My Little Girl Is Growing Up

I don't know how long I've had my little kitten. Maybe 4 or 5 weeks? I can't remember. Frankly, I can barely remember what life was like without her.

When I first met her, she was a tiny hairball, an over-sized hamster, a squeaky little munchkin. She weighed about 1 pound and seemed so very fragile that I was afraid to leave her alone.

In the short amount of time I've had her, she's transformed into a rough-and-tumble kitten. Getting into anything and everything and then some. I feel like a parent trying to train her toddler with my constant "no"s and "stop that!" and "get out of there" and "I'm gonna kill you if you destroy one more roll of toilet paper!" Her acrobatics amuse and astound me. Literally, as I'm writing this, she just jumped on top of my












armoire for the very first time. As entertaining as she is, her antics may just get her in trouble one of these days. Today, for instance, I stepped outside to get the mail and then sat down to eat my dinner. I heard rustling at the door, but didn't think anything of it, until I saw the silouette of a little cat scaling my front door window. She was trapped between the screen door and the storm door! Wow, that could have been bad. But, she survived unscathed...for the time being. How does the saying go? Curiosity killed the kitten? Well, it just may kill mine.

(As a side note, the quality of these pictures is severely lacking. I blame Ada. She never stops moving!)

I Consume Therefore I Am

Money seems to slip through my hands like water these days. I feel like I am incessantly consuming. Buying clothes, eating out, drinking out, spending money on the house...not to mention the bills that are actually legitimate costs to surviving in this world. You know, bills like the water bill, the electric bill, the internet bill, the blockbuster bill.

My dad preaches "save, save, save." And I couldn't agree with him more. But how does one exactly do that when there's so much to acquire and experience. I mean, for example, I try to pick up a pretty cheap hobby like running. Well, to really do running right, you gotta buy the nylon shirts and decent running shoes and socks. By God, don't forget the socks. So, even activities that might seem to be thrifty easily turn into money pits.

I say to myself that I'll go out less. Eat at home more. Bring my lunch to work. The problem with that is that I ENJOY going out. I ENJOY hanging out with my friends and relaxing in the midst of a work day or week. It's a necessary detox. Maybe I should just eat less? Maybe I should just sit and watch them eat? I don't know what the answer is.

I also said to myself that I would not go on vacation this summer. I just bought a house and I have no cash just floating around looking for a home. I promised myself I would be good. Well, it's nearly August and I'm planning a trip to Seattle. And you know what? My parents, the money-savers that they are, are thrilled. My mom actually said (and I quote), "I'm happy that you are going to Seattle." I haven't heard her use the work "I" and the word "happy" in a sentence in quite some time without the two thoughts being broken up with a "wish I were" or "wish you were" or "want you to be" or "would be...if you and your sister didn't worry me so much." Therefore, I consider my trip to Seattle to be a public service (my parents being the "public") rather than just a vacation. Public services are far from frivolous expenses and often can be written off.... :)

Nothing for the Worry

Tonight I had my very first public meeting without a project manager by my side to take the heat. Let's be honest, I was a bit nervous. Dragon was there to step in if need be. However, his presence, while comforting, also makes me even more nervous - I hate to make myself look like an ass in front of random people, much less someone I idolize. ("Idolize" I realize is a strong word, but in truth, everyone who really knows the man idolizes him. No joke. No exaggeration.)
So anyway, the minor amount of fretting I allowed myself was in absolute vain. We got there, we sat down, our case was presented, our case was denied. It was an ugly scene, but not the kind of ugly scene that I was responsible for. In fact, no one was responsible. Every hand in the room was tied, but the hands of one. And I swear that if his hands had not been clearly visible while he was lecturing to the small group gathered in the hearing room, I would certainly have thought something nasty was going on under the table. Some people love the taste of their own power, no matter how ill-conceived it is. I'm off subject. My point is (if you can call this a point) that I left the public meeting having neither conquered nor succumbed to the arena. That'll have to wait for another day.

Humidity Equals Misery

When I step outside these days, I can't seem to decide if I'm melting or swelling. Regardless, I'm praying for a cold front.

The Best and Worse This Weekend Had to Offer:

1. Best Construction Site in the Tri-State Area:

On an impromptu trip to a job site, I was amazed to find that the development that has for 2 years been living in my thoughts, actions, efforts, fears, and even sometimes my dreams is now coming to fruition in the real world of dirt and sweat and asphalt. And it is beautiful. If you are into that sort of thing. As it turns out, I am.

2. Worst Game Ever Played at a Baby Shower:

I chose the lucky #5 which won me a place in the race to see who could drink 2 oz of juice from a baby bottle the fastest. It was a much more difficult (and somewhat humiliating) task than I would have anticipated...the hole in that nipple really needs to be a little bit bigger. Regardless, I woke up this morning with a pretty sore tongue muscle and feeling a tiny bit dirty.

3. The Best Children's Book I Almost Read:

Penguin Dreams by Seibold and Walsh, a book about, well, a penguin who dreams, has insanely and delightfully clever illustrations that wisk the reader away to the land, sky, water and space of the penguin psyche. Who knew penguins had so much on their minds? Just read it through once on your own before trying to read it to a 2-year old though. The few words of the book never pick up a rhythm and confuse in the presentation. Much like a human dream.

3. The Best Bushisms (or worst, depending on one's perspective):

"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." - Trenton, New Jersey, Sept. 2002

"Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace." - D.C., July 2003

4. The Worst Cleaning Help:

At 2 lbs, Ada sure can be a hefty load of trouble. The fearless little brat lungs at my broom, tries to drink the swiffer fluid, knocks over my plants, and kicks kitty litter on the floor. Good thing she's cute...it's her only saving grace when it's time to clean.

5. The Best Comedy of the Weekend (and of the Summer):

The Wedding Crashers is wild f'ing ride. I've heard reviews referring to it as the first truly rated R comedy in quite some time. In the current world of the conservative crackdown and evangelical powerhouses, apparently there haven't been too many comedies aimed strictly at adults. I didn't really know what that meant until I saw this movie. I found myself shocked at my own shock in seeing female nudity in a comedy. I mean, I've seen plenty of movies in the last couple of years with nudity in dramas, but in comedies? Not so much.

Wedding Crashers asks Americans to get off their g-damned moral high-horses and have some fun for a couple of hours. From the hooting and cheering in the theater, it seemed like we were all willing to comply.

Go see this movie. If you don't like it, dude, you really need to loosen up a bit.

Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance...

It's that time of year again. Everyone at work seems to either be on vacation, leaving for vacation or returning from vacation. And as much as I would like to be good and responsible with my money, I am itching to have a real vacation of my very own. House payment be damned!

So, in my dreaming mode, I searched airfares. I looked into renting a car. $$$$$ And then it occurred to me that I was completely overlooking one of the best forms of transportation (and one case where the Europeans have it right) - RAIL! Until very, very recently (as in when I checked the Amtrak website last week), I had no idea how many places were served by passenger train. It's amazing! I could travel from Cincinnati to Chicago to Seattle down to south California and then back to Cincinnati by way of Texas all on Amtrak's system. You might say that you'll get to your destination much more quickly via the air, but if getting to your destination is half the fun, then what's the rush? You might say, wouldn't travelling by car be more convenient. Well, sure, in some cases. But last time I checked, sleeping and reading and drinking while you are driving a car is frowned upon in most states.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to climb on board, pop in my earphones and watch the landscape of the west roll on by.

Resurrection of a Blog

Starting over isn't always easy. In fact, it's rarely easy. If you are anything like me (and God help you if you are), you get attached to things...people, places, lifestyles, ways of thinking and behaving and just plain being. And when it's time to give something up, when it's really time to move on, it can be a wretched wrenching righting experience. But, the sun shines on the other side. And the leaves grow. And life marches in a forward progression towards an endgame that I can't even fathom.

I killed this plant once, you know.
Brown and crippled, I set it by my garbage can without the heart to toss it in. But, this plant would have nothing of death. No, it has entirely too much living to do.