on Capitol Hill, and intent on stomping it out for good. It's not that I can't see their point. It's just that I've never, ever warmed to this real intrusion on our privacy called the Urine Test for Substances.
I've heard good arguments for it, mostly regarding safety concerns for pilots and such. Maybe those would carry more weight with me if the big problem of pilots drinking required a urine test instead of a breathalyzer.
And if its real life use weren't so very focused on non-safety things like desk jobs, and so very rarely on use for true safety concerns.
But Capitol Hill doesn't see it my way.
"'These companies seek through deception to make a buck by violating our trust and compromising our security,' said Rep. Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations panel...'It is a risk we simply cannot tolerate. This panel will uncover how widespread these products are and recommend the necessary steps to end their use.'
"A congressional subcommittee voted to subpoena the owner of Puck Technology of Signal Hill, California, the company that makes the Whizzinator. The panel also voted to subpoena the owners of Health Choice of New York City and Spectrum Labs of Cincinnati, two companies that lawmakers said also were suspected of selling products aimed at circumventing workplace drug tests...The owners were required to provide financial and operational records by Monday and to appear at a congressional hearing on Tuesday...company officials had previously declined to testify and provided little information, a committee statement said."
They seem pretty serious about this, so the Whizzinator may fall by the wayside. I better check out the LADIES! box before the site goes down, just to see what's there. It's not that I'd ever use it myself. My life is squeaky clean both by choice and necessity; and even if it weren't, stooping to this would violate my personal sovereignty even worse than the Substance Tests do.
Besides, the article tells us about Tom Sizemore's travails: he was caught using the Whizzinator, and jailed after using a similar device and failing a drug test. So maybe they aren't such effective devices after all.
But if it goes? I'll miss it.
And enjoy a Penis Day while The Whizzinator's in the news.
I've had The Whizzinator's link for years now, http://www.thewhizzinator.com/whiz2.htm. It's a cute site. Pretty businesslike, too. It gets to the point and tells you how it does the job, and what products they sell. And right off, they display: ATTENTION LADIES! PLEASE CLICK HERE
I also like the side-by-side comparison:
THE WHIZZINATOR VS. THE COMPETITION
YOU BE THE JUDGE!
This article, http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050512/od_nm/health_drugtests_dc, made me think of my old friend The Whizzinator again. Seems they're all bothered about it on Capitol Hill, and intent on stomping it out for good. It's not that I can't see their point. It's just that I've never, ever warmed to this real intrusion on our privacy called the Urine Test for Substances.
I've heard good arguments for it, mostly regarding safety concerns for pilots and such. Maybe those would carry more weight with me if the big problem of pilots drinking required a urine test instead of a breathalyzer.
And if its real life use weren't so very focused on non-safety things like desk jobs, and so very rarely on use for true safety concerns.
But Capitol Hill doesn't see it my way.
"'These companies seek through deception to make a buck by violating our trust and compromising our security,' said Rep. Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations panel...'It is a risk we simply cannot tolerate. This panel will uncover how widespread these products are and recommend the necessary steps to end their use.'
"A congressional subcommittee voted to subpoena the owner of Puck Technology of Signal Hill, California, the company that makes the Whizzinator. The panel also voted to subpoena the owners of Health Choice of New York City and Spectrum Labs of Cincinnati, two companies that lawmakers said also were suspected of selling products aimed at circumventing workplace drug tests...The owners were required to provide financial and operational records by Monday and to appear at a congressional hearing on Tuesday...company officials had previously declined to testify and provided little information, a committee statement said."
They seem pretty serious about this, so the Whizzinator may fall by the wayside. I better check out the LADIES! box before the site goes down, just to see what's there. It's not that I'd ever use it myself. My life is squeaky clean both by choice and necessity; and even if it weren't, stooping to this would violate my personal sovereignty even worse than the Substance Tests do.
Besides, the article tells us about Tom Sizemore's travails: he was caught using the Whizzinator, and jailed after using a similar device and failing a drug test. So maybe they aren't such effective devices after all.
But if it goes? I'll miss it.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Little Miss Attila
My friend Miss Attila is more than that. She's also my blogmom, just as Desert Cat is my blogdad.
As a digitally challenged newbie, I'm a babe in the woods in this brave new forum of blogging. So much so, in fact, that I haven't quite figured out yet how to do such a thing as a blogroll. No matter how much I'd like to put them on it.
But I'll get there. Baby steps.
No one could ask for a better blogmom and blogdad. I am so honored to be able to claim them. I hope to do them proud.
As a digitally challenged newbie, I'm a babe in the woods in this brave new forum of blogging. So much so, in fact, that I haven't quite figured out yet how to do such a thing as a blogroll. No matter how much I'd like to put them on it.
But I'll get there. Baby steps.
No one could ask for a better blogmom and blogdad. I am so honored to be able to claim them. I hope to do them proud.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Following Along
I can't think of a polite way to say this.
My poor old cat has the shits.
It's that nasty runny stinky stuff. He does this every couple of years. Either it passes, or I squirt some vet-prescribed Pepto Bismol down his throat, and then it passes. The vet has some fun name for this. Methane Madness, or something.
Usually I can't figure out what set him off. This time, he may have been eating too much extra-cheap canned cat food. But he really likes the stuff, he just gobbles it down.
Or could it be...See, I'm sitting here with this laptop on my lap. The monitor of the house computer is sitting to my right on the workstation. His pillow is next to the monitor. The way it's all situated, he couldn't really see the big old monitor's screen before.
But now he's got more room to walk, and I mostly use the laptop, and he sat next to me looking at the laptop screen as I giggled my way through this poop story http://neanderpundit.com/archives/000362.html via Desert Cat, http://desertcat.blogspot.com/2005/05/og-make-sides-ache-take-2.html.
That poor guy had a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant. He liked the food and happily gobbled it up, secure in his innocence. Then he paid the price the next day with the morning-after shits. Really, really dreadful ones.
Hmmm.
Babycat surely didn't need any inspiration. I mean, he's always carried this off just fine on his own, before.
I don't really think he can read, either.
But on the other hand...I got my suspicions.
My poor old cat has the shits.
It's that nasty runny stinky stuff. He does this every couple of years. Either it passes, or I squirt some vet-prescribed Pepto Bismol down his throat, and then it passes. The vet has some fun name for this. Methane Madness, or something.
Usually I can't figure out what set him off. This time, he may have been eating too much extra-cheap canned cat food. But he really likes the stuff, he just gobbles it down.
Or could it be...See, I'm sitting here with this laptop on my lap. The monitor of the house computer is sitting to my right on the workstation. His pillow is next to the monitor. The way it's all situated, he couldn't really see the big old monitor's screen before.
But now he's got more room to walk, and I mostly use the laptop, and he sat next to me looking at the laptop screen as I giggled my way through this poop story http://neanderpundit.com/archives/000362.html via Desert Cat, http://desertcat.blogspot.com/2005/05/og-make-sides-ache-take-2.html.
That poor guy had a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant. He liked the food and happily gobbled it up, secure in his innocence. Then he paid the price the next day with the morning-after shits. Really, really dreadful ones.
Hmmm.
Babycat surely didn't need any inspiration. I mean, he's always carried this off just fine on his own, before.
I don't really think he can read, either.
But on the other hand...I got my suspicions.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Fortune
I'm going through whirlwind cycles of rehab, then those semicomatose allergic fatigue sleeps. I can deal with the sleeps just fine these days, so that's all right. Makes the cat happy as can be. And he deserves it.
The progress inside the house has me holding my breath, not just against the dust, but out of silent hopeful elation.
So much of what I'm doing right now has that aura of finality about it. Moving crates of, say, certain building supplies to where they'll be used up and gone in short order.
In my office, Walter swapped my old monitor for a "new" used one, $10 at Faith Farm. This tube has me actually seeing Desert Cat's photos clear and bright on the home computer, not just the laptop.
So the old monitor gets shuffled off to Walter's room to deal with as he sees fit.
After I remove my decorations, that is.
That's my Chinese fortune cookie fortunes, collected and taped onto the monitor over the years.
I've always liked to save them. These were collected just since we bought the house. Inspiring! Thought-provoking! Encouraging! Flattering! As follows:
Now is the time to try something new.
A good time to finish up old tasks.
You have a keen sense of humor and love a good time.
Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life.
Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness.
Avert misunderstanding by calm, poise and balance.
Good news will come to you by mail.
Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness.
All your hard work will soon pay off.
The "home is a pleasant place" one is duplicated above because I peeled two of 'em off the monitor. Didn't know there were two up there. I must have been especially attached to that sentiment.
And now - it's time to move on.
I'll put new ones up, I bet.
But they won't be the same.
They'll be new, for a new time in my life. They'll be even better.
I'll read them not just with hope for the future, but with that quiet elation for how far we've already come.
The progress inside the house has me holding my breath, not just against the dust, but out of silent hopeful elation.
So much of what I'm doing right now has that aura of finality about it. Moving crates of, say, certain building supplies to where they'll be used up and gone in short order.
In my office, Walter swapped my old monitor for a "new" used one, $10 at Faith Farm. This tube has me actually seeing Desert Cat's photos clear and bright on the home computer, not just the laptop.
So the old monitor gets shuffled off to Walter's room to deal with as he sees fit.
After I remove my decorations, that is.
That's my Chinese fortune cookie fortunes, collected and taped onto the monitor over the years.
I've always liked to save them. These were collected just since we bought the house. Inspiring! Thought-provoking! Encouraging! Flattering! As follows:
Now is the time to try something new.
A good time to finish up old tasks.
You have a keen sense of humor and love a good time.
Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life.
Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness.
Avert misunderstanding by calm, poise and balance.
Good news will come to you by mail.
Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness.
All your hard work will soon pay off.
The "home is a pleasant place" one is duplicated above because I peeled two of 'em off the monitor. Didn't know there were two up there. I must have been especially attached to that sentiment.
And now - it's time to move on.
I'll put new ones up, I bet.
But they won't be the same.
They'll be new, for a new time in my life. They'll be even better.
I'll read them not just with hope for the future, but with that quiet elation for how far we've already come.
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