Completely random thoughts

I'm going to be all over the place with this post.

1) First things first: my third round of rabies shots is Wednesday, thanks everyone for your support. Still no symptoms, so I daresay I did not CATch rabies, at least not this this go-round. My dogs have been clingier lately, like they sense we have more in common these days. I can also confirm that I have no supercatpowers. That dream is officially over. Probably for the best, as it would be annoying to be allergic to myself.

2) Auburn made a head-scratching decision for coach, but he's cute and fiery and I'm getting behind him. Nothing else to do. I've agonized over the firesignation of Tommy Tuberville enough and it's time to move on. Go get 'em Mean Gene!

3) With all the cat murder and rabies scare drama going on, I failed to blog about my one-year bloggiversary. It was last Wednesday! Shout-out to all my muses, including but not limited to: Taco, Stinky, Maddie and Sugs, my crazy college friends, my family members, and of course, my sweet chinchilla Gavin.

I've blogged 128 times over a year, so that's about one post every 2.8 days. I'm proud of myself for staying with it. A lot of bloggers bail by now. I look at it as a nice little hobby. Looking back over the past year, so much has happened on this blog: Maddie's snout tumor, agility class pupdates, brilliant political analysis, my obsession with Taco, trips, weddings, catricide... I've compiled a list of some highlights.

Young, eager med student, at your cervix.
Springsteen and Streisand
Posts about Taco and my obsession with him
I could bearly believe it
Team Vegas
Chicago Review
Posts about Stinky
Posts about Maddie's agility classes

Anyway, lots going on this week: book club meeting, Gavin's office Christmas party, and hopefully some weekend relaxation is just around the corner. Ta for now, be seeing you.

Third day post-bite, and I'm feline pretty good.

Total number of rabies shots endured so far: 4 (3 Wednesday, 1 today)

Total number of rabies shots to go: 3

Superpower cat characteristics exhibited: 0 (I woke up Thursday morning desiring milk which made me hopeful, but that took me nowhere except cerealtown.)

Regular cat characteristics exhibited: 1. Irritation with humans (particularly those running Auburn) check.

I'm not kitten around.

So listen to what happened to me today. I moseyed on out to my car at lunch to go run some errands. I got in, cranked her up, pulled forward, and... bump. I turned around. There was DEFINITELY a little tiny furry kitten writhing around on the ground where my tire was just an instant before. I was horrified.

So I pulled into a nearby space and ran over to the scene of the accident. Kitten breathing. Kitten moving around. Kitten in distress. What do I do??!! The kitten wasn't bleeding, so I picked it up, cradled it, and ran inside the building to ask someone else what to do and of course make my problem all of a sudden everyone else’s too. Do I take it to the vet? Does someone know cat CPR? Is it too late?

I was lucky to encounter the downstairs receptionist, Lisa, who grew up on a farm. She took the cat from me, took a look, and let me down easy that the kitten was definitely dying and there was probably nothing the vet could do. A few seconds later the kitten stopped moving. No pulse. Lisa wrapped it up and gave it to a runner to put in the dumpster.

At this point, tears were flowing, but I went to the bathroom to wash up and got back in my car. I was feeling terrible at this point, thinking, not only am I a cat murderer, but I also had to involve practically the whole law firm and disrupt commerce.

So as I’m driving away, I remember that the kitten bit me on the arm as I was taking him inside. I barely noticed at the time, because, you know, tiny teeth, adrenaline. But I started thinking about it and decided to call the doctor because, you never know. Fast forward 10 minutes and I’m in the special vaccination clinic waiting for a rabies vaccine, thinking, wow... things sure got out of control fast. Three shots and a prescription for stiff antibiotics later, (and four more periodically administered shots to go) here I sit, recounting my tale of catricide.

It’s pretty funny when you think about it, provided I’m not rabid and minus the dead kitten part. But there’s a bright side no matter what. Maybe rabies will make me cooler and more popular, kind of like Michael J. Fox in TeenWolf. Maybe I’ll take on cat qualities. You know.... sleep under cars, become cold and aloof, appear on Broadway for nine years straight. Perhaps some good will come of all this.

In the meantime, I’ll keep you all posted on my condition.

"I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and ...... I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing"

No, it's not Britney Spears talking about her virginity circa 1998. I thought that at first, too. No no, it's an actual quote (alleged I should say, from an FBI wiretap) from the governor of Illinois, talking about how best to go about profiting financially from his responsibility to appoint Obama's successor in the U.S. Senate.

This is really staggering news, folks. WOW. There's so much to say about this. How about I offer my commentary and a little Monday-morning quarterbacking advice for the gov.

Dear Bad News Blagojevich:

1. What is up with the hair? I can't tell if you live at the governor's mansion or down at the Pike house. How about a biyearly trim? You could learn a thing or two from another wayward politician in your party, John Edwards. He always looks fizzzine.

No.

Hey there.... what's your name...

2. What's with the language? I mean, it's one thing to flagrantly pimp out a U.S. Senate seat for your own personal financial and political gain, but all the bleepity bleeping.... that's just poor form.

3. How did you think you could plot and scheme like this so openly with people and not get busted? I mean, reading these quotes makes it clear to me that you are a total a-hole, and guess what, people aren't always rarin' to go down with the a-hole ship. No one likes you. You have a 13% approval rating in a completely blue state! This was out-and-out, full-blown, unmitigated narcissism. Fascinating!

4. Let me take another look at you. Yes. You look a little like Rudy to me. That's weird. Well, you will be riding the bench for awhile.....
























Anyway, if you haven't read up on this character, please check out the articles. It's astounding to me that someone could be so arrogant as to think he has ownership of a United States Senate seat, rather than the people of Illinois, and can sell it to the highest bidder! Make fun of him on your blogs - consider it your civic duty.

Team Vegas Recruitment Update

Friends, I am happy to report that our recruitment efforts have yielded an exciting addition to Team Vegas. Meet the new recruit!


Holly:
Age: 27
Occupation: Executive Assistant
Interests: Auburn football, Atlanta, reality television, dogs, reading, office supplies shaped like animals, pumpkin spice lattes
Activities: Wine consumption, boot camp, physical altercations with strangers who pick on her friends, blogging, being a Republican, mooning (sure to be lots of fun in Vegas - we are excited about this recruit - quite the coup.)

We also want to give a shout out to the husbands who gave us the green light to head to Vegas to have fun with the girls and spend the hard-earned family money while they each stay home with two dogs apiece. Thanks guys!!

Gavin!
Brett!
Matt!

Thanks guys! There is definitely a t-shirt in it for each of you.

Team Vegas

Well, since I don’t have enough going on, and I really don't feel like I do enough traveling, a few of my peeps and I have decided to cast caution to the wind and go to Las Vegas!

We are heading out there in February and I am pumped. We are going to see Elton John at Caesar’s Palace and otherwise just engage in various forms of tomfoolery, diablerie, high jinx, roguery, balderdash, nonsense, piffle… whatever comes our way.

Meet the team!

Me
Age: 29
Occupation: Attorney
Interests: Auburn football, books, internet, husband, beer, NY, dogs.
Activities: Schadenfreude, being sarcastic, whatever, you people know this.

Meg:
Age: 29
Occupation: Regional property manager
Interests: Auburn football, the proper care, feeding, and fashion trends of Dachshunds, pop culture literature, Netflix, Showtime programming, margaritas, decks and/or porches.
Activities: Blogging, reading, movie viewing, margarita consumption, avoiding pickles, cantaloupe, and grapefruit.

April:
Age: 27
Occupation: Psychologist
Interests: Auburn football, psychology, the art of sleeping comfortably, cable, beer, wine, communism.
Activities: Shopping, avoiding other people’s pets, acrimonious political debate, tripping over things, being hilarious.

Leah:
Age: 28 (but soooo close to being 29)
Occupation: Attorney
Interests: Auburn football, German engineering, beer, red wine, stuffed horses, Europe stuff.
Activities: People watching, beer/wine consumption, gardening, blog stalking, general smart-person stuff, being sophisticated and cultural.

You might note some glaring holes in the roster (Kristin, Lindsey, Holly, Sudan, Katherine, Katie). Indeed, we are in the process of recruiting more team members. However, in the meantime, I leave you with the words of Gene Hackman from one of my all time favorite movies, Hoosiers (with some adjustments as appropriate):

“I would hope you’d support who we are, not who we are not. These six (four) individuals have made the choice to work (party), the choice to sacrifice (buy plane tickets), to put themselves on the line twenty three nights (three nights) for the next four months (in the next two months) to represent you, this high school (themselves, for fun). This is your team.”

Amen.

Stinky strikes again.

I mean really. Yet another nemesis I cannot defeat.

Friends, just the other night, I once again found myself fighting the olfactory battle I thought I had lost for the last time, with Stinky, pouncing on the machine right next to mine in gym Siberia. Like a rat on a cheeto.

Stinks, I know not your reasons for eschewing artificial (and/or natural) body odor control altogether. The truth is, I respect that life decision, and I try to live with it. I try to locate you upon entering the gym so I can isolate you, but sometimes you get to the gym after me. I feel like maybe in another, more fragrant life we could be friends. As it stands, we need time apart. Far apart.

There is no solution. I take that back. Deodorant is the solution. Oh well.


Later.