Willi peed in my vent.

Okay, stop laughing. I came home from work yesterday and found my room smelling very strongly of the unique and rather unpleasant odour of cat urine. It seems that while she appears to be getting along better when I'm home, she turns into a bit of a basket case when I'm at work. When cats are unhappy, they show it in many ways. One of them being peeing in strange places. Like, for instance, when Tanya's cat peed in my suitcase; he was suffering a bladder infection. Willi is suffering a strange cat in her home. Anyway, I poured some Pinesol down the vent and it has mostly neutralised the scent, though there is a slight smell when you get close to the vent. At least it was the vent and not my bed, clothing, or closet. Today, happily, she seems to be getting on quite well and showing the distinct symptoms of boredom. She's gone out into the rest of the house, dug about in the litter, climbed onto many surfaces where she doesn't belong... all signs point to her doing better. And, so far, no more peeing in my vent.

I spent a lot of time working on stuff for Booboo. I'll be invoicing soon enough. Thank goodness, I really need some money. Today, I plan to repot (finally) my spider plant. I mean, 'repot', isn't exactly the right word since she's not in a propper pot now. Willi threw her off the microwave twice and the plant has been living in a jagged terracotta mess for months. It hasn't stopped her from having babies and flowers, and she refuses to believe that she can't be root bound because she has no pot. Hell, she barely has soil. Anyway, that's my big plan for today. I'll get to the rooting crysanthamums (I know that's not how it's spelled...) that live in a bottle when I get a pot that is tall enough for them. It will require me to shatter the bottle to free the significant amount of root growth.

Oh yes, I must apply to some jobs today, as well. I downloaded a number of them yesterday and today I have to sit down and do some coverletter rewritting and whatnot. I really mean to find myself a new and interesting job - preferably in a field where I have experience and knowledge. My goal is to do so by July. I have never really had to do a job search like this before. I usually just fell into them, so this is a learning process. I think I bring a lot of good quality and ability to the jobs I do and I know something is bound to turn up. Back before Christmas, John of Heretic read my cards and told me that I was either going to make a move in March or July. I had the chance to make a move for March and turned it down. That was the job where Al works with the owner from Sheepshead Bay. I don't regret turning it down, I stand by my reasons, so tempting though it was. So, I'm aiming for July. John's not usually wrong and July's only a couple of months away.

Wow, I'm in a really good headspace today. Go me !

Good morning, get off your email. Hello? Do you hear that? That's me growling. Sorry, but it's just such a double standard. I'm not allowed to check my email when I get into the office, but everyone else in the office is busy passing around forwards -and- taking personal calls while at work? I don't have a phone. I pretty much limit my email usage to when I first arrive and lunchtime, which I think is completely reasonable. I intend to continue doing so and, frankly, if I get in trouble, I will argue the point. Let's just say, hypothetically, that someone has to reach me for something important. After trying me at home to find that I'm now at work (where mostly, my cell doesn't work inside the building), they either have to call the main switchboard to at least get someone who can direct them to someone in my department who then might call me to the phone, or maybe will just take a message. I know from experience how effectively this system works - not very. If, however; they email me, chances are, I can respond right off the bat. Besides, my job is crappy enough, I think I deserve one mode of distraction.

Since they won't give me a phone extension because that might imply that I have customer service contact with the public (which I do, anyway), that would mean I might have to get a raise. I just haven't gotten the courage up to say when told to phone people, "I'm sorry, but that's not in my job description."

On a different note, the cats are doing alright. Pork Chop, the rotund little female (Stew's sister hates that I call Tobe rotund, but I could call Tobe "Roundo" or "Tubby" or something more humiliating), is still curious about Stinky Bee, but mostly keeps out of my room now. Stew says she's behaving out of sorts, so I guess she's not feeling as comfortable as all that. Willi, on the other hand, seems to be improving a bit. She's now bucked up the courage to follow me around the apartment and even talks a bit again. It's quite strange having a normally loquacious cat suddenly go mum. She's playing a little again, too, which is gratifying. I think that this will sort itself out sooner than I initially thought. In the meantime, I've moved Willi's dishes into my room, including her water, because aside from the likelihood of Tobe eating Stink's food, I'm tired of her drinking from my mug.

So, wow. I actually have the time this week to see Rick. We're going for a dinner and a movie tomorrow, what a novel idea. Otherwise, my social life is strictly limited to Booboo's campaign goings-on. Meetings, social sessions... Really, when my phone rings, it's going to be one of three people: my mother, Rick, or Booboo. Yes, I lead an extraordinarily exciting life.

An update on the kitty progress from Stew in answering my email query:

Q How are the cats doing? No fisticuffs, I hope?

A Not that I've seen.. and there aren't any large tufts of hair lying around.

I was out for a couple of hours picking up Sierra and
having lunch but things seem okay. Tense but okay.
Wili was holed up in the kitchen window while Tobe
roamed the house.

Both litter boxes have been used but I have no way to tell by which kitty.

My poor cat. Hopefully, she'll rebound to ownership soon. I mean, she managed to do so at Mom's place, overcoming two cats with seniority, why not in her own house?

And, I stand formally corrected, it's Tobe, not Tobie.

Oh boy, my day has started -really- well. Willi wakes up all happy, only to rediscover that Tobie has invaded her house and cowers under my bedside table. Great, guilt. Then, at work, right off the bat, I am greeted with, "Joane's back !" Joy, my most favourite person in membership is back from sick leave. This being the woman who sent me home without any authority to do so, who backstabs and mistreats the part-timers, etc. And I have to look happy about it. *sigh* Then, I'm checking my email like I do every morning and Peter says, "Maya, what are you doing?", because, you see, I'm not supposed to use my email here. Of course, I also don't have a phone extension, so just how am I supposed to stay in touch with the world? I answered flatly, "Email. I have no phone."

Anyway, Peter said nothing more about it and Joane is being extra pleasant (something she might have tried before becoming sick) and I hope it continues. Generally, things have improved in the office to at least the point of non-comment-worthiness.

As I was saying, Willi is none-too happy about having Tobie in the house, it's an invasion as far as she's concerned and something to hide from. Tobie, on the other hand, finds Willi an endless curiosity. Willi doesn't seem to be mad at me, just at the situation, so I feel a little better about things. My poor Stinky Bee, having to share an apartment with Pork Chop. On the other hand, Stew and I had the most fun taking out the garbage - tossing it off the second floor balcony onto the lawn ! "Slop !" *toss* That was great fun and easier than running up and down the stairs with everything. So far, I'm enjoying having Stew in the house. :) And not just because he discovered that we have cable hooked up from my old/his new room. I really should have checked that earlier.

My to-do list for tonight:
1. Hook up Natasha - there's work to be done !
2. Do work.
3. Eat dinner.
4. Watch West Wing and maybe Law & Order.
5. Do more work.
6. Optional: seperate cats at regular intervals.
7. Sleep.

Wow, who knew life out of university could be so exciting? I had another dream about going back to grad school. I mean, if I can't pay my debts now, I might as well go back and incur more, right? *laugh* I might teach in Asia next year, for the money. I might do a lot of things to pay off my debts and get myself back into school. I'll have to think about what I want to study, though - maybe there's an art history/history cross-over programme I could do. Ahhh, the sweet escapism of dreaming...

Speaking of escapism, my mother and I have booked our hotel in Detroit. We decided to stay in the US to avoid crossing through Customs every day. The place is really nice looking and my mom spoke to a very helpful woman on the phone and we managed to reserve our room for a very affordable cost. The hotel sits right in the cultural centre of downtown Detroit, near the Institute of Arts, the Science Centre, the African American History Museum, and, so we've been told, plenty of excellent places to eat. As far as I'm concerned, this trip can't come quickly enough.

Hm, maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket.

Ranting is something we all do, and many of us enjoy doing it. It's a release, a way to blow off steam; about our jobs, politics, our relationships, friends, cars, you name it. For my mother, it's The Osbournes. You have not heard a rant until you've heard my mother fume about them, specifically Ozzy, every time the commercials air on CTV. Oh my lord, she says the same thing every time. For me, it's usually about drivers and how they've managed to rank Toronto worse than Montreal for bad driving. It's true, Toronto rates worse than the traditional bad-driver centre of Canada. Lane changes - Hello, people, you've got a turn signal for a reason ! Road rage - I know all about that and have the dinged hood to prove it. You get the idea. I hate bad drivers. I went to CAA drivers' ed.; mostly, I still use the skills they taught me. Did other people NOT learn how to drive properly? How did these monumentally bad drivers manage to get their licences? I mean, come on. I might be a speeder, but I don't endanger other... But, if I'm not driving, I'm taking the bus, and have I ever told you how bad the Dufferin bus is? Holy shit, it's consistently the worst bus route I've ever ridden in all my bus-riding history in Toronto.

Ranting. It's fun. But it gets annoying after a while. I could write a rant about how tiresome it is listening to people go on and on about what annoys them, but I won't.

Recently, I saw a tank on the back of a flatbed truck pulled over at a rest stop on Highway 115. That was a pretty weird site. I've seen military vehicles on the 401 - it's a massive highway and it passes several Canadian Forces Bases - but the 115? We're talking about a highway with a speed limit of 90 for most of it heading out into the boonies of central Ontario... I know, they were taking the tank out to deal with the encroaching threat of bikers cum blueberry sellers and the rebel forces of nature that are reclaiming all those boarded up motels.

I'm rather facetious today, aren't I?

Other news: Willi is loving me and loving Peterborough. She has been following me around since I got out here yesterday, sleeping with me and curling up near me whenever possible. I think she missed me while I was gone, and though the garden and its many climbable trees (something she's been successfully experimenting with) and tempting birds is lots of fun, it's just better when I'm around. It's nice. Of course, later today, she'll be coming back to Toronto to find a strange (and I do mean strange) man living in the room that I used to live in, with me in the room she previously hadn't been allowed in, and Nick having been replaced by Tobie, the rotund interloping female cat that came with aforementioned strange man, Stew. Boy, is life ever interesting.

I've been working these last few days on Booboo's stuff. It's paying work, I might add, so it's sort of hit my priority list. And, none of it requires my using Booboo's image ! Huzzah ! Of course, if all the information came to me with all the requirements spelled out, that would be nice, but it's alright. I've got some free rein here and each time a change needs to be made, I just smile and remind myself that I'm being paid. By the hour.

Finally, I've updated my Elfwood gallery again. I can't remember if I mentioned this or not. Anyway, I added a couple new Tolkien inspired pieces, a character portrait and an impy lady. No Moderators' Choices for me this time; oh well, I guess three in less than a year is pretty good, right? *laugh*