Geek Wannabe – Page 24

One Day She Will Be Queen

Breeder's Corner, Cat Tales, Geek Wannabe, General 2 Responses »

Jul 142009

Mark my words, within a year this cat will be queen of our house. And I suspect she will have claimed The Director as her own particular human.

Alpha Geek gave her supper while I was gone. But he’s not an early riser by nature, and I’ve taught her not to meow at our bedroom door. So for the last four days she’s been waking The Director up for her breakfast.

She still doesn’t like to be picked up, but she’ll tolerate it for a moment while you move her to your lap (because she knows there will be petting). The Director is a little guy, and still getting the hang of picking up a cat; sometimes he picks her up in an awkward bundle of legs sticking out of his arms. She’ll give a meow to let him know she’s not enjoying it, but then just hang there and wait until he sits down and starts with the petting.

Duchess

Every morning we get to discover what she’s found to play with during the night. One morning she had murdered my feather duster. Another, I found some kind of cord on the staircase—I have no idea what it’s from. Once I left a scrunchie out on the end table. She had a ball with that, it was completely unraveled by morning.

Her absolute favorite toy so far is a handmade potholder The Director made years ago, one of those where the kid weaves loops on a loom to make Mom a tiny little potholder. It was too small to use, so I hung it on the pantry door.

Anything dangling is fair game for this cat. She pulled it down one night and has loved playing with it. It’s big enough to get a good hold on, with a good texture for claws to hold, and soft enough to be fun for wrestling. It’s a wonderful cat toy. The Director was delighted that his handmade craft became her specially favored toy.

We’re Back from Philly!

Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jul 132009

The Artist and I are back from Philadelphia; we met up with palsgraf_polka and emt420 and toured the city.

First we went to the Mütter (which is an alt.tasteless pilgrimage). I had to go look at the world’s largest colon—I told The Artist “That guy was literally full of shit,” which he found hilarious. Poor guy had Hirschprung’s Disease, a condition in which the nerve cells of the large intestine don’t develop. He suffered painful constipation throughout his life—there’s a photo of him with his swollen abdomen and little stick legs. Shortly before he died, his abdomen was so swollen and packed with feces that he was having trouble breathing.

Fortunately this can now be diagnosed at birth, and surgically corrected. Still, as someone enjoying the effects of IBS, I could empathize all too well with the poor guy.

Next we wandered down to Independence Mall to see the Liberty Bell. On the way we passed Chinatown:

We stopped at a little tiny restaurant for Philly cheesesteaks—The Artist heard “steak” and wanted a ribeye, but we convinced him to try the Philadelphia cuisine and he enjoyed it. I’m told the cheesesteaks were excellent examples of the fare, although I didn’t partake (stupid IBS).

The Artist in front of The Liberty Bell

Then we strolled down to view the Liberty Bell. Can’t you just feel the history?

Saturday The Artist and I went over to The Franklin Institute to see the Star Trek and Galileo exhibits. We went to the planetarium, walked through a giant heart, and did science experiments at the Space Academy. They also had a Skybike, which of course The Artist had to go ride.

The Artist on the Skybike

We stayed there all day; they had to chase us out of the train exhibit.

Sunday we took the train back home. I just want to share this odd little plaque they had in the restroom. When I first glanced at it, I wondered why they had a picture of a little devil-man on a plaque by the sink. Not until I actually read the accompanying text did I realize it was supposed to be a broom.

Hello from Philly

Breeder's Corner, Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Jul 092009

The Artist and I are up in Philadelphia, cozily ensconced in a very nice room at the Hilton. We had a late dinner at the hotel restaurant on the 10th floor (great view!). Now Psalgraf and I are in the Business Center hogging up their computers while we yak and don’t actually use the machines.

We took the train up, which was fun—I’d never ridden a train before. We took the subway from the train station to the hotel, then walked the last couple of blocks from the subway.

I’ve noticed The Artist has gotten protective of me in the last couple of years, as he grows more aware and responsible. Once when I was taking him to his bass lesson, I told him I was stopping at the coffee shop next door and I’d meet him at the guitar shop. He admonished me to be careful, because the coffee shop looked like kind of a rough place. It’s one of those just-off-campus coffee houses, in an old run-down building with unkempt patrons from twenty to older-than-dirt mingling with sharply-dressed business types. It does have a low-rent vibe to it, but it’s not a dive. Still, I found it sweet that he was looking out for me.

Today on the way from the subway to the hotel, we passed a couple of homeless men sleeping on the sidewalk. I noticed as we approached them, The Artist switched sides so he was walking between me and the homeless men. Looks like he’s going to be one of those big sweet guys who feels protective of the little people around him.

Tomorrow we’re going to go to the Mutter Museum, and possibly go see the Galileo exhibit at the Franklin. And the Liberty Bell. And who knows what.

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