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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-20

Sunday, 2009-December-20 by

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Sosta’s Travels & Meets Grandpapa

Tuesday, 2009-December-15 by

When Sosta first adopted me, we did a bit of traveling to see friends. We went to Tampa and Miami. Luckily for me, she was in the car often enough to be comfortable with our short trips. It was nice to have a car-friendly cat. While she wasn’t as happy as a dog with its head out the window, she did tolerate the trips quite well.

In early 1997, I got a job offer from Texas A&M (from what turned out to be the worst boss I’ve ever had ). I had about a week to pack up my apartment in Orlando and move half way across the country. I rented a U-haul and the little car dolly thing for the back. Daddy made plans to fly to Orlando and make the drive with me. In the mean time, he and Mom had been to College Station and picked out an apartment for me.

I picked Daddy up from the airport on a Friday night. I think I spent the entire ride telling him about Sosta. We were a dog family, and Daddy had never liked cats. I wanted so badly for him to not hate her.

At the apartment, I was excited by how much packing I had done; Daddy was disappointed at how much there was left to do. But that was secondary to Daddy meeting Sosta.

Since my parents never understood why I had a futon instead of a bed, and since on their only other visit to Orlando, they bought me a bed, I made the bed for Daddy and made the futon for me. I didn’t think Sosta would have trouble with it since she was used to sleeping on either/both. She and I had a nightly routine. We watched tv and snuggled on the futon…and then went to sleep in the bed.

Well, she took straight to Daddy. He’d traveled for hours to get to Orlando. I’d been packing for days. We were exhausted. From the minute we got to the apartment, we were getting ready to go to sleep. Even without our tv routine, she hopped up on the bed and waited for him to join her. She spent the first night they met curled up on his feet. For her, it was love at first sight. For him, it was meeting the coolest cat any of us had ever known.

From that day, he was her man. She met other men in her life but no one else was worthy of so much affection from her…until she met Emil, of course.

The next day, Daddy and I did got up super early and some lightening-fast packing and loading. Once it was all done, we gave Sosta her drugs and made a spot for her in the moving truck. She was a very funny “drunk” kitty. We got her settled in and pulled away from the complex just before noon.

While taking a break somewhere in the middle of our trip, I lost Sosta. I looked all through the cab of the truck and couldn’t find her anywhere. I was just “this side” of panicked when Daddy found her crouched behind my seat. She just about gave me a heart attack.

In College Station, I felt it important that she have a little more space to move around and wouldn’t let Mom put her in the bathroom (she’d been in such a tiny space for 2 whole days). Well, in the course of moving furniture and boxes into the apartment, she sneaked out. We looked everywhere for her. We put food out on the patio, went to dinner and came back, and looked again unsuccessfully. I cried myself to sleep that night and dreamed of her return. Waking up to the reality that she was still gone was harsh. After breakfast, I was standing at the patio door looking out and feeling very alone in my new town when I saw her wander up. I cried all over again, but this time tears of joy. Her little night out in her new town almost broke my heart. She did what always did whenever I was upset and licked the tears off my face.

For the next several months, Sosta and I would make a trip to Paris every 4-5 weeks. She’d ride in the car like she had in Florida and even learned to tell time. She always knew when we were getting close to home. She’d start stirring and getting antsy about 20 minutes from home.

Over the years, and especially as Mom/Daddy’s dog Randi Cae gold older, Sosta didn’t travel to Paris quite as often. Her last big car trip was the move to Austin.

In her last few months, she knew that when the carrier came out, she was going to the vet. She was always a very good patient and completely trusted everyone who ever examined her.

.

.

David “Poppy” Capehart truly ruined so much for so many. He’s one of the most evil and cruel people I’ve ever known. Sosta is a big reason I survived the year of working for/with him and didn’t abandon Aggieland altogether.

Later, when I was still using the futon for a couch, they bought me a sleeper sofa. I kept both it and the futon in my living room for a very long time. I finally got rid of it in 1998 after using it for 5+ years. This year, Emil and I bought a futon when we moved into our apartment in Austin. I had forgotten how much I like them. They make great couches since they aren’t too squishy. It’s great for my late-night tv watching.

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Sosta Travels Over the Rainbow Bridge

Tuesday, 2009-December-15 by

Today was terribly difficult…one of the worst of my life as Sosta traveled over the Rainbow Bridge.

I took Sosta to the vet with the hope (but not expectation) that they would have a way to make her more comfortable while she lived her last few days with us. From a visual and physical inspection—and coupled with her medical history—the vet found her to be in liver failure as well as probable kidney failure. Coupled with the terminal cancer, there were no viable treatment or even management options. Every option available was “kitty hospice” feeding tubes, hydration by injection, and other horrible treatments. I called Emil and we agreed that keeping her with us for even another day or two would just be more discomfort for her. Truthfully, it would have meant more agony for us, too. We’d already watched her decline severely over the last three days.

There was no spark or twinkle left in her eyes. She still recognized, marked, loved, and appreciated us. She could barely muster a purr. Watching her force her breathing a little gave us a sign of what was to come.

Emil left work a little early and met me at the clinic. Together, we made the difficult and painful decision to say goodbye. We had a very long and touching time with her before she cross over. I know that her last moments and memories were with and of us.

We thanked her for being the most amazing cat ever and for all she’d done for me and for us. We asked her to tell her sister, Mitad, and her Grandpapa, Larry, that we love them, too. They were the best of friends to us and to one another.

When we came home with an empty carrier, Purrrrrl immediately sniffed all around looking for her sister. Though I had tried to facilitate a goodbye moment between them just in case, Purrrrrl was still expecting Sosta to come home. I had forgotten that part of Mitad’s death ~18 months ago. Sosta cried literal tears down her cheeks when Mitad didn’t come back home with us. I guess they each knew the other was not well, but were not hit with the realization until home had one less nose to count.

Life isn’t fucking fair. Again, I say, if any creature deserves to live one more moment on this planet, it is her—-far above and beyond anyone I’ve ever met. Her love was pure and her heart was genuine. She never ever caused any harm to anyone else. She deserved more than 14+ years of life. I deserve more than 13+years with her in my life. Only the good die young.

Sosta, we will always love and honor you. You were the most amazing cat I’ve ever known and the most gentle and caring creature on Earth.

The Rainbow Bridge symbolizes a pet crossing over into your/their version of Heaven. Personally, Heaven would not be complete for me without Sosta (and Mitad, Valvet, Gypsy, Ladd, and Randi Cae). I like non-human members of my family more than I like most people. It wouldn’t be Heaven for me unless they were all there.

Gypsy was the best about this and would have been a fabulous pack leader. She wanted everyone to be at home when it was time for bed. She’d walk from my dad to my mom to me. If we were all there, she’d snuggle down ready to sleep. If any one of us was out late (Daddy was a basketball coach, Mom went to educational conferences, I had sleepovers), she would walk from one of us to the other and then wander the house looking for the third human-member of the family. Mom gave it the nickname, “counting noses”. She really did want all of us at home, together.

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The time draws near…

Sunday, 2009-December-13 by

For the last few days, Sosta has begun to get worse. She’s all but stopped eating, drinks a bunch of water, and misses the litter box. Her eyes have lost their color and spark, as well.

When she made it through mid-October, we were so happy. That was longer than the vets anticipated. Truthfully, after she recovered from the surgery, she was far better than she had been before it. Having her for Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving was great. …but we neither one think she’ll make it to Christmas.

We’re going to call the vet tomorrow to see if we can manage any discomfort she’s having…but unless they can do something to improve her appetite, we suspect her time left with us will be pretty short.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-13

Sunday, 2009-December-13 by

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When Happy Times Cause Stress…

Monday, 2009-December-7 by

…they cease being happy.

This sounds like common sense. Too bad there are too many who don’t understand this. So, since the holidays are near, I need to share my usual bah-humbug perspective.

Christmas is not everyone’s favorite holiday.

It’s my least favorite. I’d honestly rather work than be part of it most years. Wait, that’s not exactly true. I’d rather be refreshed enough to go to work….but I am always completely spent after weeks of hurried preparations, battling a little inclement weather, staving off germs, shopping, cooking, crowds, dressing up, making nice to those who love the time of year, and listening to Jingle-freakin’-Bells for the 800th time since mid-October. In order to have enough energy for all the holiday obligations, I need to opt out of most of the usual holiday traditions. So, what I really want is quality time in a variety of forms. I want to be relaxed and refreshed enough to try to enjoy the little moments of the holiday that I do like. And, yes, by the time I get to the actual holiday, I’m tired/grumpy/miserable and would rather be almost anywhere else.

Christmas is supposed to draw family/friends together, not create feelings of guilt.

It’s much-too-often about the gifts. No matter what I do, I leave the holidays with big pangs of guilt. Is that what it’s supposed to be? I don’t think so.

Guilt comes in many forms.

  • Self-induced Guilt: “I should not have eaten so much” combined with “What do I have to show for the year?”
  • Family Guilt: It’s a complex puzzle, the holiday calendar. Cut your kids/in-laws/friends some slack.
  • Present Guilt: I work very hard to get things I think people can’t/won’t get for themselves. Sometimes that means they have to try new things. (gasp! the horror!). I am often met with, “this just doesn’t work for me.” When I dial it back to traditional, I get “they don’t need any more of that” or “I don’t use those anymore.” It’s not fun to shop for ideas/nothing; in fact, it’s very stressful. It’s not fun to give (or receive) presents they don’t like or want. It’s not fun to have to return anything you thought was just perfect for them (a risk I willingly take on when I look for an original gift idea). Requests for a Wish List are met with little-to-no action.
  • Party Guilt: Every flippin’ group, company, etc. has to have a “Christmas” party. This, more than just about any other aspect of the holiday, pisses me off. For the reasons listed below, I have sworn off almost all holiday parties.
  1. Unless this is a church event, not all of the organization’s members are Christian, so the organizers need to at least have the courtesy to call it a Holiday party and include, Jews, Muslims, SBNRs, etc. instead of excluding them. Shocking fact for those with that tunnel vision: Christmas is not the only holiday at that time of year.
  2. There are eleven other months of the year. Why must you compete with every other entity by having your party at the same time? Did you know February is the least-utilized party month? It has 3+ perfectly good weekends that don’t conflict with any major holiday or even the fundraiser season.
  3. Do not ask for more than one contribution. Guests can be asked to buy a ticket, or bring a dish, or bring a toy for charity, or bring a gift for a game/exchange, but do not ask guests to do more than one of these things. Asking for 3-4 is just rude. We aren’t guests anymore, at that point. We are co-hosts, so put our names on the invitation.
  • Game Guilt: I don’t do White Elephants. I’ll play other kinds of gift swap games, but not that one. They are never fun for me, so don’t argue and tell me that I’ll love it. I hate them and spend the whole time with my stomach in knots. I do not take some sick pleasure in making fun of people for whatever stupid thing they happened to open. I do not attend parties where this is part of the entertainment, even when the boss tries to guilt me into thinking it’s mandatory.

Guilt causes stress.

…and stress makes for unhappiness.

… … and being unhappy defeats the point of any celebration.

Takaway: Less is More

In a nutshell: less is more. Less expectations, smaller requests. Don’t hold everyone else to the same ideals to which you subscribe. It may be your favorite time of year. You may adore all the parties and errands and baking and music. But give the rest of us a little breathing room and respect.

loon.

I actually don’t think she’s old by her age. She’s old in her mind. And, she’s bitter. I don’t know if you are really as “young as you feel” but she was definitely as “old” as she acted.

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Double The Pleasure; Double The Fun

Monday, 2009-December-7 by

Ever since we moved here, I’ve been wondering why Thursdays are so popular for events. We can have our calendars ~wide open for Monday and Tuesday evenings. Wednesdays have a few things every other week or so. But Thursdays tend to 1-2 events every week and sometimes 3 events on the same night/time seeking the exact same niche within their audience. Even in a city where there are plenty of people to go around, this has caused tension within that group. Frankly, when that happens, I usually end up going to nothing. Just looking at the calendar makes me tired. ha!

This past week, however, some holiday something was being discussed. I didn’t pay much attention. I was making a polite excuse to miss and commented that “everything” in this town happens on Wednesday and Thursday. Another woman in our conversation circle summed it up better than I’ve been able to so far. It went a little something like this:

“In Austin, Wednesday evening is like Friday night. So, Thursday is Saturday night. And, then, Friday is Friday, again, and Saturday is Saturday.”

So, every week has two weekends!

Double The Pleasure; Double The Fun

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Aggies to take on Bulldogs in the Independence Bowl

Monday, 2009-December-7 by

Aggies to take on Bulldogs in the (Advocare 100) Independence Bowl, December 28, 2009, Shreveport, Louisiana, #gigem

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Miami to play Wisconsin in Orlando’s Bowl Game

Monday, 2009-December-7 by

The University of Miami takes on the University of Wisconsin, Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando Florida. #gocanes

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-06

Sunday, 2009-December-6 by

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