Slight amendment.

Must add "put on flannel pjs" and grab that last glass of wonderful wine to list of must dos for tonight. AHHHHHHHH.

Attitude adjustment complete.

I can now face the rest of the evening. Perhaps I may switch book for DVD and just chill on the couch. Ah, such serious decisions to be made.

My feet hurt like the dickens

The SIWC has been a great journey so far!! I had no idea what really went on during a writer's conference, having only been to a few 'festivals' to date. This conference, and I would assume those like them, are for writer's, and about writer's, and all about improving your craft. I have learned a lot and I still have another day. This has also been empowering, and I am glad that I am attended as a volunteer, because as a paying person, you would have to cram so much information and experiences in, your mind would be spinning and I think you would quickly reach the saturation point.

I got to meet Diana a few times. She is wonderful. I brought my hardcovers in for her to sign, and I picked up a copy of her latest installment of the Jamie and Claire series. I can't wait to get tucked in to it. Nothing like having a new book by one of your favs, but also having met them - and they are great people in person. She also has great fashion sense :] funny what you notice when you are a little nervous at being at your first conference, and also meeting people you never thought life would afford you the opportunity to do so.

I also got to meet Jean. Like wow. If meeting Diana wasn't enough, I also got to meet Jean. She was really nice, down to earth, and surprised me by commenting on the first edition of Clan that I have... apparently they are really rare, it is in great condition, and it is now signed... ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I got to meet a few people that I have also read, like Terry, whom has piercing blue eyes and lots of energy.

I spent a lot of time on my feet directing people, but I did get to go to a workshop on "community in writing" hosted by Jenny Crui$e. She was hilarious and dynamic, and I think she could talk even faster than me!!! I think some people had a hard time keeping up with what she had to say, but definitely some food for thought there. I haven't read anything by her, and I think she does chick-lit, but I am now intrigued and may have to look her up at the library next time I am there.

This weekend has also been about rediscovering my writer's voice. I can feel the urge to write awakening, and seeing so many people in every stage of their career has been really inspiring. I have seen people pitch their ideas, talk to hugely successfuly authors, gone to workshops, talked to Agents (hell, I even spilled coffee on myself in the elevator only to be embarrassed later on that it was an agent that was in one of the sessions I was working in, yah, I looked like an idiot there)... it really helps debunk some of the perceived distance for me. Where this will take me, who knows. Tonight, I think I will put the shoes I wore today in to a the pile of shoes I don't need to wear again and chill for a few hours.

It is strange being solo on a Saturday night but my honey is playing hockey, and I see popcorn and a good book in my near future....

Getting ready to head out...

After a boisterous first meeting with a new committee last night, I am heading to my first experiences with the Surrey Writer's Conference. I am volunteering through the day, and I am intoducing a writer named Don McQuinn. My background research indidcates he is a cool dude, retired corps turned to espionage and science fiction writing, sounds like he has a passion for writing and mentoring those coming up. I think the rest of what I am participating in is more administrative, but time will tell.

There is nothing like the unknown - it looks like I will get a lot out of the conference as a volunteer, but who knows?! It could really motivate me to things a little differently in terms of my writing in the future, but time will tell.

Just to make sure I feel properly balanced, I hope to pick up a new hockey helmet on the way. Mine is shot. I keep forgetting to do this (helmets aren't cheap) but it is my head, and well, it was cracked, and then I lost pieces, and it got worse last week. It is time to bite the bullet and make it a priority.

Other cool thing is that Reffffffffiiinnnneeeej is in town, so she is picking my ass up at 5 from the conference! Which is perfect, some time with the kids, some time with her, and then off to shop, and then go play hockey!!! Yup, it will be the day that never ends!

final thought of the day

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star"
Friedrich Wilheim Nietzsche

Get that motor started

Ripley's Back!









I have never seen this cat so chatty - it is like he is telling me everything that they have done to him in the last few days at the vet.

He keeps wrapping himself around my hands, my face, this keyboard... he is so happy to be home. Cross your fingers that all stays well this time.

Our cat is on valium. Crazy eh?

Ripley is a purring machine tonight, and it feels like the weight has lifted from my chest. We are so glad to have him back, and the only time he has stopped with the affection is to run to the window to watch the squirrels. Too bad for him and his shaved derriere he can only look from behind the window.

That, combine with a chocolate utopia, and life is looking a lot better than it was just a few days ago. What a relief. One more day of work, and then off to the Writer's Festival. I am now participating all three days, and I get to introduct two speakers. It sounds like it will be an amazing event, and comes at the right time. I would love to continue to develop my writing skills, to do some projects on the side would help a lot at this stage of the game. Only time will tell what opportunities spin off from here. I am just glad to be able to participate as a volunteer, and see what all this is about. It is more than just a writer's conference where author's read excerpts from their books and answer questions at the end, these are workshops that enable potential writers to do just that.

When you have that destructive urge

Try this out!!!!

Definitely therapeutic. The screams are hilarious.

People are strange

Perhaps that tag line should read, sometimes I am strange. I don't think I am all that special in that awareness, I think most people are a bit odd some times, just depends on how much you want to acknowledge and/or embrace that.

I have definitely been feeling a bit introspective the last few days. Ripley needed a little more care and attention from the vet, which is stressful on us three. We both really care about our little guy and all you want to do is do the right thing by your buddy. I really believe that we are doing the best we can, and it has been an amazing part of my relationship to know I stand facing this all as a unit/partnership, not as an individual. It makes this seem not so daunting after all, knowing that your partner's hand is clutched in yours, and you both care and are on the same page. I waited a long time for a relationship like this, and it is great to finally be there :] Besides affirming this, he just called to affirm that Ripley is on the mend again, YAY! Makes my heart swell to know we have each other in the wings, loving and supporting, caring, and living together (so much more than just sharing space with each other).

My strange part for today, sometimes I end up being bad about phoning/emailing people back right away. I have less of a desire to spend time on the phone than I did when I was younger, and after some intense days at work where I can't control when I speak to people or when they see me, I find that I hold my private time closer to my chest. It doesn't mean I don't want to talk to that person, but sometimes it is more about having the emotional energy to do it too. Once you attend to your core - yourself, your partner, your immediates, there isn't always a lot left over, emotionally or time wise, and I would rather be there fully in the moment, rather than pick up the phone and hurry through it unless it is a touch base thing where you make a plan to catch up a later date. I have no idea if this makes any sense, but there you go.

Thanksgiving.. never too late for a savoury meal

We celebrated our Thanksgiving Dinner today with our folks, and my brother. First time officially all done at our place, and on our own without asking 5 trillion questions on what to do with this really cold and clammy, and kind of obscene (but tasty when cooked) bird.

This was made a little tougher by the fact that we didn't get in until close to dawn due to a long, drawn out texa$ hold em game at a friends place :] it was a lot of fun, just not as much fun at 4:30 am when we truly realized what time it was... so I was tired this morning. Took me a while to get going, and to get motivated to get the dressing made, and figure out the meal details. Everything went off without a hitch, my apple pie was amazing, and I have leftovers! Yay! Makes a few meals a little easier to plan - hmm, do we have Turkey Pie or Just Plain ol Leftovers. Both are equally appealing.

So, I am over tired, I think I will have a bath, and I feel a bit fried.

Buzzzzzzzzzzz

Ahhh. The joys of being Canadian and finding YOUR energy drink. Move over competitors, this beaver will take a bite out of you!!! LOL

Fall Days

I love fall days like today where the sun comes out, and when you step outside, the sun warms you like a caress.

Last night's hockey game was exciting. We couldn't hold on to a lead to save our lives. It was like we would score a goal, YAY! and then we would lay back and all just miss catching up to their players by just enough to give our outstanding goalie (yes I am biased because I love him lots) much of a chance. We ended up with a tie, 5-5, and it was a well played game. Being the git that I am, playing defense, I see a shot coming right for the net. Brain says, TURN FROM THE PAIN forgetting that my shin pads don't wrap all the way around, they are there to protect my shins not my calves. I think it is the first time being smacked with the puck that I didn't start swearing like a sailor on the ice. It hurt so much all I could think of was "holy shit" and it never made it past my brain. I successfully blocked the puck, but should not have turned. I have a great bruise coming up, and as my dear love would say, that is hockey, suck it up. He's right, but it still makes a great story, and give it a few days to become more colourful!

No call from SIWC yet - I guess my poems didn't make the final cut. Ah well, there is always another time in this purely subjective endeavour.

Taking the plunge

After almost a year of humming and hawing, I finally decided to hawk a few items on the bay of selling. It took forever to craft my listings - I am really surprised at how easy but time consuming it really is to sell stuff this way. I guess that is one way to learn a few more html tags!

Days off always go too freaking fast. Good intentions fly out the window, laundry only gets half done, and chores are left somewhere in the middle. Hell, I haven't even finished reading my lastest book yet (Michael Connelly kick, reading City of Bones this go around). I think with the tosvy turvy weekend that I had last go around, I guess today's general farting around and wasting of time is no big surprise.

I don't get what happens to days like this. I putter, and get easily distracted - like surfing the net, attempting to do constructive things, but then it is getting close to 6 and I have to think about dinner?! Like, WTF?! I have hockey to look forward to later on, we have another late game, we don't play until 10:15! Ah well, I guess it is time to go and clean up after myself. BAH. Will never be anything close to a perfect housekeeper. It just doesn't rank high enough in my overall priority scheme of things. Tidy is good, spotless is just too much damn work for very little payback.

Random thought

On one of the brain fluff thursday night reality shows, one of the guys commented that he is not in to the "novelty size" women's chests out yonder.

Since when have the girls been referred to as "novelty size"? Freaking bizarre. I guess novelty size is when you wonder whether or not it is the ocean you hear or a valley that trembles. Never looked at chest size like that before...

Cool Stuff

Got back from the volunteer's meet and greet for SIWC a while ago. Damn, it looks cool, although I am a slightly glazed eyed newbie to the lot. So far, I will be introducing a few authors, and perhaps working the room where potential scribes are booked in for short appointments with editors and agents.

A real sneak peek in to the world of writing and some of my favourite authors will be there!!! I can get some books signed at the book fair, and attend workshops if I am not volunteering for a session during that time.

I am stoked. I am like a kid on Hallowe'en with a full bag of candy.

Looking at the presenter's list is pretty inspiring. Jean Auel and Diana Gabaldon are both keynote speakers, and I should be able to hang out at the back of the room and listen in. I am really looking forward to this experience!!! From the sounds of it, volunteering is a great way to go because from what I gleaned from some of the folk there, as a paying customer, it is an overwhelming weekend because there is so much going on and can have a huge impact on how one approaches the craft of writing. At least this way, I can be a part of it, and pick and choose a few workshops at my own pace :]

Priority Sheet

These are signs in Japanese Metro Trains, "Priority Seats for... (from left to right)"

1. person with injured arm
2. person holding a child
3. pregnant woman
4. person with injured leg

Learned something else new!

Yikes!

Well, I think I actually may have used some muscles again tonight. I took the plunge and went to aquafit. One distinct drawback - I stink like chlorine. I even showered and washed my hair before I left the pool. One distinct advantage, I think I burned off some angst, even if there is still some waiting to be dispersed.

Fall is definitely starting to show it's colours as well. I am working at my secondary location and I actually have a window, and I look at out green space (novel concept if you could see my other locale - four walls, within four walls, within another box. Nothing like never knowing if it is daylight or not). The trees that line the path in are like burning matchsticks. The reds take your breathe away, and the oranges, and yellows, and trees that have yet to turn. It is a beautiful tapestry out there. I think I would miss the seasonal changes if I lived in a place where it was the same ol, same ol all the time.

Memes

Filled with all this new feline knowledge, I felt that I should continue on my quest to teach this old dog some new tricks.

I noted on J's blog, that there is a new meme that was going around. A few questions later, I kind of got the gist of this latest craze, but that surface knowledge just wasn't enough for me on this glorious day. Ok, so the sun came out and it is perking me up.

So what the hell is a meme, to us other lay peoples?

A meme can be seen as an idea that we, as humans, communicate. Memes are a kind of thing, but they only live inside of our minds. Like all things, memes fit better with some things than others. Some memes naturally fit better in people’s minds. Some memes naturally fit better with other memes. When a group of memes fit well together and pull the strings of someone’s mouth and vocal cords so that they pass them on to others, a new, self-replicating thing gets created. The new thing is called a memeplex.

Accordingly, a meme can also be viewed as simply a unit of intellectual or cultural information that survives long enough to be recognized as such, and which can pass from mind to mind. There's not much of a sense of describing thought processes, but nor is it just a model. A meme survives in the world because people pass it on to other people, either vertically to the next generation, or horizontally to our fellows.

Memes are contagious ideas, all competing for a share of our mind in a kind of Darwinian selection. According to Richard Brodie, memes can evolve, they become better and better at distracting and diverting us from whatever we'd really like to be doing with our lives. On this website, there is an interesting piece on chain mails, etc. and how they can be "mind viruses".

The OED defines the meme as "a cultural element or behavioural trait whose transmission and consequent persistence in a population, although occurring by non-genetic means (esp. imitation), is considered as analogous to the inheritance of a gene. Examples are tunes, clothes, ideas, catch phrases..."

Interesting stuff. Not sure what to make of it, but interesting just the same. Now you and me know.

Ripley's Home! (major cat care post)

Ripley's Home! And even better than that, no conehead :]

I guess I have been pretty lucky until now about never having had a cat with FLUDT before. For a while there, between a variety of circumstances beyond my control, my cats weren't living that log so this has never been an issue before.

From what I can gather from the Vet Assistants, the biggest problem with the cheaper grocery store cat food is that they are high in ash and magnesium. If your cat has any disposition to urinary tract problems, between the ages of 3-5 FLUDT can occur and without treatment that means a quick decline. Ripley's brother Murphy doesn't seem to have had the same issues, and never seemed to drink as much water as Ripley did/does.

Since Ripley has had FLUDT, we do have to do the special diet from here on out. Once the initial part is over (the two cats eat seperately with different foods), then they can both eat the special diet stuff that will help prevent recurrance of the crystals (after the vet bills, this food looks like a great preventative solution) and ultimate prevention for the other guy. When I asked about the better store brands, the assistant today pretty much said nay it is a no-go for us, and that Medi-cal or C/D formula is the true only way to go from this point since this incident.

Now, if your cats have not had an issue like this, and knowing what I do now, I would at least make a switch to a better cat food that is low mag/low ash to make sure 4 legged friends are healthier from the get go. Here is a way to make it cheaper for the first month (read free bag of cat food). It's funny, because we would all say that our cats are worth it, and we all have searched out for the best deals because it is an expense and it is natural to try to figure out ways to save a little money. I guess in future I will just buy bulk and try to save money that way, and with the wet food, the boys will be on total rations from here on out. No more over feeding and wasting the stuff. In the big picture of things, all positives.

The vet hospital was an interesting place this morning. It was smoking busy, and two cats do live there, which make their rounds to concerned owners cooling their heels. This clinic is only open nights, weekends, and holidays and there are only 3 in the GVRD. Our major break was that one of those clinics is at the bottom of our hill, so we didn't have to factor in a big drive to and from our place, a small mercy.

So the cats are getting reaquainted, and that was our holiday weekend! Slowly all is coming to right again, with the small exception that I didn't get any assists on friday night and I swear I was at least a part of one of those goals!

More on cat health

I never guessed that in the last week I would become knowledgeable about FLUTD. That would be Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. Anything in life can be a learning experience.

Our vet is recommending that once Ripley's inflammation has been sorted out, and all is working as it should, that both cats be put on a better diet.

I read this hilarious review of the PRESCRIPTION (like, OMG?!!) cat food for the boys that has been suggested as a maintenance food, which will put a significant dent in the budget, YES they are worth it, or, a slightly cheaper alternative and apparently comes highly recommended. When we get to pick up the Ripper, I will talk to the clerk and see what is up, and whether or not we should the c/d route for the first while and then perhaps switch to the Purrina 1 once health is restored as a cheaper and more available alternative to the prescription stuff.

Makes you start to question some of those diet choices any of us can(do) make. I have been going off about the cats, but what about us too? I have suspected for a while that many health issues are directly (or indirectly) linked to what people are eating. I try to shop the outside aisles at the grocery store, trying to stay away from the heavily processed foods of a questionable nature. We all slip, hell, every now and then I get these cravings for things I know are bad - like the cheese dip for nacho chips. We switched to bottled water about a year ago, and I think we have been healthier overall. When you read articles about how many pre$cription drug$ make it in to our water supply, it is scary!!

Enough of my rant.

Happy Turkey Day

Well, the little guy should be sprung tonight after 8 pm (all crossables crossed). I decided that with my other cat all wiggy without his buddy, and how this weekend has transpired so far, I am sticking close to home. I will either roast a chicken or do up a ham for dinner tonight. It was a tough decision to make. Turns out my gram is not going over to my Aunt's, and as I tossed and turned about what is right, I figured that I committed to getting my cat well, and then to not be around when he gets back is a bit hypocritical. Folks ended up driving on to the ferry, so it will be time unknown for them getting home tomorrow since there are no reservations available and guaranteed ferry waits, which only partially makes me feel better about staying in. Either way could have been a right decision, do I stay, do I go? but I think it is all good about staying back.

After all the furor about INXS, looks like they are opening in Vancouver (thanx Regs) next January. Will be interesting to see how fast it sells out, and whether or not a lot of us will head out to watch it.

Still waiting to see the stats from Friday's Crush Victory! All in all a decent game, and I think that I ended up with a few assists! I felt that I played well, and I definitely felt better after playing. I don't think that Ken saw a shot until midway through the second period! We played at 11pm, which made it hard to stay motivated before we played, and then you end up awake at 3am from the receding adrenaline rush!

I would settle for blah

Well, the little guy is at an 'emergency animal clinic' for at least another day because the vet I went to has no one around for the rest of the long weekend. ARGH, but what can you do? What is that saying, in for an inch, in for a mile? Ripley is stable, but needs more time for the urine crystals to pass, enough fluids to go through his system, and then he can come home. It looked positive this morning, but then there was another backup and back to needed catheder, etc. Hopefully another 24 hours of monitored care, and then he can come home, or at worst, monday morning. This does mean a lifelong diet change for the boys. Apparently Fri$kies or Whi$ka$ are "death in bag" for cats according the clerk at the clinic. That is a little eye opening. So the boys will be a little more pampered in the future.

Was great to have my friend D in town, but hard too, because I was really enjoying our visit, but a part of my brain is processing the whole "cat down" situation, as well as the money part. What can you do? In the comments, all you lovely ladies who have four legged friends get that hard part of the decision, once made, you have to go with it. It feels right in the heart and that is what you gotta do.

My sweetheart is out getting us some comfort food. Usually I would be going for some beef and broc, but this time around I am going to try out some mango butter chicken. Combine that with some DC and movies, maybe some hockey on the tube for the battle of the west, and that would be our laid back saturday night. I feel a bit emotionally done like I would love to avert making some big decisions for a little bit. Ripley is on the mend, there are unknown factors, but everything that matters is there. Tomorrow I will head to the island solo for Thanksgiving Dinner, and then get home on Monday. We couldn't get ferry reservations, so we will go as walk on to avoid waiting for 6 hours on either side.