Speaking of blue...

My team lost their bowl game on that weird blue field today. It does not make me feel any better than teams with coaching transitions are 0-5 in their bowl games thus far.

It hasn't been a good day otherwise. I lost a necklace charm down the drain of the bathroom sink this evening. After much cursing, I asked PDM to take the trap out to get it back. The trap disintegrated when he tried to remove it. The pipe was old and corroded and thin, and just turned to dust. The only good thing was that he got my jewelry back. The bad thing is that I have to call a plumber on January 2 to come out and fix the sink, plus inspect the rest of the plumbing for more weak spots. Great. Just wonderful. Swell.

But that wasn't the only malfunction of the evening. Right after the game, I decided I wanted to hear the Georgia Tech radio broadcast, because I wanted to know some stuff like why they pulled the starting QB at halftime, and what happened to Choice, and why they did a lot of what they did. But the AM station that carries our games has a giant loss of signal strength at 5:30 and this was 5:45pm. So I went on the web and streamed the station live on PDM's Mac. It worked fine for about five minutes and then crashed his computer. We turned it off and went to the pub. When we got back and turned it back on, there was a major problem, and PDM has been working on it for two hours. I feel terrible, because I was the last person to use it before the Big Crash. It still isn't working and I feel awful, and PDM is mad at me.

There are other things that have made this not the best year. Goodbye 2007 and good riddance. I hope 2008 is better. And I hope y'all are having more fun than I am, because this is not fun at all. Sigh.

Believe in Blueland

I attended my first NHL hockey game last night. Tickets for the Thrashers vs. Bruins game were one of my gifts to PDM this Christmas. He loves hockey, but I had always been sort of lukewarm about going. I'd been to a couple of AHL games (the now defunct Worcester Icecats) when I lived in Massachusetts, and I like watching sports, but generally hockey hasn't been my thing. That's why I knew this gift would be a surprise. Especially when I wrapped the tickets and taped them to the inside cover of a box, put a lot of junk in it to rattle around, then wrapped the box.

I've gotta admit it was a lot of fun. Way better than watching a game on TV. It didn't take long to see my first hockey fight (less than two and a half minutes in), followed by a second fight before they had even announced the penalties for the first fight. That got the crowd fired up. Atlanta went on to play a great game, winning a 5-0 shutout.

This should have been my second Thrashers-Bruins game. PDM had tickets to a Thrashers game for us and four of his family members five years ago during one of my holiday visits. This was back when I still lived in Massachusetts and we were dating long distance. Unfortunately, we ate some bad Mexican food the day before and became violently ill overnight. It was my first time staying at the family home, and I made it memorable by puking all over the floor at three o'clock in the morning. To his credit, PDM helped me clean it up, even though he was also fighting a losing battle with nausea. The family had to go to the game without us, and we ended up with a pair of $60 bookmarks to go with our fever and chills. We joke about it now, but back then... not so funny.

A Rude Awakening

I was startled awake at 4:20 this morning when my 13-year old cat, Zima, decided to empty her bladder on my pillow right next to my head. If she was trying to get my attention, she definitely succeeded. Her efforts are being rewarded with a trip to the vet this afternoon. I figure this is a result of three possible things: (a) she has a UTI, (b) she is unhappy about being picked on constantly by the other two cats, or (c) she is mad that I moved the litterbox downstairs and/or that I would not get up in the middle of the night and let her outside to pee.

Let me just say that I am not amused. Had to throw away my favorite feather pillow, start a load of laundry and take a shower in the wee hours of the morning, change the sheets, then go back to bed with sopping wet hair and try to get enough sleep to make it through another work day. Grumble, grumble, grumble…


Update 12/30/07 - She did have a urinary tract infection. After a few days on antibiotics, she seems to be feeling much better. And I haven't been peed on, which is always a plus.

Merry, Merry!

Merry Christmas, Sweet Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever it is you celebrate at this time of year. I wish you all the best.

Photo: long exposure of entryway tree with motion toward tree and some good luck.

Frenetic

We are hours away from the Winter Solstice, which should be a quiet and peaceful time of year, and Christmas - a time to relax and enjoy family and friends. But the week before Christmas is not much fun at all. Disrupted routines, crowds, traffic, and a bunch of last minute "must do" chores can make you tired and cranky.

This year has been worse than normal. Our plans have been up in the air due to the health of a family member, and I have been disorganized and late doing things. It is the 21st, and I still have stuff to buy for people. Including PDM. Oh sure, I bought his "big" present already, but I'd like to have a few fun items for stocking stuffers, and gifts from the cats.

Worse yet, my creativity has deserted me. I am uninspired. I can't think of what to get people. This usually results in getting them something lame at the last minute.

Here's to hoping it's a good Christmas anyway, and that we get everything done and have time to enjoy family and friends. Hopefully they will still be talking to me after receiving their incredibly banal gifts.


The photo is one I took using a slow shutter speed and creative camera angle at the "Fantasy in Lights" winter wonderland display at Callaway Gardens.

"How to pimp a Camry?" and Other Stupid Queries

The search terms that bring strangers to Cosmic Cat are pretty tame compared to the ones some other bloggers share, but no less bizarre. As a public service of questionable value, I will share some of these queries along with some commentary. You know, to make it easy on the next people who land here looking for answers to life's quirky quandaries.

I hate to say it, but the most common search term that shows up on a very consistent basis is some variant of "pimp my Camry". Folks, I can make this real simple for you. You bought a Camry for cryin' out loud. They are comfortable cars. They are reliable and practical and affordable. They're kind of boring and that is why we buy them. They can't be pimped. Any attempt on your part to install curb feelers, fancy rims, or a homemade spoiler is just going to make your Camry look ridiculous.

"Cuban pork roast" - yes it is delicious, but if you are trying to find a recipe you'll have to look elsewhere.

"He's a lumberjack and he's OK" (and "lumberjack" and "guys chopping logs", etc.) - yes, he is. But I only admire them from a distance.

"Why do my bra straps fall down when I am walking?" - Probably because you bought that bra in the 90s. Get a new one that fits, and adjust the straps.

"saggy pants ban" - get a belt.

"Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy" - no it ain't, especially if your hyperdrive is on the fritz.

"Would aspirin hurt a cat?" - probably, if you throw it hard enough.

"Touchdown Jesus lolcat" - almost certainly would be amusing, but never appeared on this blog.

"Tore up and tore up good" - what happens if you eat too much chili.

"Super size fake boobs" - Is the "freak of nature" size really necessary?

"Cat, no visible testicles" - dude, your cat is either (a)female, or (b)neutered.

"Cats digging in my pants" - not recommended.

"Albino worm/leech" - what the blister will look like if you burn your finger on a hot coffee mug, or an invertebrate lacking pigment.

"Cat flux" - the number of cats flowing through a unit area per unit time?

Retread Christmas Catblogging

A rerun from 2006, but still funny. This is the reason why we didn't put up a tree this year. Moxy might be "over it", but Silvio would be even worse... Zima, ever a lady, is above the fray.