So Will was out with a friend last night, and the friend asked him if he was ready for Valentine's Day. Will told him nope, he didn't need to, Stacey doesn't buy into all that. The guy apparently responded with "You've got a lot to learn about women..."
More like the guy has a lot to learn about Stacey... <grin>
When he's not sleeping, keeping a watchful eye out the window, or lying on my lap preventing me from typing gracefully, this is how my silly kitty passes the time:
A few days ago, I sent feedback to Round Table Pizza about a very late delivery and a disappointing customer service experience. The next day, I received a personal reply from the *son of the founder* apologizing for the poor service, letting me know what they should have done, and what they will be doing going forward.
That, my friends, is a business with commitment to their customers...a rare find nowadays.
Just realized that yesterday marked eight years since Pepper made his trip west...hard to believe that much time has gone by, and even harder to process all that has happened in those years. He's seen me through some really rough times, and is still as awesome as ever...one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever gotten.
I lost another friend today...goodbye Palma. Thank you for your friendship, empathy, support, and love...
Years back, I'd been visiting the Pets in Need shelter in Redwood City off and on for a while; when I was ready to get another cat, I went into the rooms and sat down on the floor with the cats, watching them interact and play. One rather large, rather wobbly cat walked over and just plopped herself into my lap.
Decision made.
The day we went to the vet's office for the last time, I was sitting on the floor with her as she wobbled around the room, sniffing at things, checking out the toys, watching the cat-friendly video they were playing [she was fascinated by it]. And five or ten minutes before the vet tech came in to insert her IV...
...she crawled into my lap.
Had to make a very hard decision today...I said goodbye to Bean. She's been having a progressively rough time...she's been having more and more trouble getting up after lying down, and the nerve and muscle damage have been taking their toll on her ability to use the litter pan; when she is able to make it in, the effort causes her to collapse and fall, then she cries as she tries to stand back up, flailing and unable to make her back legs work properly. If I'm not there to help, she often ends up having to drag herself for many feet before she can get her hind legs under her enough to stand up. It's been getting worse, and the number of good days is being overshadowed by the number of troublesome ones, so I knew this time was coming.
It's never an easy decision to make, and this one is all the harder for the fact that she is still a sweetheart, still wants to snuggle and be with me...it's her body that is letting her down. I've been giving her pain meds, but that doesn't help the weakness of her back legs, the troubles she has going to the bathroom and keeping herself clean, or her inability to stand and sometimes even to walk. I promised myself years ago that I wouldn't let selfishness and sentimentality stop me from making a humane and caring decision; I knew that this burden of responsibility came with the act of taking in an animal. It isn't a choice I make lightly...I've been going over and over and over the alternatives and the reasoning and the 'yeah but, what ifs' for a very long time now. I know it is the right thing to do...
...but that doesn't make it any easier.
I posted this to Facebook after watching Felix Baumgartner's record-setting high-altitude jump this past Sunday:
"I just spent three hours watching live footage of an amazing collaboration of nationalities and specialities, streaming from one place hundreds of miles away and another 24 miles up, while chatting online with a friend across the country, seeing live updates from people around the world, culminating with all of us cheering the achievements nearly simultaneously.
I love these times."
I'll admit that the internet and its anciliary products have done their part to actually lessen the quality of our interactions in a way...instead of calling or sending birthday cards, people post to walls; instead of sending gifts, people forward a cute cartoon; instead of bringing a casserole, people text heartfelt condolences; email and texts have taken over as primary contact methods. I'll also admit to being just as guilty in many cases; being the introvert, the socially-awkward penguin that I am, asynchronous communication is definitely easier for me. It's the way the times are going...the days of dropping by and saying hi are fading away.
But that same technology also brings us closer...we can now share events and news faster than ever, and with more people, in more locations, in more ways than would have seemed possible a while back. Good news, bad news, celebrating, mourning, pondering, discovering, sharing...it's there at the beep of a button, click of a mouse, tap of a finger. There are definitely drawbacks to losing that face-to-face personal connection, but there are advantages to be had in the extended reach that the times we live in can offer. Like it or not, the future is happening now...we are all time travelers, moving forward one second per second, with the future unveiling itself bit by bit.
It's pretty cool.
