Friday Pussy Blog: Pooped Out Edition

My computer is not cooperating tonight so there will be no pussy blog until Saturday. I probably need to reboot. This has been another hellish workday and I'm too tired to trouble myself with it.

Happy Friday Saturday!!!

Sunday Cat Food Discovery

Today we went back for a 2nd visit to a pizza joint we like, and decided to check out the pet store nearby: Tomlinson's at Circle C.

Aside from a nice relaxed Siamese up for adoption, I was surprised at the brands carried at this store. I'd never heard of any of them. No IAMS; no Science Diet. It seemed like high quality stuff though, and the canned food was from $1.07 to $1.37 which is quite a bit higher than the 93 cents we pay at Petsmart.

I was also intrigued by the ingredients in many of these. Less grains. More veggies with the meat.

I opened up a can of the chicken tonight and was surprised when scooping it out that I could see pieces of bright orange carrot. I had no idea what to expect, but after buying 8 cans of the stuff, as well as a bag of dried food, I sure hoped they'd like it.

They did. It was the biggest hit yet.

Everyone is very laid back and content after dinner.

Sissy hanging out in the kitchen.

This poor old dying man is going to exit with some quality food. Poor old Tiger.

Sweet Pea enjoyed his meal.

The Tot always enjoys his!

Friday Pussy Blog: Feeding Frenzy Edition

On the feline menu tonight: salmon!

Holy crap, what a week. First week on the new job and not a moment to even check on my blog since last Friday, much less finding time to post anything!

It'll get better.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Friday Pussy Blog

I really need to get the boy a new box soon, although he thinks there's nothing wrong with the old one!

Today is my last day at my current company and on Monday I start with a new one, also working from home!

I've had some supplies and equipment to get boxed up and with several new empty boxes sitting around, the Tot has been enjoying himself!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Living in the Digital Age

I've been scanning a lot of 35mm slides from my early years which predate digital photography and it has got me really appreciating the current era.

I'm in the process of creating Facebook photo albums of my early travels and I'm putting myself back in those shoes and it's incredibly frustrating.

Today the photo album was my Middle East trip when I was 17 and I was so disappointed that the only photo of me in Petra, Jordan was blurry. Had digital cameras been around, I could have had several shots taken until I had a good one.

There's also the upcoming European photo album in which I have a great photo of an older gentleman on a train in Switzerland smoking a pipe. He agreed to let me take his photo if I'd send him a print. So I had to get his mailing address, have a print made when I got home, and send it to him.

Good Lord, don't we have it easy these days? Now, he'd probably have an email address or a Facebook page, I could take the photo, upload to my page, and send him a digital print in a matter of seconds.

Film was also weird because I'd come home from a trip and have an unfinished roll in my camera. It might be 3 months before I'd shoot up the last 8 or 10 photos on the roll, send it off to be developed, and then get the slides back in the mail.

We have it so easy these days.

Photography has been a beneficiary. Not so sure about music.

Hello Limbo! I Really Haven't Missed You!

Despite holding jobs at 7 different advertising agencies since 1999, I still forget how stressful it can be when you voluntarily leave one for another. I'm not saying that getting fired and/or laid off and subsequently being unemployed for a spell isn't stressful, but it's a different kind of stress. Being laid off or fired is rather immediate. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Resigning from a position and giving two weeks' notice is a different animal. In many instances, particularly when leaving one to take a job with a competitor, it is very common to be dismissed on the day you give your notice. And that's great. Especially if they pay you for your 2 weeks. I just happen to be one of the lucky few who always seems to be kept on for the full 2 weeks.

I had been toying with the idea of leaving agency A for agency B for a couple of months. Leaving agency A just never made much sense though. If you are enjoying your work, and love the people with whom you work, and you make an adequate income and have excellent benefits, including a month of paid vacation each year, why leave?

That is the question I kept asking myself and the answer was always easy: I don't leave. There's no point.

Sometimes it's just not that simple. Sometimes you may feel you are not being adequately challenged. Perhaps there is no perceived growth opportunity, or one is lacking all the tools needed to excel in work. And then there is the mother of all excuses: job insecurity.

On Friday, the 11th of March, I found myself on the receiving end of a verbal employment offer. And this started a frenzied whirlwind of emotions as I analyzed and compared the status quo to the new adventure. I believe I had immediately made the decision to accept, but wanted to give it a night to sink in. Ironically, while I was on the phone discussing the new employment offer, my boss was trying to call me with a proposition involving a change in my work responsibilities which I interpreted as not ideal.

Saturday morning I spoke to my future boss and accepted. Earlier that morning I had already composed my resignation letter. But it really wasn't a relaxing weekend, and those two events kicked off an anxiety storm I haven't experienced in a long while.

I did not resign right away on Monday. I had a hunch there was drama brewing based on the Friday call with my boss. Sure enough, here came the "organizational announcement" email announcing some layoffs. Soon to follow would be some restructuring announcement.

At the end of the day I somehow harnessed the strength within me to call my boss and announce my resignation. She took the news rather hard and tried to convince me to reconsider. In the end I told her to keep the resignation email she was hoping to delete, treat it as real, and I'd call her Tuesday morning and let her know the final decision. I already knew the decision but that did not stop me from waffling again and wrestling with various factors for the 53rd time.

On Tuesday I had the call. That, of course, set off a chain reaction. First, there was the call from HR asking questions about my motivations and whether or not I'd reconsider. Then came the call from the VP with a similar set of questions.

By early afternoon I was mentally exhausted and decided to take a lunch break at 1:45 to go rest on the bed for an hour. Unfortunately, at around the same time, another "organizational announcement" email appeared which informed the staff that I was leaving the company on March 25. And then my phone began to ring. Needless to say, there was no lunch break that day! Nor would there be the typical immediate dismissal which would have provided me a sense of relief!

Wednesday and Thursday were brutally busy as I spent time on the phone with co-workers who would be taking on my responsibilities. Thankfully, by Friday, things began to calm down and I was able to leave the house for a nice relaxing lunch at a restaurant. I got some of my non-essential equipment and office supplies boxed up ready to ship back to the office.

Next week I'll be available for support as needed and I'm hoping it will be a quiet week. However, this limbo is a strange sensation and I now remember why I dislike changing jobs. It is a form of agonizing torture and emotionally disruptive.

March 25 seems so very far away.

Friday Pussy Blog: Passed Out Edition

I've had quite the week and I'm tired as a Tot!

Normally, he'll wake up for the camera. At least one eye.

Not a chance. That boy is GONE.

This afternoon he was able to assemble a loaf.

Although Sissy is not known for being a Cat Loaf, she managed to get about as close as she ever has.

I'll post more about the events of my past week, which severely inhibited any other posting this week, on Saturday.

Sunday Shopping

I'm so very happy that my Kohl's card still functions normally after filing bankruptcy in December because I was able to save 30% on a new business suit!

Friday Pussy Blog: Pussy Galore Edition

Just some random pussy stuff today. Pulled a couple from an email chain making the rounds....

This is how hairballs get started.

This is the funniest cat photo I've seen in eons! Cat Loaf from below! Always wondered what it looks like under there. Now we know.

Witchay Woman's Gidget.

And Witchay Woman's daughter's Gadget.

And of course, the grooming Tot.

And a boxed Tot.

I really am tempted to get a clear plastic box so I can get a photo of a square Tot! That would be a screamer!

Happy Friday!

Where Do Gurus Hide?

I've heard him described as a "living saint," and something more than a mere mortal. And now he's a fugitive from justice with an arrest warrant. God does indeed work in mysterious ways.

With the subject of their deliberations still missing and presumed on the lam, a Hays County jury on Tuesday sentenced a religious guru to 14 years in prison for each of 20 counts of molesting two girls who grew up on the Hindu ashram he founded and led in Central Texas.

This should not be so shocking. We read about church leaders all the time who have been caught in a sex scandal of some kind of another. But I have a keen interest in following this story due to my personal involvement and experiences, and the friendships I've had with a number of devotees, as well as having business dealings with some of them early in my career.

I can't help but be dismayed by the blind allegiance to this man, and attempting to justify improprieties against a 12-year-old.

When he began fondling her when she was 12, Rose said: "It just felt so wrong. He was my first kiss by a man ever. The first time anyone touched my breasts, it was Prakashanand."

In the few instances in which they told an adult of the incidents, the women said, they were instructed that the touching had a higher purpose. "I was told it was a test and if I failed it I would go to hell," Rose said. The other women said they were told the guru was gracing them.

[...]

The dramatically differing testimony left jurors with the task of establishing whether the women were lying to hurt the guru or whether his devotees were lying to protect him. Each side struggled with proving or disproving a case based on incidents alleged to have occurred 15 years earlier.

Well, let's see here. A devotee tells a young girl who has not yet entered her teens that she will go to hell if she does not allow a saint to fondle her breasts and kiss her lips. It is not hard to see who is trying to protect whom.

One also has to wonder just how brainwashed you'd have to be to fork over enough bail money to sustain a struggling town during an economic downturn, or feed 100,000 poor and homeless people quite well for a month or longer.

Hays County authorities also began the process of collecting $11 million in bond money and other financial commitments they said Prakashanand forfeited when he did not show up in court Monday morning.

[...]

...[Peter] Spiegel, a direct-marketing executive who lives primarily in California, has the most to lose from Prakashanand's disappearance. Not only did he put up a $1 million cash bond, he also signed a $10 million indemnity agreement in October 2008. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to return the guru's passport so he could travel to his other temples.

Prakashanand's passport was revoked five months ago, but prosecutors said the agreement still called for Spiegel to pay $10 million if the guru did not show up for trial. On Tuesday, Spiegel said he did not fully understand what he was signing at the time.

Bullshit! I've known this savvy businessman for 20 years. He did not amass his wealth by not fully understanding what he was signing at any time! I'm sorry he placed a bet and lost, but you don't get to demand your $11 million back from a casino because you didn't fully understand how the craps table works!

WHAT WOULD JESUS DRIVE?

From my early exposure to Swamiji and his devotees, I distinctly remember an emphasis being put on total devotion to God, rather than being focused on maya, the illusion of our present reality which interferes with our understanding of God.

It's always refreshing to see the preacher of such a beautiful philosophy driving around in a Lexus with vanity plates!

Meanwhile, the guru is missing and law enforcement can't seem to locate an 82-year-old bearded man in saffron robes. I can't help but wonder if they are searching in the wrong country, despite the revocation of his U.S. passport. Perhaps the notion of justice is also part of maya.

Falling From Religion

I'm not sure why I spent so much time earlier in my life searching for a religion that was right for me. In my 20s I basically explored every aspect of Christianity before abandoning that altogether.

As I entered my 30s and got my first real job in the advertising industry 20 years ago in Los Angeles, I worked for a company whose founder and several employees were involved in the Hindu religion. They were great people and were passionate about their religion.

I attended a few events and ceremonies in an effort to give that a whirl. It seemed like the last best chance. The spiritual leader would swing through town two or three times a year and I looked forward to attending a service in his presence.

The first time I saw him I was rather surprised at his child-like qualities. At one point during the service he unexpectedly began throwing candy at the devotees. And I don't use the word "throwing" lightly. I mean he was hurling candy at us like there was a large cash prize for any injuries sustained!

After a few more weeks of careful consideration, I decided to opt out. There were too many rules, too much obsession, or devotion, if you want to call it that. Clearly, it was not right for me.

I like to attribute my departure to Ella Fitzgerald. One evening as I was driving to a satsang, I had the radio set to my favorite jazz station and heard Ella. It wasn't the first time I'd heard her sing, but the particular song resonated with me in a way that few songs do.

At that point I decided I'd rather do a U-turn, skip the satsang, swing into Tower Records, and buy that CD! And then I went home. I have never had a calling for any particular religion again since that night.

There is an Austin connection to all this. The owner of the ad agency was a major figure in this group, and was a key financial contributor as they acquired land outside of Austin and began construction of the temple. She also established a 2nd advertising agency in a building on the temple grounds. Devotees at the Los Angeles agency began their exodus to Austin in the mid-1990s.

As I was getting tired of the LA rat race, txrad and I made the decision in 1997 to take positions at the agency on the temple grounds and we moved here. We bought the house we live in today primarily because of the proximity to the temple. It was a short 9.5 mile commute to work.

That agency is no longer around and I've had 5 other jobs in advertising since I left there. I've also seen a number of my friends who were hardcore devotees drift away during that time which I thought was rather surprising considering their earlier intense feelings about it.

Maybe they had a hunch that something was amiss with the guru. I don't know for sure, because I've never discussed it with any of them. Let's just call it a "touchy" subject.

God Bless Ella!

Friday Pussy Blog: Pussy Supervisor Edition

I am always closely monitored at work.

Happy Friday!

I Can Do This Here

No Facebook needed.

Politics 2011

I just don't think I can deal with it.

Between the various birthers and other nutbags on Facebook, I've about had it with the right wing rigidity.

Facts and logic no longer are of any consequence.

Nothing this dude says reflects presidential material.

But can someone explain this to me?

The south is gaining seats in the Electoral College as a result of the 2010 census, giving the region a little more clout in the presidential race.

The people moving into the south are coming from other areas of the country, obviously. Is it just conservatives who are migrating and no one else? So why doesn't this make the other areas more liberal as their conservative residents vacate for nirvana?

I've Lost My TweetDeck

But can someone on the planet reassure me that Radiohead didn't ALSO steal from Heligoland's "pitcher, flask and foxy moxie?"

Thank God I'm Still Here

I'm just not ready for it, I guess!

Please, God, don't turn me into Atrios.

At least nothing was Tweeted here.

Oasis Was The Best Band Ever

God, these guys are so full of themselves. So pompous in a Beatlesesque, Doorsy, Bunnymenishy with Echo. But thinking they are the greatest turds the shitgod ever shat.

Lemons in February

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did just pick some lemons in February from our tree.

Tomato Crop 2011

I'm rather excited. I got off my butt in January and planted heirloom tomatoes from seed at the appropriate time and we'll now have a pretty good crop ready to be planted in the garden in about 2 weeks.

Look how hairy they are!

Video Comparison Test

I decided to spend my Saturday afternoon trying something fun and a little different. I got out the old Digital 8 Handycam and shot about 35 seconds of video at kona ranch, and then shot the same video using the iPhone.

I won't tell you which is which. I can tell you which one I prefer holding and using!

If the iPhone is indistinguishable from the Handycam, the latter will be getting donated to Goodwill.

Video #1:


Video #2:


Cast your thoughts in comments.

Here's what is funny. By the time I got these uploaded to YouTube and got this post ready, I had gotten confused about which video belonged to which device. Having seen them side by side, there really is no doubt.

Friday Pussy Blog: Dirty Pussy Edition

Rejoice! It is Friday!

Sweet Pea has apparently been rolling around in a dirt pile. He is covered in grass and dirt.

Sissy doing her Queenly pose atop the down comforter.

Tater Tot doing his smug-ass supervisor pose.

The Truth Shall Set You Free

People are starting to express themselves
albeit, minorities, but everyone is a minority depending on the position you hold.
The majority is going to have to deal with it, as well as the minority.

And then we have to grow. Buckle up!

Friday Pussy Blog: Pussy Footin' Around Edition

Last Friday, Witchay Woman sent me this photo of her daughter's cat with a suggested "cat paw" theme. I didn't see the email in time to get it together last Friday, but here we go!

The Gadget paw.

The outrageously pink Tot paw.

Two Tot hands and an outrageously pink Tot nose.

My human paw poking at the pink Tot belly.

Happy Friday!
And President's Day weekend.
All 3 days of it for those of you (like me) who are fortunately to have 3 days off.

Now Playing

Tuesday 俳句

Hate to break the news...
blonde chicks bouncing up and down
do nothing for me.

A Test for Office Seekers

I have decided we need to have a test for anyone planning to run for public office. If you fail the test, you can't run.

I normally don't approve of this sort of thing, especially when applied to the right of citizens to vote. But when it comes to running for office, these are like job candidates who have to submit a resume and in many cases, take a test to determine competency.

If an aspiring candidate believes, for instance, that the world was made in 6 days, and is only 6,000 years old, and that evolution is bunk, then they need to be excluded from eligibility.

We need to get back to some basic intellectual standards in this country if we are to survive as a nation.

Plenty of voters are quite stupid and gullible. But their choices in a race should be limited to those who do not exploit the stupidity. Voters might actually have to start thinking for themselves again. Maybe the really dumb ones will bow out once the lowest common denominator of politician is barred from running for office.

Can you tell I'm tired of this shit?

Grammy Commentary Starts Now

As much as I love Christina, she needs to tone it down just a notch. Florence isn't in the big leagues but she's got her own niche anyway. Aretha should be proud of her sisters nonetheless.

Here comes the Lady Gaga egg. My mother would not understand or appreciate this!

I like Miranda Lambert because she just sings without any "show."

I'm amazed it's so bright there. Lots of sunglasses after dark.

MUSE!!
Best show for world revolution!

Miranda for Grammy! YES! I can predict this shit!

She looks like she's wearing the mud outfit in the Swiffer commercial.

Justin Bieber is a Maple Leafs fan!! And he can play an instrument!



Black horns and George Clinton wannabes.

I may have to toss off for the night. Missing a lot, I knew this was a mistake.

There is a chichihua puppet in color next to a black man in color? Amid a field of color and egg shit.
Country radio redux. You can fu..get yourself!

Does Bob Dylan only stand up for the grammys?

It doesn't what on Maggie's farm no more?



I'm not stupid. I figured out Mumford & Sons and the noose around my neck.

Te band I accused of being the Decemberists?

Black hair. You can be anyone.

He's gonna get old and lose that hair eventually. And then what's he gonna do?

And Christina Aguilera will be like 80 by then. It'll be like Mae West revisited.

Ninja drummers and flames provide a distraction.

MUSE wins a Grammy!!

I hope Bob Dylan can stay awake and display some enthusiasm.

Susan Boyle's nomination was a mercy vote.

Lady Gaga still has shoulder horns.


THIS. One big fail. All the commentary from the iPad failed to post here. I think I'll just shut this down here and maybe delete.

Oh, wait. It did get everything.

Never mind.

Going to watch Katy Perry. Like her red gown is so fucking large it requires a crane to carry it. Nice job and making the lesser peons feel like shit.

Once the pot humor starts, I'm done and baked.

Bravo for free speech and whatever.

Can we just turn this into an art form and forget about the profit motive?

Technologically Obsessed

Sometimes I send emails to myself.

Friday Pussy Blog: Workplace Ultimate Challenge Edition

It's been a wild week on all fronts!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Nothing to see here because...

... I just wanna read shit.

Yeah, seriously.

And change my header.

No.more.snow.

And pretend like mortality is a figment of my wildly distorted imagination.

No.more.truth.

Time for a fry flip....

be back when the logistics chick stops sounding like that chick who has stolen the sound of that chick's album I bought back in the 80s. Yeah.

Login with:

Does anyone else hate this shit? I mean, come the fuck on!

Why do I need so many login options?

Does this not remind you of deregulation circa 1984 when you used a pay phone and there were buttons to press for whether you wanted your long-distance carrier to be AT&T, Sprint or MCI? There were others.

What fucking difference does it make? Deliver the fucking message!

Ah-Ha!

The joke is on you.

It is a hippie movement.

Socialist.

Athenian,

Hippiest. Fuck. Wgat==t?

Adele questioned me?

Shut the fuck up and let me get my butt in the right place.

What the did that have to with Adele?

Something. I'm not sure what.

Keeping Austin Weird and Wonderful

I felt like I had a mini-vacation today as we headed into the big city for lunch at Veggie Heaven across from the campus of UT. I was craving some veggie ham and we have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Veggie Heaven is a great little restaurant. They put out boxes of cooked rice on a table next to the door so the homeless can come help themselves for some take-out.

After lunch we headed to a nearby crystal shop where I bought my opal back in the summer of 2008.

As I was browsing various rocks I could smell incense burning and was tempted to ask the young woman working there what it was. It smelled like pot. I picked up an unmarked stone and turned to ask her if she knew what it was, and I swear she was holding a burning joint.

She did not know what it was. But I bought it anyway because I like it a lot. I also bought txrad a Seraphinite so that he may establish contact with the highest order of angels, as well as seeing his life clearly.

We may have to take turns wearing it! It was worn to prevent snakebite during ancient times. Can't have too much protection against that!

Now I need to do some research and figure out what I'm protected from with the one I bought.

Gifts From Afar

My neighbors just got back from Costa Rica and brought me a couple of treats for taking care of their dogs while they were traveling.

There's the coffee from Costa Rica which I shall be having in the morning...

And then there's the nifty bottle opener which I'll grasp firmly tonight as I open the first beer.

Those folks in Costa Rica do pay attention to detail. It even has a little pee hole in the tip!

(Start counting the hours until Photobucket clues in and deletes this from their photo storage site.)

Oh, dear, let me collect my thoughts...

This insanity will NOT pass muster!

Friday Pussy Blog: Snow Cat Edition

I may have figured out the origin of some of the paw prints in the snow.

Yep, Sweet Pea is one of them.

Making more tracks.

Meanwhile, the Tot is snuggled up in his box.

And Sissy is huddled up on the bed.

The cat treats have sprouted in a sunny window and will soon be ready for nibbling.

Happy Friday!

February Snow

It's 21° as I type this, and with an unprecedented 72 hours of sub-freezing weather under our belts, we end the week with snow!

And there is clear evidence of a feline coming out of the garage for a morning meal.

The good news is that snow never hangs around as long as our sub-freezing temperatures have this week, and I suspect that by noon there will be no trace of it. Sunshine is in the forecast! And the weekend should be near 60° finally!

I'm the kind of asshole...

...who would buy up the first 5 seats at an Iron Maiden concert just so I could stretch out.