Back to Blogging

Yeah, so when I started this blog I'd intended to write in once a week or so. And now it's been almost a year since I posted. My bad, sorry followers...all two of you, lol. I suppose I'll do a quick summary of the past year, just to catch up someone who hasn't been paying attention to the intricate plot of the Elisabeth Show.

I applied and was denied Social Security. Twice. That sucked. So I went back to work, got a job at McDonalds, wound up in the ER with an injured back and am now job searching again. That's pretty much everything of note that's happened in my life in the past year.

Kind of sad, really.

This year I plan to change that.

I'm in the running for a job I would LOVE, working a pet store. I would be so awesome at that, and I would enjoy going to work every day. Or at least not dread the thought of it. It's been pointed out to me that most people don't enjoy their jobs, and I just can't fathom why someone would continue to spend 1/3 of their life in a place they hate when they have the option to change it. I believe it's important to not hate your job, you'll be healthier and happier for it. And isn't finding a way to be happy the whole point of life?

Then again, maybe the point of life is finding a purpose.

But if you have a purpose, isn't that fulfillment? And isn't fulfillment a big part of happiness?

Money is nice, and you need a job to get money (unless you're a special case, and I'm apparently not a special case even though I consider myself one...but that's a whole other blog). But having to work doesn't mean you have to be unhappy. You might not make as much money, but here's a big secret that Hollywood and most major media outlets don't want you to realize: WEALTH IS NOT HAPPINESS!!!!

Having enough is an awesome feeling. I may not be able to buy an expensive sports car or live in a mansion, but I have food in my cupboards, a reliable car that gets me where I want to go and a cozy apartment that feels like home to me. My bills get paid (mostly), my appliances work (usually) and my pets eat well (always). Really, how could I ask for more?

The Crazy Cat Lady

It seems I am becoming my own worst fear: A crazy cat lady.

Yes, that's right, I have taken a third feline into my home. Why you ask? Well, for starters, I don't consider Onyx, #2, to be a permanent resident of my home. She's really someone else's cat and I'm just caring for her until they get her back. And I'll be glad when they do.

Don't misunderstand me, there's not a thing wrong with that cat, and I'll always take her in if she needs a place to go. She's as sweet as sugar, and playful and clever and just nice to have around. So why do I want her to go? Because she INSISTS on being in my face.

Eartha Kitty, who is my feline soulmate to be perfectly honest, never gets in my face. She's happiest sitting beside me or on the back of the recliner or curled up next to me in bed. Onyx wants to be on my chest or my shoulders, right up in my face all the time. It drives me crazy!

Now, allow me to clarify the "feline soulmate" comment. It's not romantic or anything like that. It's just that Eartha Kitty is the perfect cat for me. Our personalities fit together like two puzzle pieces. I love Eartha Kitty dearly, and she adores me. If you're lucky, you'll find a pet like that in your own lifetime. It's rare. Sure, you have pets you love, pets you can't imagine living without. But a connection like that happens only once in a lifetime.

So that's my cheesy paragraph for the week. :P

The newest feline resident in my home is Sam. Well, his official name is Sam-I-Am. You know, like Dr. Seuss? He's a yellow and white tomcat, already neutered and front declawed. (which I consider to be barbaric, but not much I can do about it now.)

Sam belonged to the Housing Authority that handles my voucher. He was found as a three-week old kitten by one of the ladies who works there. Apparently his mama had been struck on the road. So this lady brought him and his sisters in and they were hand-raised by the staff and became the Office Cats.

Well, when I first met him it was a kind of love at first sight thing. He was already fully grown, but just the sweetest cat. Of the three, he was always my favorite. I did some part-time work for them a few times, and Sam spent most of the day sprawled across my desk or in my lap. We jokingly referred to him as my "boyfriend."

Well, now things have changed and the staff has been required to find new homes for the cats. So when I was told I could have him, I just couldn't say no. I'd never get another chance at him, you know. He's doing better than I could have hoped too.

From the moment he got here, he's been wandering around, checking the place out and making himself at home. He seems to be very happy here - he even attempted to mate with Onyx (who is in heat - obnoxious!). It was funny...in a creepy sort of way. Poor neutered Sammy.

So anyways, that's my big news for this blog. Got a new cat.

In other news, my cousin Danni got married this weekend. The wedding was beautiful and there were a lot of out-of-town relatives there. It was nice to see them all again. I left shortly after the ceremony though, too many people for my nerves to handle. So here's a shout-out to Robin and Danni, may you live happily ever after. :)

I feel like there should be something else to say here, but there really isn't. So I'll wander off and leave you with your LOLcat.



It makes a good point. I need make up too...

<3 Elisabeth

What the Hell?

I'll be referring a news article in this short little blog. So I'll give you a brief synopsis of it. Essentially it's discussing the President's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has just been an environmental disaster down there

"Declaring himself as angry as the rest of the nation, President Barack Obama assailed oil drillers and his own administration Friday as he ordered extra scrutiny of drilling permits to head off any repeat of the sickening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."

Seriously?

That's like saying, "okay, now that you've fucked up about as bad as you can, we're really going to start paying attention." Isn't it a little late for that? I mean, plan after plan to stop the oil STILL pouring into the Gulf has failed. Their latest plan? Hook a mile-long tube to a robot, attach a cork on the end and drive the robot right up the broken pipe gushing oil. Hopefully, if they're lucky, the cork will stop up the oil. This plan sounds like something out of a comic book or a cartoon! Next thing you know Scooby Doo will pop up on the News and go "Ruh roh!"

And the White House has been just idiotic about the whole thing.

"Obama, whose comments until now have been measured, heatedly condemned a "ridiculous spectacle" of oil executives shifting blame in congressional hearings and denounced a "cozy relationship" between their companies and the federal government.

"I will not tolerate more finger-pointing or irresponsibility," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden, flanked by members of his Cabinet.

"The system failed, and it failed badly. And for that, there is enough responsibility to go around. And all parties should be willing to accept it," the president said."

Great! Stop that all-important executive finger-pointing! While you're at it, make it that much harder for oil riggers to get permits to do their job. It's not like we don't already have enough oil troubles in this nation. If the people responsible for handing out drilling permits had been doing their jobs in the first place, this wouldn't have happened! Eleven people and who knows how many wild animals died as a result of this debacle.

Am I the only one who's reminded of the Bush Administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina? I mean seriously, the government needs to be getting involved rather than letting the oil companies fix it on their own. Because obviously, they're not getting the job done. Grow a spinal cord Mr. President and start figuring out the RIGHT places for the government to stick it's nose.

The Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100514/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill

oops, almost forgot! Here's your LOLcat for the day!

The Crisis of the Toes

Well, it's been a fairly uneventful week for me, hence the lack of posts. Friday I went to BINGO and didn't win any money. Bummer, but not surprising. Thursday I did laundry at Grandma's house. Big excitement there. *insert eye roll here* The rest of the week I just hung out around the house, farting around on the computer and tidying around the house. Wow, my life is so exciting I can hardly stand it! *insert another eye roll here*

Saturday was an adventure worth sharing, though. I rode in a car with my Mom, Steve and Grandma B to Lauren's baby shower. She's expecting my nephew in June, two days before my 30th birthday. His name will be Dale Jon, after his dad and my dad. Everyone has already decided to call him D.J., to avoid confusion.

Lauren lives in Fort Wayne, which is about an hour's drive from Goshen. So Grandma and I carpooled with Mom and Steve. It was an uncomfortable ride down, in the sense that Grandma and I were in the back seat of Mom's little Aveo, which has very little leg room in the back. But still, it didn't seem as long because we all chatted the whole way down, reminiscing about pets and people we'd known. The conversation was comfortable and easy, which really lowered the stress on me. (I hate leaving Goshen, it makes me a nervous wreck!)

It was the first time I've seen Lauren's new home. She and Dale purchased it a few months ago. It's an older home, at least 100 years judging by the interior architecture. It has beautiful hardwood floors and still some of the original heavy oak doors with their pretty panes of glass.

Fort Wayne is one of the most historic towns in Indiana. Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne in a series of forts near the Miami Indian village of Kekionga in 1794. The original fort in the town is still intact, and quite the tourist destination. By Hoosier standards, Fort Wayne is a big city, the second largest in the state. There's a lot of Historic Landmarks, most built in the mid to late 1800's or early 1900's, and an awesome zoo as well. Down the road from Lauren's house is a water park we're planning to spend the day at as soon as it warms up. So my sister has picked a nice place to live.

Christina was absolutely thrilled to see us, as always. There was lots of hugging and lap jumping, followed by her running around with her buddy Zoe like a crazy child. But I bet you're wondering about the title by now. Well, it's true, there's been a terrible rash of toe injuries at my sister's home. It started with her friend, Michelle. I don't know the details, only that Michelle injured her toes a couple days ago at Lauren's house.

When we arrived, as soon as we were seated, Dale hobbled in and showed Mom (who's a nurse) that he'd just ripped the toenail off one of his toes. It was bloody and gross and Mom goes, "um, just put a band-aid on it and keep it clean." I think Dale was hoping for a bit more than that, but there's not really much you can do for that sort of injury. So that was toe injury number two.

I was victim number three. After some games and the opening of presents and the eating of cake, Mom and Lauren and some of her friends set to putting together the equipment Lauren had received. (A baby swing and an organizer that defied logical explanation and wound up with four people trying to figure out how to put it together properly and still failing.)

Once the putting together of new "toys" commenced, I excused myself and went out back to smoke a cigarette. Christina was playing in the back yard while I smoked. She ran up and down the chain link fence that was shared with the neighbors, chattering happily with the children that live next door. It was amusing to watch, because whenever she wanted their attention she'd yell "Hey Kids!" and show them whatever she wanted to show them.

When I was done smoking, I stepped around the corner of the house to a little flower bed, intending to put the cigarette out and tear off the tobacco. That's the part that smells bad, and it's bio-degradable. One good rain and it's vanished. The filter I planned to stick in my pocket and throw away later. As I bent over to stub out the cigarette, I felt a sharp pain in my right pinky toe and wince. Figuring I'd just stubbed my toe a bit, I dealt with the cigarette and stood back up. Then I looked down at my feet. There was blood all over the sidewalk. I'd split the toe wide open along the nail, a cut about an inch deep.

It hurt.

I still think I probably needed stitches, as deep as that cut was, but I didn't go get them. No health insurance and all. Instead I poured peroxide over the wound to help stop the bleeding and wrapped a bandaid around it.

So that's the Crisis of the Toes. Just remember, if you ever find yourself visiting Lauren's house, wear steel-toed boots. I think there's a toe-hating ghost living there, personally. :)

<3 Elisabeth

And here's your LOLcat for the day:

Cops, Hoses and Repairmen, Oh My!

Well, the title pretty much sums up my plans for today. We'll start with the cops.

When I was moving recently, there was a dramatic incident (I won't go into it, most of you already know about it anyways) that resulted in about $400 worth of gaming equipment being stolen from me. My Nintendo DS, six games and some accessories like a case and cleaning cloth, have all vanished. That DS is a vital coping mechanism for my disorder. Whenever I feel a panic attack coming on, that's the first thing I reach for. So, $400 value aside, it's really quite important to me.

Well, like a good, responsible citizen, I reported the theft to the police. I mentioned the people I suspect might know something or be somehow involved and waited to hear more. So yesterday, the police called me back! I didn't think that someone would actually take the case. Something like this would get tossed in the "sucks for you" pile in most cities. But yay for Goshen! The police have little enough to do here that they can investigate my loss!

So anyways I talked to the detective, a very nice lady we'll call Detective Pauls, and she is going to investigate further. Will she find it? Perhaps. If she does I'm totally pressing charges on the thief! If not, well c'est la vie, I suppose. But at least I tried.

Now onto the hoses and repairmen. Ever since I moved into this apartment, there's been one small detail that drives me crazy. My screen door has no latch. So an enterprising kitty, particularly Little Miss Rocket Scientist Onyx, could conceivably pull it open and have a little jaunt around the neighborhood. Since she's not yet spayed, I'm not real keen on that idea. Well today my lovely neighborhood repairman (who's name I do not know) came by and fixed it! Hooray!

Yesterday, much to my annoyance, the landscaping crew ran over my garden hose with the lawn mower! So Mr. Repairman also found a replacement for me! Yippee! The garden hose story is really kind of funny though. I'm a late sleeper, I usually go to bed late and night and sleep until noonish. Well, the landscaping crew comes through Tuesday mornings while I'm sleeping. Good thing I'm a sound sleeper or that would be highly irritating. As it is, I don't really notice them unless they're right under my window. Even then it's only the vague sort of waking up half way, rolling over and going back to sleep.

So anyways, when I got up Tuesday, I wandered into the kitchen and noted all this water spraying all over the place. This was odd because the sun was shining beautifully in the sky. Odder still, because my back yard is an odd place for a sprinkler to be. So I went out back and discovered the source of the spray was my garden hose. Bummer, huh? Thanks to my Mr. Repairman for replacing it!

Oh, the really funny thing? This morning the management sent out a notice that the landscaping crew comes on Tuesdays. It's Wednesday. Perfect timing guys!

Ah well, no biggie really. Well, from now on I'm going to end with an LOLcat I find particularly amusing. All LOLcats come from www.icanhazcheezburger.com, go check out the site - it's a hoot and a half!

<3 Elisabeth