The Picture of Domesticity

A lot of people tell me that I have too many clothes. But the problem is, whenever I get rid of a bunch, I buy a bunch more. And of course there are always those clothes you NEVER get rid of....I kept a Star Wars night shirt from my grandfather (I suspect it's from when the movies FIRST came out.) until it quite literally disintegrated in the wash. I have a T-shirt from 9th grade Cross Country (2004) that's started to get thin and I now have it tacked to my wall...

But I have some very good reasons for having so many clothes. Actually, I didn't even bring all of mine down to Monmouth with me. I only brought about half of my night shirts, for instance.

1. I have a terrible habit of forgetting to do laundry. So it's good that I only have to do it every month or two. Because that's usually when I finally remember to do it. The last time I did it was Spring Break a whole week or so before Easter. I only did it a couple of times before that since Christmas.

2. I have an even better habit of wearing the same clothes over and over. If I had only 10 sets of clothes (like Miki) they'd get even smellier than they already do. I think my friends should be thanking me for doing my laundry so rarely.

So even though I didn't have too terribly much motivation today....I decided to do laundry.

Well, I did get a few things done. Went to Bi-Mart to buy some things to spruce up the patio. A paint scraper to get the tatters of newspaper off the fence. And magazines. I have no idea why one would want to paste those to a wooden fence...And I spose I'll never know considering the rain has gotten rid of most of it. And a stiff brush for cleaning the cement. And getting rid of the moss. And a moss killer that's patio friendly (apparently some types stain pavement) and with any luck it'll rain tonight to speed it up because I applied it this afternoon....Got two boxes of kleenexes on sale for 2 for 3 dollars. I felt like a million bucks for that one. Body wash because I've been nicking Miki's shampoo for that....Pens and Pencils because mine have been all mysteriously disappearing....apparently mechanical pencils and Bic pens seem to be very popular nowadays with Gremlins, and a bird feeder for the ten pounds of bird seed I got from home a month ago.

About time, Monica.

So I couldn't do much with the patio after spreading the powder. I couldn't even pot up the plants I have left that I bought a new bag of potting soil for today because the patio is covered in powder. So I decided to clean my room.

Needless to say this didn't happen.

But I DID get two boxes and a spare foam pad into the closet. Which reminds me: I should probably stop sleeping on top of two at a time. It makes me sink terribly and that must be ghastly for my back. And I got some clothes tossed into my laundry basket. Which I promptly ripped out when I decided I needed to sort through them to find out which ones I wanted to wash.

Yes, I decided to get picky about what clothes to wash. And no mom, I do not sort by colors neurotically anymore. I'm not that paranoid. But I did leave all my whites at home :D

Of course all this wasn't as easy as it seems. Between all of this I was bugging the heck out of Miki whilst she tried to do her drawing project (apparently I was looming), helping her with her wire project for her 3-d class project because I bought a pair of needle nose pliars/wire clippers at the hardware store cause I dreadfully needed them. And then had to fish out the bottle of foaming oxy-clean when a hysterical Miki found out that the wire had a black residue and she had left finger prints all up and down her white wall while trying to measure the wire....

Monica to the rescue, yeah?

And I have chew marks all over my feet from Marin. Thanks Kitten, I really appreciate it. And if I see Ryou prostrating herself and moaning one more time while Marin is trying to chew on her tail (Ryou's tail) I will throw something.

Oh, and Marin has discovered that it's great fun to climb up me if I stand still for 3+ seconds. Therefore I don't. And if I pick her up for any reason it takes approximately 3 minutes to detach her. For all she hates being picked up, she sure as hell doesn't wanna let go!

But I got the laundry sorted, my new nice girly clothes that have been lying on the floor for over a week hung up, and dirty socks tossed into a bucket and I was just about ready to go. Shoved some detergent into a to-go cup (gotta remember to tape the sippy hole one of these days.), shoved the box of Bounce whats-its into my hamper (which I forgot to use. Good things I wasn't washing fuzzy sweaters today...) and went pawing through my collection for a book I haven't read yet.

I settled for one that I haven't read in 4+ years. That works, yeah?

You know what I love?

Family. Family is awesome. I want to hug my family. For instance my mother saw fit to inform me that a Clif bar, leftover popcorn from the movie theater last night, and half of a solid chocolate rabbit was not breakfast.

But you know what's even better than being scolded by your family?

Gifts from your family.

I got to use a super cool one of those twice today :D

You know what it's called?

A TROLLEY.

Oh yes, it is super amazing. So when I bought 2 cubic feet of soil from Bi-Mart today and it weighed approximately 30 pounds more than it ought to have, I didn't have to carry it.

So I decided to be witty, and use this super cool gift for my laundry hamper. Of course my laundry hamper isn't THAT heavy, but I wasn't going to use the laundry machines in my complex.

Oh no. I've witnessed Mikiko doing musical machines often enough recently that I've given up the ghost on that trial. In fact, walking 5 blocks and paying an extra 75 cents per wash load was worth it. Especially since the driers are infinitely cheaper, actually dry your laundry, and hold like 2 or 3 loads.

All of which sound worth the walk.

So I packed everything onto my trolley, plugged in my headphones, snagged my socks, opened the door...

And the clock in the kitchen took a suicide dive.

Like, literally. It flew off the wall, crashed into the floor, and the battery landed aaaaall the way in the living room.

I'm just lucky the silly thing didn't break. But it was loud enough I heard it over my music, which was amazing.

Ryou thought this was the perfect chance to gt

...there is a spider on my lappy

I think it's building a web....Teaches me to sit in the dark while typing...*shudders*

So yeah, Ryou thought this was the perfect chance to dive out the front door, so I had to wrestle my laundry back out of the way and shut it on her nose.

And then she went to molesting my shoes. But they were shoes I was not wearing, so I left while she was distracted :D

I must've looked a sight waltzing down the street with a plastic bucket full of socks swinging in one hand, rocking out to my new almost page-boy cut, and dragging a squeaky trolley with a lime green fuzzy laundry hamper.

I had the sudden urge to call Miki, post her across the street and get her to take a candid shot of me walking along with my laundry...But I didn't.

Let's just say, though, that all the neighbor Mexican kids stared at me funny, and I walked around the main part of town so that no one would laugh. I looked pretty ridiculous, actually. And proud of it!

So I got down there, fed my quarters to the evil machines (3 loads. Not even half of my clothes though) and went to the pub for fish and chips.

Yum.

Took the leftovers back with me to start the dry cycle, and sat down to enjoy my book.

I love how all the Latinos were eying me like I would steal their laundry or something. Goodness Gracious!

I'd only do that if you left it there alone :D

So I finished up, and actually folded my laundry! *cheers* Now let's see how many weeks it will take me to get it out of the hamper and into the closet where it belongs.....>.<;;;

So I started rolling home. And since it was 9 p.m. I decided to screw it and walk on Main st. through town. There isn't anyone out there at that hour anyways besides Latinos in the laundromat and drunks or smokers (or both) at the pub. Although there is a nice new wine tasting place in town that actually seems to serve food....But I guess I'll never get a look see because minors aren't allowed.

On the way home I got stuck behind two Chinese guys. One was super cute and boyish with floppy hair hanging in his face. And the other was not so much with glasses and kinda jocky wearing flip flops and shorts. Man, it was warm earlier today, but tonight it's pretty cold! What are you thinking?! But I walked behind them and it was actually kinda cute to see them together. Because they weren't the two macho guys butting shoulders and fooling around. They were either the super comfortable with each other guy-friends, or boyfriends. Judging by how they rubbed shoulders, swayed together, walked in unison, and why the cuter one's hand kept brushing the pocket the jock had his hand in...

I just love how I was rolling along squeakily behind them. I'm surprised it didn't ruin the mood. But they did start to walk fast after about a half a block of me walking behind them :D

There's a guy I see around the neighborhood a lot. I thought he was homeless because he always wheres this stained old Red Sweatshirt, and smells really bad, and has more hair than Albus Dumbledore. I mostly see him at three in the morning when I'm coming home from the computer lab. He's either pacing the block, or just sitting on the sidewalk. Which usually freaks me out pretty bad.

I mean, what kind of person sits on the same corner night after night in the dark cold night, and doesn't even smoke or something?

To my surprise, I was keeping an eye out for him on his usual corner, looked up...And he was making coffee in an apartment above my head! I saw him this afternoon near the police station when I was walking with Miki and I pointed him out. And tonight I saw him cooking in the same place.

Holy cow, does he LIVE there? 0.o

What a thought. He has a dirty old rucksack that he hauls around, too. I mean, I don't have any problems with rucksacks, but the condition of the poor thing only cemented the thought in my head that he had no home.....Guess I was pretty wrong, huh?

Now before someone starts going on about how walking that late at night isn't safe for me, I'll go on. I live 3 blocks from the computer lab. Only part of it isn't lit. That part is a nice part, nice houses, trimmed lawns: never see the owners cause they are always up to good. Cept for the house with the scary dogs, but I never see them either so it doesn't matter. Also that street has a special home for you know, special people, the needy, and that has a pretty sharp eye kept on it. No, I don't live on the best street in the world (around the corner from PLC, the special place), nor do I live in the best complex. But luckily, my Mexican neighbor happens to like me. And late at night most of them don't hang out on the street corner (thank goodness) so there's no danger for me.

Sides, it'd be bad business for the drug dealer a few doors down from me if I got mugged by my very own neighbors. I mean, how would he get any money if I didn't have any? Not that I'm buying, of course.

But it's the principal of the thing. So I'm pretty certain that I'm good. Not that I'm positive he's a dealer, or what door is his...but it seems pretty obvious to me!

so I think that's it, a normal day in the life of the Monica.

Regards from Purgatory (blasted cats, they're playing chase all over the place! I hope they break their necks)
Monica

Kittens, Cleaning, And Friends

WOO!

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system....
Most of you should know that I have a cat.Her name is Ryou-Ohki and she's a total and utter pain in my ass. And yes: that is a fang she has there.
This is practically the only good photo I've gotten of her, actually. For some odd reason she posed in the sun for me for 15 good minutes, and I took a shit ton of photos of her whilst she did so. Yeah, she moved a little. But then she's stop and say "this is my good side, go for it".
She was oddly patient.

I tried it again the next day...and she did her normal "I wanna help you, mom!" and leapt all over the camera. So I gave up and called this a fluke.
Isn't she pretty?So I wanted a second cat ages ago...But I've done the whole sneak other cats into the basement thing before. And I always ended up finding them another home. With two kittens I took them in KNOWING they'd be going somewhere else (fyi I lived in my gramma's basement before WOU)
and thank goodness they did: They NEVER stopped crying. Even when they ate they cried. It sounded garbled, but they still did it. And they slept standing up.

They drove me nuts.So I decided to wait until I was stable, and had my own place etc.
It suddenly occurred to me, the other day, when I saw a listing for three kittens that I am finally stable.

Took me like, what, 4 months for that to get across?
So I immediately emailed about the kittens. No having to ask mum, no having to ask friends for advice: I wanted this. And I was gonna do it.
Well, I did talk to Miki. After I got the kitten photos (there were only 2 by then). I prolly shoulda been direct. Like..."I saw some free kittens. Can I get one?"
But instead I sidled up to it like this..."So...would you totally think I was crazy if I said I was thinking about a kitten?"
There are so many idioms in that sentence, it's not even funny. Poor Miki!
So it took a couple of tries, and then she just kinda eyed me and said in a tone of voice that brooked absolutely no arguments "You're getting the kitten."
Whoo! Um, you wanna see the photo first? 0.o

So that was cool. It took a bit to match up how to get to the lady's place and when but I gots a kitten!



So these are the photos I got by email from the lady. I REALLY wanted the black and white one, but she thought it was a boy, and when I finally made it to her house Monday afternoon I reached the same conclusion.

Shame.

Ryou has been in heat like clockwork every other week since Christmas. We've hit #6 I think. But I'd rather deal with a girl cat that will be going into heat too in another year or so, than a little boy. Sides: Ryou might beat a little boy up.

So I gots the stripey one. I named her Marin :D (Mar-een)

It's Japanese I think. Miki says it's a pretty stuffy and uncommon name. But for those who can't say it can call her Mari, or Maureen :)

She's driving me crazy, btw. She LOVES to sleep on me, around me. And when she's not sleeping, she's climbing all over me to eat my hair, play with my sweatshirt ties, claw up my pants, claw my face.

I sit down only so that I don't have to deal with her climbing up all 6 feet of me.

I'm going to go on a tangent here for a moment and link this article I just read from my hometown newspaper.

http://www.chinookobserver.com/main.asp?SectionID=11&SubSectionID=25&ArticleID=33681

I am not very happy, actually. This article makes me very upset. And I'll tell you why.

When I was 8, I decided that I had to have the flags that the local reality office put out for 4th of July. Every year they'd patrol the entire peninsula and put handheld flags (and when I was little they were nice sized. Now they are pocket) every 20-50 feet. And I mean this literally. The entire PENINSULA is coated with these things. I shudder to think how much this costs.

But, every year I would never get one because some enterprising individual would pluck them all from various streets and lawns before 12 even. The Realty people put them out at 5 a.m. give or take. This was a travesty to me.

So one year, I had my mum walk me to the corner so I could grab as many as possible, and I had some old men stop me. They were sitting on the corner in their lawn chairs (I lived out in the middle of nowhere, btw. On a highway, but still pretty rural. So this was odd.) enjoying the flags int he wind.

They stopped me and said "Hunny, I know you want to covet them, but leave them for other people to enjoy too, yeah? How bout you only take one or two?"

So I did, and went home feeling quite chastised. When I spotted a boy from down the road that I recognized carting 50 some odd of them on his bicycle I chased him down and tried to beat him up, so the lesson stuck.

And I stole flags from him to put back in the lawn of the Old Men.

So when I read about a family, enterprising no doubt, scouring the beach for every single cool float they can possibly find, I get extremely pissed off. I've lived there for 18 years, I don't have a float. My mum has lived there for upwards of 40, and she's found one. Out on the bay she and her boyfriend found one, and it's kind of small.

It's not fair at all that they did this. Yes, I know they were excited, but can't other people enjoy the beauty of these things too? I'm thinking about writing a letter to the editor...can you make those anonymous? 0.o

So back to the kitten: Ryou despises her.

Well, she did. They are getting along better. But I hear spitting and other varieties of unfriendly sounds quite often. Mostly they are from the kitten. It doesn't help that Ryou is definitely in heat right now, so she's not acting like herself at all. Won't play with me, won't snuggle, cries.

Yeah, I can't wait for it to be over.

So I cleaned my cupboard last night. For the first time since Christmas, actually. It looks rather...artistic in the photo. But the truth of it is I was having things leap out at me everytime I opened the door.


The top one is mine. Obviously. I've always thought it was kinda tacky to use the flimsy boxes like hot chocolate boxes for storage (and kleenex) and I much prefer REAL boxes or storage containers. But Miki's so neat and tidy and they really help so I can't complain.

Obviously she helped me with my shelf:


Is there a difference, Or what?

The biggest one is that I managed to shove all the candy canes into a box (the blue one with the flash highlighting it) so now when I rummage at 3 in the morning they don't dive bomb me as soon as I open the cupboard door....

So I got rid of some empty boxes from the cupboard. I.E. I tossed them on the floor.





Hey! What are YOU doing in there?

The kitten isn't really picky about what she plays with, actually.

Toes, Pants hems, buckles on backpacks, lace socks (Miki's), door jams, boxes, freezer bags, leashes, blankets, my skin....chairs, shelves, Ryou's tail (to her consternation), clothing on the floor, gnawing on the edges of text books...

Ryou's more...discerning. She has toys. And she plays with them either with me or without me (she even hauls them up and down the stairs) when she's not in heat. Her entire personality changes when she's all hormoned up. It's like someone on Amortentia who just can't control their actions...it's rather painful to watch, actually.

But the kitten? She doesn't give a damn. I actually hope that Marin keeps that characteristic. It'd be fun to have a cat that will actually play with janglies. Ryou only likes things to be tossed and chased after. Although she'd prolly half-heartedly bat at a feather type toy if I bought her one. Marin would go apeshit if I did! :D

I actually got a good photo out of the box fiasco last night, though:



Isn't she just so adorable? You have no idea how hard it was to get her to look up. And then she took off so that's the only photo I got.

Well, that's it for now!

Miki's doing all right, and NO, She is not pregnant. Although her tummy is bothering her again, we're taking it easy and watching the diet.

Regards from Purgatory,
Monica

P.S. A super cool friend sent me a bunch of chocolates and things for Easter and Mum wanted to see a photo of a particular set:

Not Quite What I Was Looking For...

So I was pretty darned excited yesterday. Or for yesterday, however you want to put it really. It was Friday! No classes! I had all of the ingredients I needed to make Lasagna for a Potluck that Miki and I were going to attend, someone else was running Anime club for me and I had it all planned how I was going to stop there on my way to the Potluck with some Anime I needed to return to my friends.

My sleeping in idea was a bust because I woke up around 9:45, but considering that's better than the 6 or 7 (I have no classes till 10 normally so that time is ridiculous) I wasn't going to grumble too much. I did want to take a shower right away, but when I realized that not only was Miki still in bed, she had a "please do not wake me I do not feel well" sign on her door, I gave that up as bust.

I could always take one in the afternoon, right?

So I'm sitting at my computer (hunched in the dark, more like) typing emails and reading, when Miki comes down the stairs.

Woohoo! It's 10:15 and I can take a shower now!

But I peer through the living room to the kitchen and see...nothing. I squint, and then realize I can see her white knuckled hand gripping the counter.

"Monica? Can I have some water?"

Who knew this would be the beginning of an adventure, yeah?

In 20 Minutes I went from innocently...reading...on the internet, too watching my roommate rolling on the floor moaning. I'm a stupid college student, yeah? I call the Health Center on campus. The receptionist that always makes my appointments with my counselor called me 5 kinds of idiot and told me to call 911.

So I did.

And man, those ladies really are annoyingly calm.

The one's on dispatch, I mean.

But my old, dusty, and underused skills from Girl Scouts came to play (seriously, we were taught how to call 911. Cause our leader was an EMT, I think)and I knew exactly what to say to the operator! Which was cool, but she probably didn't think it was, considering I was talking so fast that She had to ask me to repeat all sorts of stuff.

I know they record those things, I wonder if I could get a copy...:)

It was pretty cool though. You know that person they kick out of the patients room for panicking? Like...The expectant father who's hysterical the entire time? Yeah, I'm that person. I broke my cousin's arm several years ago (don't ask) and while I was screaming and crying and getting dizzy from hyperventilating, she was sitting in the car next to me calmly prodding her arm.

"Wow! My bone is sticking out!"

Which almost caused me to have a hernia.

So needless to say, I was shocked that I was just about keeping my cool. Well, I wasn't quite panicking, or hyperventilating, but I did have an amazing adrenaline rush.

The operator asked all sorts of fun questions, though. And I pretty much had to translate them all. I never realized before yesterday how many practical things Miki didn't recognize. It was surprising, actually. I loved the questions. They made me want to giggle.

Although that might've been the nervousness. I felt a little like she was going to reach a point where she said "You're just a hysterical girl and you committed a federal offense by calling 911 for no reason. We'll bill you later."

Also, the questions got a little tedious, and repetitive. I swear she asked some of the things over and over but in a different way. I would've refused to keep answering if I hadn't heard the ambulance coming down the road.

Isn't it cool? Apparently I live like 5 blocks from the Fire Station!

It was amazing hearing the sirens, actually. Because then I didn't have to keep watching Miki and wondering whether she was going to die and whether it was going to be my fault or not.

To sum up the day in an easy list!

1. I got to run out into the street barefoot and in boxers and tee shirt to flag down the ambulance because I forgot to tell dispatch what apartment we lived in. >.<

2. I got to chat with a very nice EMT while riding in the front of an ambulance. My first time!

3. I got to go into the emergency room for the first time NOT as a patient.

4. I saw a doctor that looks JUST like that jackass doctor from Scrubs! Had a clipboard and everything...Needless to say I flattened myself against the wall to let him pass :D

5. Met a super nice orderly who took care of us.

6. We have no idea what was wrong with Miki, cept for super high Lactate levels. And considering I know one way how to get them high, and the doctor knew the others, and Miki didn't have ANY of those circumstances, we have no idea what happened.

7. She had almost 6 liters of saline solution, pretty much.

8. We were at the hospital for 9 hours, give or take.

Bloopers!

Every time the paramedics tried to ask Miki a question while trying to get her out of the house she asked (as an answer) if she needed her passport >.<

When a tech retrieved her for an ultra sound, she had no idea what 'ultra' meant until she connected it to something she knew....Ultraman! :D

Her identity bracelet had a barcode on it. When the nurse swiped it Miki said...
"Beep! One dollar! Ten Dollars! One Hundred Twenty Dollars, on sale now!"

And then the nurse and I had to struggle to keep from laughing because apparently Miki was imitating a clerk at the grocery store (and told us this, too).

Miki had to wait for 40 minutes for a nurse to disconnect her to go to the restroom. Because it took so long I flagged down that super nice orderly (nice elderly man. Good sense of humor.). As soon as he helped, the AWOL nurse showed up >.<

When the Doctor did a preliminary ultrasound (before the big one) of Miki he said "Guess what?! It's a girl!"

:D

That was priceless.

Oh, you know what's even better? Whatever painkiller they slipped into her i.v. made it so she doesn't remember pretty much anything from yesterday. Bravo. Which is odd. Because other than the occasional fazing out moments, and weird comments (Ultraman!) she was pretty darned lucid.

I would've been totally off my ass in the same situation :D Trust me, I'm a light weight.

So at 7 something we were finally let go with two prescriptions and a bunch of people shrugging and complaining that they had no idea what happened.

Fun.

Now this left me with a dead cell, a phone with no long distance, and no way home.

Woopee!

So I resurrected my phone for a few minutes and contacted Evan.

Who was unavailable and at home in Beaverton. Yay.

Okay. So then I tried a classmate of mine that lives in Salem. Woohoo he was free!

So we got home just fine. I did nothing all day (besides take care of Miki and sort of edit my poem for poetry class) and I didn't get my shower.

Guess what? I got my shower this morning and I still have a smug little smile on my face.

Regards from Purgatory,
Monica