Have you ever pissed someone off so much that they took the effort to photoshop you (or something that reminds them of you) out of a picture?

Apparently I have.

I recently discovered, quite by accident, that a necklace I gave to someone has been removed from a photo of her posted online.

Damn, that's some serious dedication to being pissed off.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:35 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 66 words, total size 1 kb.

I have ventured out of my department and into another school within the university for one of my classes this semester. So far, I am highly impressed.

How sad is that? Just one class and already I'm impressed off my ass with this other department. It just confirms what I have said from the very beginning...my department/school has its head so firmly planted up its ass that the light of common sense shall never be seen within its halls.

The next 13 Tuesdays should prove to be quite interesting...and finally it is in a good way!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 100 words, total size 1 kb.

It was a little too warm
It was a little too light out
The celing fan's light fixture was insistant for attention

With the bulbs adjusted and the glass tweaked...
There was a patterned hum as the blades rotated

It was a little too uncomfortable
It was a little too wrong
The tossing and turning refused to take the night off

My insomnia has returned, in full force.

I woke up this morning far earlier than I wanted to and on the verge of tears. Just before waking up I was dreaming of an old job and re-experiencing the frustrations of working there. The nice people were all still there but the manager had been replaced with the former district manager who was worse, ten fold.

In the dream...
I was packing small bags with my things - the equivalent of cleaning out my desk. It was understood that I was quitting. The layout of the store was different but most everything else was the same. There was a snitch that made career points at everyone else's expense. The top management was rude and abrasive. In the midst of me doing my job and her in the middle of another task, she dropped everything came over to me. She ripped my name badge from my neck and demanded to know where I had gotten it. She made clear that if I wanted to quit, she didn't need me in her store for another minute longer. I snatched the name badge away from her and retreated to the break room. She continued to make comments as she walked to the back of the store to go to her office. It was too much for me to take and I screamed at her as she walked away, "if you didn't exist, this would be the greatest job on earth. I don't understand why you are even here." At which point I broke into tears in the break room and was consoled by another worker.

I couldn't fall back asleep after that. I was too upset and too disturbed by my childish reaction in the dream.

Yet another good night's sleep has managed to escape.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 366 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I wish I could interpret dreams -- this one sounds important. Then again, it could just be random thoughts of a pepperoni- and beer-addled mind...

Posted by: Ogre at September 06, 2005 09:56 AM (/k+l4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I have several labor day stories to tell but I'm not in much of a writing mood. So you're getting another quiz-like entry instead.

I first have to say however that I believe, The Job Predictor, (that I found via Boudicca) is rigged.

As my super fun blogger identity, I am meant to be a pole dancer...

As my real life identity, I am meant to be a professional tramp...

So either this job generator is trying to get some by convincing me that I'm easy, or I've been wasting a lot of time, effort, and money on all this edjumakation nonsense...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 108 words, total size 1 kb.

It was a long day of post-op recovery for step-mom. Surgery takes a physical toll that catches up with a patient by day's end.

Daughter 1 and daughter 2 each drove down to Cedars this afternoon. Step-mom was boosted by that, as well as a personal call from her senior physician.

I stayed here last night at Cedars on a cot in step-mom's room. I think tonight
I'll head home for a few hours rest and to see that all is in good shape at home.

We're anticipating a visit by Dr. K - senior staff - tomorrow morning at 0700. Dr. K is a gem, a valuable resource for the women's health care initiative.

We're feeling fortunate, blessed to be surrounded with such great personal
and professional support, together with equally good news at this juncture.

Thanks again to all.

Best,

Dad& step-mom

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:45 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 159 words, total size 1 kb.

I called Dad last night to see how everyone was holding up after the surgery and found him still at the hospital, just where a devoted husband belongs when his wife has been through a major ordeal. Step-mom was in a private room in the hospital where she would recover for the next three or four days and Dad was awaiting a cot so he could sleep there with her. Her daughters were no where to be found.

Before he left they repeatedly pestered my father about where he would spend the night. Why? Because the very day their mother underwent surgery to remove internal organs and potentially deadly tissue these girls were plotting to throw a party in the parent-free house. Their excuse for not visiting was traffic...

It is labor day weekend and I'm sure my dad will spend a lot of it in the hospital keeping his wife comfortable and in good company. That leaves these satan-spawn to throw as many parties as they like. And if they are good at one thing it is answering when an opportunity like that knocks.

I don't know why I am shocked at this turn of events but my step-sisters never cease to amaze me. At 21 and 17 you would think that by now they would have developed some level of sensitivity and maturity. Maybe normal people of their age would have, but not these pieces of trash.

When my mom had outpatient surgery to remove a malignant mass I made sure I was not only in town but at the hospital with her before, during, and after. She didn't spend a moment of the few hours she was in the hospital outside of surgery without me. My brother was there for most of the time and her friend was there a good portion of the time as well.

My mom and I have our differences and have fought more often than not throughout my life ... but when it came right down to it, being there was more important than anything else I could have had going on in my life. I guess the same is not true for the step-sisters.

I am so beyond disgusted right now that there aren't words...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 380 words, total size 2 kb.

September 2 marked the 60th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers, the signing of surrender documents on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, and the end of World War II in the Pacific Theater. To commemorate the event I attended a small and elegant ceremony at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall.

From my seat I could see rows and rows of proud Veterans sitting with their families up close to the portable stage. The event opened with a wreath laying at the World War II Memorial proper. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it first hand since I was in the event seating area off to the side. On the big screen I watched as Secretary Rumsfeld laid a wreath and the Director of the National Mall Parks (I think) laid a second. Various military personnel carried flags from each of our allies into the ceremony as they were annouced. It was brief, but poignant.

As the speeches began I counted myself lucky to be part of such a momentous occasion. At the same time, I was a little disheartened by the obvious lack of my generation's representation outside of uniform. But it also left me reassured that I will always have with me something genuinely unique. All in one night I was witness to the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, R. James Nicholson, the Sergeant Major of the Army, Kenneth Preston, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and WWII Veteran, General John Vessey. Senator Bob Dole was scheduled to be there as well but was forced to decline the invitation at the last minute.

Just before the closing fireworks they paid tribute to each individual service by asking people to stand if they or someone in their family had served under a particular branch. It wasn't until I found myself standing more than sitting that I realized how rare I was, even in that crowd, and saw just how militarily focused my life and my family has been.

It was a touching and humbling experience as today's service members honored and thanked the Veterans and the Veterans did the same for today's service members.

What came afterward was just the icing on cake ... but that is an entry for another day...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 01:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 390 words, total size 2 kb.

The semester has officially, and finally, begun. And following in our institution's sorted fall tradition, we kicked it off with alcohol cheap beer. I believe they officially called it the 'New Student Social' for which you must have RSVP'd or your lowly presence would not be tolerated - tuition paying or not, those not on the guest list were proverbial scum at this event.

I personally couldn't tell you how the food tasted - I wasn't in the mood for watery salsa or melted cheese - but most people were upset there was no 'real' food to speak of. How hard is it to get a mini-sandwich out of these people?

Yingling and Bud Light in a can and wine in a box just weren't what I had gone looking for that evening either. So when a good portion of the student body headed to the bar like lemmings marching to their death, so did I... Killians it was for the rest of the night.

Snippits of conversations from the bar...

"Can I touch your boob?"

"If it's anything besides penis-vagina sex, she just squirms!"

"Do you know how hard it is to be a gay republican?"

"This is so cool, you're such a geek!"

I took last train home that night. Not so much because I was that intrigued by those I was talking with but because I just couldn't tear myself away from the oddity that the new class of students freaks truly represents.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 09:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 252 words, total size 1 kb.

It has been confirmed that my step-mom has been attacked by cancer for the third time in her life. Her first two battles were with the same type. This time she is facing an entirely new monster.

Under the advisement of some of the best oncologists in the country, her first line of treatment is a hysterectomy - scheduled for tomorrow. Whether she will need additional treatment has not been decided at this point.

No family should have to suffer the pain of cancer as much as hers has.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:31 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 95 words, total size 1 kb.

There is a certain blog I read that continues to annoy and nag at me. Why do I still read it? Because it isn't the blogger than annoys me. It is the commenters that piss me off. Again, you're asking why...

Simply put - These commenters don't understand the concept of blogging, the purpose of individual communication, and the appropriate use of public access forums.

The comments hardly ever have anything to do with the post that was made. They are generally from the blogger's parents making random statements or asking unrelated questions. Every time I see it I scream at the computer - "It's called e-mail! Look into it!" The rest of the readers don't care to hear about your weekend plans, what your wife got you for your birthday, or why you took the day off. I know damn well that you have your son's e-mail and his phone number. So how about you keep your business in those venues instead and I won't come up there and kick you in the head, ok?

It's a simple concept here people...
Stay on topic or stay off the blog!

whew ... I feel better now ... how about you?

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:49 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 204 words, total size 1 kb.

I don't care how slim the chance is that a creepy crawly thing could actually hurt me... stuff like this is why they are simply and unwaiveringly banned from my house. I mean, just listen to this:

Thinking it was a mouse, I went to investigate the sound. The sound was coming from under some papers which I lifted, expecting to see the mouse scamper away," the 32-year-old psychotherapist said Wednesday. "Instead, when I lifted the papers, I saw this prehistoric looking animal skitter away behind a stack of books.

The Scolopendra gigantea has front claws that are adapted to deliver venom when it stings, which can lead to a blistering rash, nausea and fever. The sting is rarely life-threatening, but painful.

Banned. Period. Case closed.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:35 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 130 words, total size 1 kb.

I just got off the phone with Joshua Tree Superior Court in California...

And they tell me I need a lawyer now.

And I wasn't the one that got arrested.

But I won't see my bail again if I don't.

WHAT . THE . FUCK ?

Posted by: Princess Cat at 02:03 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.

I was on dog sitting duty again a few days ago ... this dog never ceases to amaze me with his antics...

Not only does this dog piss on everything in sight - he constantly needs to drop a steamer ... constantly... Only he doesn't want you to know he's doing it. He regularly climbs into shrubs and hedges to avoid being seen. The back 'yard' where he lives doesn't have any foliage to hide in but he tries his best to hide under something.

On the day in question, Shit Monster went into the 'wooded' area that consists of dead branches, fallen leaves, and a sprinkling of trash.

Act One
He attempted to hide behind a tree in the neighbor's yard and gave me a hurt look when I wouldn't let him defile their property. He ran back to the center area and tried to go back to the house but couldn't ... he was too scared to move now that he had his leash caught on dead branches. I swear this dog is such a pussy. I yanked, the twigs broke, he freaked cuz they touched him, and he was free.

Act Two
He attempted to hide in something in the other neighbor's yard and again gave me a hurt look combined with the just let me shit, lady face. He came back to his own yard, climbed under some hanging twigs, and finally did his business ... and what looked like a couple of other dog's business as well ... as he waddled in a circle. WTF?

Finale
You guessed it, he's tangled his leash in the dead twigs again. This time he neared a full blown panic at being stuck. The more I tried to coax him in the untangling direction the more he freaked out ... and pranced from paw to paw like a little kid doing the pee-pee dance. The voices in my head were screaming at this point... NOOOOOO!! But he did. I snapped the twigs again and he was free... ready to go in the house.

He was agitated that I made him sit at the door instead of just letting him in. But I had to check to see if my worst fears had come true. Had he pranced himself right through the fresh pile? DAMMIT! He had.

A good hose down later I was bitter at him, he was bitter at me and we went our separate ways for the rest of the afternoon.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 418 words, total size 2 kb.

Yesterday I made the trek down to the International Spy Museum for what is beginning to feel like my annual fall tradition. This is the third August in a row that I have been. This time though, it was a special trip.

The current special exhibit, The Enemy Within, is being replaced and I had to see it one more time before it was gone.

It is a trip through terrorism, extremism, racism, hatred, violence, revolution, subterfuge, and sabotage in American history - both home-grown and foreign. The exhibit includes citizen acts against one another, acts against the government, and the reaction by both the American people and the government, as well as artifacts from different incidents. I have yet to find a better collection of historic facts relating to the ever evolving difficulty that is the balance between security and our way of life.

I disagree with some of the statements made in the video portion about today's world but I've seen it three times now - I must still like the exhibit...

Anyone who has the chance to see it before it goes off exhibit really should go. The museum is open until 8pm these days (last admission for the special exhibit only is 6:45) and the ticket is only $5!! But you better hurry, Sept 5 is your LAST CHANCE!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 04:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 229 words, total size 1 kb.

How many times have you felt like this...

"It didn't have antlers going in...
but it sure had antlers coming out!"

Posted by: Princess Cat at 01:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 23 words, total size 1 kb.

I want to send best wishes to Gulf Coast residents. I can't even imagine what you are in for this week and in the weeks to come. Many a blog will keep people updated but this is not one of them. Bou and Eric most definitely have their share of coverage and more expressive words about the subject than I could dream of being able to write.

The most I can really say is that people I know have loved ones in Katrina's path and they are worried. They are upset because they know there is nothing they can do but call and ask if everything is still ok. I have been along the coast there from Pensacola to NO itself and it is a shame to think of the desctruction she is capable of brining to it. So many people's lives at stake and so many resources that will be spent to put the pieces back together again.

I know now is probably not the best time for humor but sometimes it is how I deal with what I cannot control. So just remember, when the water's coming, do what the stupid chick in the horror flicks always does when some psycho is chasing her around the house ... always go up!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:34 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 215 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Yeah, I'm thrilled... my company is sending me right into that area next week. I think my boss hates me.

Posted by: TheBisch at August 29, 2005 12:55 AM (D96xQ)

2 I just heard Navarre is taking a beating now. One of my best friends from college lives there... her husband is in Iraq... and she has 3 kids. What a mess.

Posted by: Bou at August 29, 2005 12:35 PM (5JHEt)

3 .. one nasty nightmare, that's for sure...

Posted by: Eric at August 29, 2005 12:43 PM (YlwMq)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

So that BBQ we went to on Sat? Umm... SUCKED!

And poor Feisty D who flew into town, made time in her plans to see me after all this time, and had to endure the bizzare mash of events. She was just as beautiful and charming as I remembered her to be. What else could I expect from a Hot-lanta woman? Full of laughter and quick wit, she's still my kinda chick.

But the torture I put her through...

First off, it decided to rain the entire day. Weathermen said it would break by noon and then be scattered thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. The actual chain of events were more like constant gray with a precipitation range of slight drizzle to moderate rain. I was cold the entire freakin day. Even once I was inside I could not get my body to warm up. So later that evening I burrowed into the couch in a fleece and homer simpson slippers watching shows about tattoos. But I digress...

Originally this BBQ was scheduled for 6pm. It got moved to 3pm. We showed up at 3:30 and were the first to arrive. The host was still in her grubs from powerwashing the deck (in the rain?) and had no idea what to do with herself.
Strike One.

The "yard" or "back patio" was sort of sketchy. Within the privacy fence there was a small deck area, a small cement area, and a small 'grassy area' - mostly taken up by a very large home made dog house - that was also mostly a big mud pit ... including the area dug out under the house. The window screens were shredded by dog claws and the patio door was atrocious. It looked like a scene out of Cujo.
Strike Two.

The only other person there to begin with was the strong, silent type...minus the strong part... Not so great for conversation...

So we took a seat at the patio table (after laying plastic down on the nasty chairs) and tried to have a conversation over chips and salsa. The only problem? The wind kicked up a little and we suddenly noticed how much the backyard reeked of urine. It smelled as if the deck wood were soaked in it. It was revolting.
Strike Three.

Once other people started showing up and the food was being grilled it felt a little more like a fun get together. But then the guests started talking... Very clique-ish, upwardly mobile, young adult crowd with lots they felt the need to brag about. Um... no. Last time I checked a backyard BBQ was about having a few brews and telling great stories.
Strike Double Three.

D left early for the wedding she flew up for and I was out of there shortly there after. I think I'll 'accidentally' lose the next evite to that house...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 481 words, total size 3 kb.

I was hoping to entertain you lovely loyal subjects today with my butterfly encounter from yesterday but there's just no time.

In just a few hours the lovely Miss Feisty D (not to be confused with the familiar Feisty Repartee) will be in town and we have A LOT of catching up to do. She and I went to Brown together 8 - that-seem-like-ages-past - years ago. I haven't seen her since she flew out to my house for Thanksgiving dinner in 1997.

And we have a BBQ to attend. So we'll see what kind of ruckous a little Cali girl and a Hot-lanta chick can cause together in DC today.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:08 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 117 words, total size 1 kb.

Two sons of members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have gotten together and released their first CD. The new duo has taken the moniker Hanna-McEuen, a simple joining of their last names.

They may seem familiar to you already as their song "Something Like a Broken Heart" has had radio play for several months now. But I urge you take a closer listen to the rest of their CD.

I can't quite put my finger on why but it is a CD I can't stop playing. Sure, I skip a song or two here and there but overall it is a very enveloping collection of tunes.

Hop on over to CMT.com and check out the free listen they have of the entire CD in their listening party...but it's only up for a limited time.

My current favs are: "Read Between The Lines," "Prayer For You," "Is It Only Me," and "Ocean."

Oh, btw... the listening party usually only works with IE, sorry Firefoxers...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 166 words, total size 1 kb.

Little Jacky-Poo was supposed to come live here on Tuesday and hang out with Blue Fish but it just didn't work out that way. I got an e-mail from the guy who was giving Jack to me that said, in short, 'Jack's dead...my bad' MURDER, I say!

*pout*

Seems he was taking down a tank and thought little Jacky would be ok with a big Oscar. Nope! Little Jacky never stood a chance! The poor fish...

To make up for the disappointment I was gifted from someone else a pair of these bad boys...

Now I just have to figure out what to name them...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 114 words, total size 1 kb.