In Need for Spring

The winter months can be very tiresome. I get very tired of the same old daily grind and I look forward to the time change so I can have that extra daylight at the end of my day. It is such a sigh of relief as I am leaving work and walk out into some daylit sky. No more leaving for work in the dark and returing home in the dark.

This time of year can be such a tease. We will go thru periods of rain, cool temperatures, a couple of warm days and then a quick tap of cold weather. Such is the case today. It was 75 degrees yesterday. I quickly made some use of our lovely weather and went for a nice drive, found a sunny picnic table and layed down in the sunshine, listening to the wind in the trees. It was almost like listening to the ocean. It was a nice little cat nap that was much overdue. The school and work thing has really weighed heavy on my mentality. Being able to detox my brain by going outside and getting out of the four walls has a tremendous effect on my being. ahhh....

So now we are back to the slap-in-the-face cold snap. bleh!!! It is chilly, windy and the temps are supposed to drop and there is a chance of rain/snow mix late tonight and tomorrow. yee-gads!!! It's April already!!! Can't it stay nice for a few weeks??? I need warm, sunny skies to push me through the end of this semester. I'm tired of being inside the four walls. I spend alot of time encased school buildings and work. This butterfly is ready to fly. Oh, please spring hurry up! I'm tired of my cocoon. elizinashe

Your Wild Kingdom Moment

I could write about how chaotic my life has been lately, or gripe about the economy and politics, or pick some deep topic to analyze but I won't. I find a little bit of silliness is in order to break up the everyday stressor's that we live amongst. In my sleep deprived state of mind as well as some procrastination I'm feeling a little juvenile. I came across this photo a couple of weeks ago and was just amazed. I could hardly believe my eyes. What we are looking at is a Celebes Crested Macaque Monkey. I'm not sure what the 'crested' part refers to but I can make a pretty good guess. And we thought Baboon's had it bad. How in the world can a monkey evolve with an ass that....indescribable? So many inappropriate jokes come to my mind....It's like a completely separate appendage. Poor thing. I bet he gets the butt of alot of jokes. (oooo...) I am most certain that Marlon Perkins did not showcase this fine speciman on his show, and we all know that his partner-in-crime Jim did all the dirty and dangerous work. I don't think Jim would have gone for this one. All I've got to say is that is one big ass. As my former college roomie had put it so delicately, I bet he doesn't do a lot of sitting down. Again, there are many jokes to be had here but I digress. I think I've done enough already. Feel free to make up your own jokes to break away from your daily stressors. elizinashe

Gavin

Today has been a sad day. After a long battle of liver problems and thyroid imbalances I finally made the decision to put my kitty Gavin down so that he may move on with his life and exit this world with some dignity and much love from is human momma. The last few months of his life have been topsy turvy, starting with a kitty UTI followed by a torn ACL in his back leg joint and then his liver and thyroid stuff. How he tore up his ACL ligaments is beyond me since he and my other kitty Hecubus are strictly indoor cats but they must have had one hell of a party while I was at work. Anyway...The last two weeks have been a slow downhill ride. He had lost a lot of weight in the last 3 months. The picture you see now was taken in August of 2008. He was a plump and stocky 14lbs. He sure did keep your warm at night! However his aging body started to dictate another path. He had lost about 4lbs. within a months time and did start to improve for a brief time before his liver decided to tell another tale. He began to sleep a lot and eat very little. Medicating him became a battle and I decided that it was a battle not worth fighting. I didn't want the end of his life becoming a routine of shoving meds down his little throat and still feeling like crap. I had been planning on the whole 'putting him down' process in my head for the last 5 days or so. I had been in touch with my vet in preparations and protocol for Gavin and getting myself prepared for the inevitable. I must say it's not easy to take your pet to be euthanized but I did handle it all pretty well. We spent alot of time snuggling yesterday since my class had been cancelled and the weather was cold and snowy. A perfect day to stay on the couch with your cat. The vet clinic was very compassionate and humane and we all cried. I have chosen to have the body cremated and I will take Gavin's ashes up to my mother's place where he can be free among the other creatures and making his mark on mom's property. He & I lived there with my mother for a few months, as well as Hecubus, while I was in career limbo and needed a free place to stay. Gavin really liked it up there and proudly pranced around like he owned the place. It gives me a peace of mind knowing that he will be scattered somewhere that is special to me as well as to him and not in some communal deceased pet dump. I feel like I owe him that much. He was a loving and funny kitty and will be missed by many. He loved people and craved attention from anyone that came over. I am glad that he didn't have to suffer for very long. His exit in this life was graceful and quiet. Just the way I wanted it. I will miss those 3am wake-up calls in my face as I slumber and his curious talk around the house. He was a really good cat and will be missed greatly. elizinashe

I've Been Tagged!

This Facebook thing is getting to be too much fun and very obsessive but in a good way, or at least that is what I'm telling myself. I've been busy posting some old pics and some more current ones so those who are now reconnecting with my life can see what I've been up to and so forth. The fun thing is when one of your friends posts a long forgotten picture of yourself and therefore you become 'tagged'. It's becoming a fun little game however I do know that there are some very embarrssing pictures of me out there somewhere which I hope do not make an appearance. Of course turn-about is fair play....I have several embarrassing pics of my loved ones as well...such an evil game to play. Ah, good times, good times.... elizinashe

Facebook

I have now joined the b'jillions in the Facebook World . My friend in California was telling me how it has enabled her to connect with people that she went to school with and such and that I should really look into joining in on the fun. Now, I typically stay away from the normal frenzy of the masses and do my own thing but curiosity got the best of me so I have made my own little facebook imprint on the internet world.
I must say what a nice surprise it is. After becoming a 'member' for just a few hours I had one guy from high school contact me, which I thought he had totally forgotten about me in the first place, but more importantly I came across a classmate that I had gone to school with since grade school and was very happy to find her. So at least there is one bonus. I hope to keep in contact with her for a long time. Pearl is really, really smart, very creative and wickedly funny. She and I had loads of fun in the classroom growing up. It will be good to catch up with her. I'm almost anxious to see how many of my former classmates look me up. I certainly have a select few that I'd like to touch base with. I guess joining the masses isn't always a bad idea. It just gives me one more thing to play with aside from work and a second school career. Is there ever enough time for creative hi-jinx outside from our daily adult life and responsibilities? elizinashe

Beautifully Ugly

Just had to share this. I came across this photo from the Detroit Zoo on the internet which some of you may have seen already but I wanted to share this in the blog world. This lovely creature was born earlier this month at the Detroit Zoo. He's an aardvark for those who aren't familiar with the animal world. He's so ugly that he's cute. His 'toe nails' would certainly hurt somebody but his ears crack me up. I think the blurb about him said they're about 4 inches in diameter. (wow!). That's alot of ear wax (ew). Maybe he'll 'grow into them'. haha. Hope you enjoyed your Wild Kingdom moment. elizinashe

Bleh!

Okay so I finally had my holiday freakout boo-hoo yesterday late afternoon. It's still hovering but is gradually lifting away thank God. I am ever so grateful for the life I have, a roof over my head and food to eat and more than grateful for the friends I have near and far, but I had become overwhelmed with that holiday sadness and a lack of merriment that I have long desired to have in my holidays (the merriment that is). Now my Thanksgiving and Christmas wasn't totally pathetic or isolated, but just more different than usual and still living in a single woman's world. It gets harder as I get older when you would think the opposite and that I'd get better at handling such holiday stuff, but I haven't gotten any better. In some ways I think it's slightly worse. This year my parents chose to spend their time apart for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The tricky part is not to feel guilty about their situation and still make time for each parent even if it is just a phone call around my working hours. I guess what has really bothered me the most is the singlehood this year. It just gets harder every year. Now having a man in my life doesn't define me or my interests by any means but it sure would be nice to have that someone special to spend my time with and have that extra person around mixing with my family. I truly hate coming home alone around the holidays. It's just not fun.
I could really dish out the dirt and totally expose myself and the whole enchilada of my breakdown yesterday but I just won't. There were/are many facets of why I have felt so crappy and why I had my boo-hoo. I don't want to come off as being pathetic. It's just a lot of stuff and I had my moment to cry about it all. I look forward to the New Year and I hope that it will be better. I know that there are many changes coming my way, especially in regards to my parents. I just want a better round of holiday merriment next year that's all. elizinashe