Don't Tell Me What To Do ~ Ask First

I'm not one to take direction lightly. Unless you ask first, of course. If someone tells me what to do I will react accordingly and it ain't pretty. But if someone asks me, in a decent way, I will be more than happy to accomodate.

This has been a problem all my life. I am what many people call a loner. And that means that I prefer to be left alone, sometimes in my own little world. I get along with other people; it's just that I prefer to not only do things by myself, but to be left alone the majority of the time.

And looking back to my last job (yeah, that one...where I was cast aside like someone's half-eaten breakfast), that is what may have started some of the people in my office to not like me. I am the type that if I like someone I will most definitely talk to them. But if I do not like someone, I will go out of my way to ignore them. Of course, if spoken to, I will converse back. Just don't ask for it to be something profound. More often, it will only be my hidden politeness coming out. And that doesn't happen very often.

I have found that the older a person gets, the more ballsy they are. I am living testament of that. These days, there is hardly the person who will get ahead of me when it comes to conversation, or anything else for that matter. My best behavior comes out when I am on the phone. Call me at the wrong time, and they will not be happy they did. But the best is when I find an error in, perhaps, a bill from the our health insurance company or any health-related bill for that matter (and there are plenty of those these days because nobody seems to want to do their jobs right anymore), and I will practically rip them a new one.

No, I'm not a loner to the extent that you would call me a hermit. I do have a husband and three cats. I am quite normal, I think. I do talk on the phone and I can be civil. I don't cotton to stupidity much either. I had friends throughout my entire life. But it was always one close friend, and not several at a time. I can't handle too much of that friend stuff. It gives me a closed in feeling and I can't breathe. I like to have all the freedom I can get when I can get it, which is much of the time.

So there you have it; a little peek into my psyche. Aren't you glad you did?

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I wrote this and stored it away a few years ago. Since I haven't written anything in over a week, this will have to do until my brain stops cooking from all this heat and I can think once again.

Finally...It's My Turn

Hi, my name is Punkin'. I came into this world on August 9, 2009, along with several brothers and sisters. I can't remember how many or what colors they were anymore, but eventually I was the only one that survived.

My mother, who the lady human called Mini-Me because she was exactly like her mother (my grandmother), found a great place to keep me dry and off the ground: underneath an overturned pickup truck bed-liner on a trailer full of landscaping blocks. My home, when my mother left me for a few hours, was on a board and that is where I slept till she would come back.

When I was 5 weeks old, Mother went on her usual adventure one rainy Saturday after feeding me and saying she would be back for the next feeding. She liked to walk alongside the road to get wherever it was she was going. The humans left that Saturday in their truck and were gone most of the day. Mother didn't come when I called for her and I was hungry. I cried. And cried. And soon I couldn't cry anymore because my vocal cords stopped working. I tried to sleep but with an empty tummy it wasn't easy.

Finally I heard the human's truck pull into the driveway and they were only a few feet away from me. I kept quiet because I didn't want them to know I was there, just like mother taught me. Oh, she and grandmother would let the lady human pet them but Mother told me, be careful, son.

The humans went into their house but soon one of them came out and walked by me. When she came back from what she went to do, I decided enough is enough, I am hungry, so I made a few chirps because that's all I could muster up by then. The human went back into the house and I felt I was not going to be rescued. And then a great thing happened...they both came back out and while one lifted my shelter up the other one scooped me up and put me into a soft warm blanket inside a box. And the lady human comforted me with her warm soft hand...it made me feel so much better. I didn't know that some reckless nogood swerved for Mother while she was walking alongside the road and left her to lay in the rain. The humans found Mother and cried while they buried her.

That box became my bed for the next several weeks in the same room the humans slept. I would be brought out in the morning and would play till I got sleepy.  I have since been told that when the lady human awoke she never heard me and was always afraid to look in the box.  I just sat there like a good boy and waited for her to pick me up and feed me.  

Here I am in one of the many things the humans had at that time:

This is my older brother. He always cuddled with me and took good care of me. He and I spent a lot of time on this ledge looking out the window at the birds:

The human lady tells me this is her favorite picture of me. I'm a little poser, can't you tell?

This is pretty much how I look today. Quite the good-looking man wouldn't you say? I think I turned out pretty good for all that I went through.  This was taken almost a year ago and I have grown a tad since then, but not much:

I'm told I was a very sick kitty and the humans were so worried that they thought I wasn't going to make it. But after what they did for me how could I let them down? Of course, I had to visit that place that had what they call a vet and the first visit wasn't so bad because I didn't know what it was. Actually the ones that followed weren't too bad either, but I was young...what did I know? Now? I let them know in no uncertain terms that it is the absolute last place I want to go. They don't listen, though.

The vet said I was carrying a nasty parasite inside me from when I was outside and I probably would have died eventually. The medicine I had to take (yuck!) chased the parasite away but it didn't happen for quite some time. I know the humans were worried sick over me and I tried my best to get better. And then one day it happened: the parasite was gone and the vet said I was going to be all right. I know she was worried too because when I made my first visit to her she just shook her head and had a sad face.   She said I was very tiny for my age.

But I am here today and I will be having my second birthday in a few weeks and I will be celebrating with my sister, Dakota-Sioux, and my brother, Junior, who were born August 8th of 2006 and adopted by my humans when they were both 13 weeks old. And, oh yeah, the lady human? I now refer to her as Mommy.

(Mommy's note: to this day, Punkin' does not "talk" due to the overuse of his vocal cords on that damp, rainy Saturday in early September.  He will always be my baby no matter how old he gets.  My miracle baby.) 

Here We Go Again

OK, I know the majority of this country is hot. And I know others are complaining about the heat. But I have had it up to here with these dang heat waves. We are now in the middle of one and when it ends another one will start right up the next day with no break in between. Now, this I cannot understand. Wouldn't that just be considered one long heat wave? Why break it up in two segments? Goofy meteorologists.
Husband has one day left for physical therapy and that will be this Thursday.  Another chapter over and done with.  Three knee operations in six years.  He's a very brave man, I tell ya.  I hope I never have to get any of my knees operated on.  Or anything else for that matter.  I am cranky enough as it is without having to sit around and wait for something to heal.

Punkin' has been tweaking his contribution to this blog and should have it finalized sometime this week, I hope.  See you then.

Just Another Friday...Not

My Fridays are usually spent watching racing on TV. They have a few practice sessions and then there is qualifying, things of that nature. But yesterday was a tad different. My husband had an appointment to see his knee surgeon. It is almost three months since his operation. I am glad to report that things are looking good despite his almost constant pain. Doc just told him to take his pain meds. Not the addicting ones, thank you.

After we left the doctor we went to McDonald's across the street from Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. As we ate our lunch we watched the different rides which included the roller coaster. I miss going on those rides but since my husband doesn't like them, we don't go on them.

A lot of times when we visit McDonald's we get the soft-serve ice cream cone for a buck. It's a nice sized cone for that price, you can't go wrong. But today my husband had something else on his mind: going to a local mom and pop type store in search of Hershey's Ice Cream, not associated with Hershey Park. He called a lot of places Thursday to ask if they sell Hershey's and found two close to us. There was a time you could get that brand in most of the larger grocery stores in our area but those days are over. Now the few stores that sell it are far and few between and the products are in freezers with sliding doors on top. There is a distribution center in our area so we may try to visit that and see if we can purchase from them directly.

We each got a cup of ice cream, his had chocolate and marshmallow and mine had vanilla and caramel, but they were really frozen solid so we ate them when we got home. Delicious. I cannot remember when I last ate Hershey's Ice Cream.

I was able to watch qualifying for Sunday's race. Another disappointing qualifying run for Dale Jr. He is as bad as his father was when it comes to qualifying. But at least his father went on to win a lot of races. I am beginning to think Dale Jr. won't be winning any races anymore, and it is very frustrating. All his fans (Junior Nation) are wishing him the best for Sunday's race at Loudon, NH.

Before I sign off, I want to wish my best friend a very happy birthday. She knows who she is.

Holy Hell It's Hot Again

Sorry for the cuss word in my title, but it's how I feel. Who opened the door to hell anyway?  Where is all this dang heat coming from? I am so sick and tired of it. I can't remember it being this hot for as many days as it has in my entire lifetime.  Thank God for air conditioning.  I just wish I could pass some of it on to the cats outside. 

OK, so I am a tad depressed. Who wouldn't be? What with this heat, the stupid verdict for the Anthony trial, and all the other trials and tribulations going on with this country.  Every morning when I get up and read the paper I am wondering which country it will be that will own us.  Because our leaders sure as shootin' are taking us to hell in a  handbasket. 

And to make matters worse I am currently fasting because first thing in the morning I have to get blood drawn again. I swear my doctor thinks I'm a pin-cushion and that I just enjoy the hell out of having someone stick a needle in my arm and then wait till they get the amount of blood needed. I have never liked needles and I always look away when that nasty deed is being done.

I have given space here to both my older cats in recent days and I would like to say that my youngest, Punkin', is helping me create his post. Stay tuned. He's a baby yet, so it takes him a little longer.

She's Getting What?????

Good grief, that Anthony woman is getting out of prison already. At first they said it would be Wednesday, July 13, 2011. It has since been changed to Sunday, July 17th.

Everybody run for cover! Hide your kids!

Seriously, I am really wondering how she is going to handle herself out in the public. The very same public that views her as Public Enemy #1. For now,  I am thinking eventually the public will get over what she did (or didn't do in her mind), and things will get back to normal.

As of now, the judge asked for a "cooling off" period as to whether or not the jurors' names should be released. Do we really want to know them? Those very same people that could not convict a baby killer? Accident or no, she is still the reason that little girl is dead.

Lightning struck a tree yesterday at the memorial where Caylee's remains were found. Somebody is telling someone something.   And like one of the analysts on HLN said, Karma has a short leash. And like I always say, what goes around comes around. I just hope Caylee gets redemption before I leave this earth. It would be a shame to miss that.

No Justice For Caylee

Rest In Peace, Sweet Baby

Somehow, sometime, somewhere this innocent child will get justice. It doesn't always happen right away. They say good things take time, and I believe when that time comes, a certain person had better be prepared.

I was absolutely disgusted when I heard those not guilty verdicts. They say she didn't murder her daughter. Well, then, who the hell did? Who did those unspeakable things to that precious little girl?

Like OJ (and we all know who I mean), Caylee's mother will get her just due. Maybe she didn't "murder" her, but she is totally responsible for her death in one way or another.   That I firmly believe and always will.

What a crock of shit when 12 people somehow justify their verdict and come up with the BS that they did. And then they don't even have the balls to hang around and tell us why they went that way. They are all a piece of work, aren't they? I could go on and on about this, but I am tired after all these weeks of testimony. And, by the way, what a waste of taxpayers' money, what a waste of our time, what a waste of TV, what a waste...

Did She Or Didn't She?

Since I wrote about the trial and was asked about the outcome, I will put a few thoughts out there. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to bring attention to my little blog because of "her".

I think her daughter was getting to the point of being able to say a lot of things like mommy doesn't go to work, mommy doesn't have a nanny, well...you get the picture. She did not need her baby to tell the grandparents what was actually going on. Because of that, the little one had to be quieted, and the less she knew the better off mommy was. So mommy searched chlor-o-form back in March and I believe that was used to keep the little one quiet. Where she put her I have no idea, because the trunk of a car is just too hot in mid-June. But then again, the little one did die so that could have been the cause. Mommy panicked. She knew she was in a hell of a lot of trouble, so for 31 days she went on her merry way concocting story after story and the more she told, the bolder she grew. Each lie was said with greater conviction till she actually started believing them. To this day I think she still believes her own lies.

The outcome? Guilty, but no death penalty.

The Trial Is Nearing The End

Sorry for not posting more than I have been, but the Casey Anthony trial has me so mesmerized that I cannot tear myself away from it.

I turn the TV on, after making sure I get up early enough, around 8:30 or 9:00, depending on when Judge Perry tells us court will start the next day.

And then I watch all day long, and I hate it when they take little recesses, and I especially hate it when they take an hour and a half for lunch. Usually they go till 5:00 but some days they go longer. And when they finish long before 5, I really get irritated.

It is winding down now, the defense rested their case earlier today. I can only say at this point that after watching this trial from day one, I would not want any of those lawyers on the defense team to represent me. Ever.

So bear with me folks because as long as this trial is ongoing, I will be of no use to anyone.

And I would like to add that I tried to post this after midnight but Blogger was being a royal pain in the butt and no one could access their blogs to post.

Marco Finally Wins One

I have been following Marco's career since he started racing, and last night for the second time in his career I was able to see him win. He won his first race as a rookie back in 2006 at a road course in Sonoma, California.

Saturday he won the Iowa Corn Indy 250 which is an oval course. The last time an Andretti won on an oval course was when his father, Michael, won in 2000 at Motegi in Japan.

It's been a long time since I've been able to see him win, and race after race all I could do was hope.  Saturday made it real.  Finally. 

The Andretti clan resides in the Lehigh Valley and that makes us neighbors so to speak since I live in the Lehigh Valley also. 

Congratulations Marco!  Now, give us some more wins this year.

DoraTheExplorer

Her real name is Dakota-Sioux. I call her Dora every time a new empty box appears in our house. Dakota is always the first one to find it. And of course, just finding it doesn't do the trick. No, the trick is to crawl into it and make it hers so no one else can get in. And God forbid anyone tries to get in because she will bat them into next week.

She's not a fighter...she just doesn't want to share her new found space. I remember when this box arrived in the house. It came in the mail and inside it was my breadbox. I put the empty box up fairly high and before I knew it there was Dakota making it her own. She is, after all, our little princess and the two boys just don't stand a chance with her around.

Sillipuss

With nothing much to write about these boring days, I was scrolling through my older photos when I came upon this one of our Junior.

This is the soft-side carrier I use to take the cats to the vet. When we bring the cat home (whichever one was the luckier of the two that visit the vet), I usually just let the carrier on the floor somewhere until I have time to put it away out of their sight.

Both Punkin' and Dakota cannot be shown that carrier on a day one of them is going to the vet. They would hide themselves so deep under the furniture I wouldn't find either one for days. And on the ride to that famous place, they both howl like it's a full moon.   I have to keep the carrier out of their sight until it is time to leave, carry either one into the bedroom where the carrier is on the bed, and pop them in.  And sometimes that's not even easy to do. 

Needless to say, Junior has never been to the vet since he got his you-know-whats cut off.   So he has no idea what that carrier is or what it's used for because if he did he would not want to crawl in it and wait to be taken away.

Nope...this particular day he just thought it was another place to crash.  He's a big boy, so he took up the entire space inside. And it makes me giggle every time I look at this photo.

Pulling My Hair Out

I rely heavily on my Favorites list. Today I wiped it out. I don't know why or how it happened. I was deleting my daily cache inquiries and I guess I went a tad too far.

I thought a system restore would do the job but every time I have tried that since purchasing this computer I have not been successful. I used to do that all the time on the other computer and it always worked when I got myself into a stupid jam. I probably could have retrieved what I tossed from the recycle bin but that was emptied before I realized what happened.

So I spent a good portion of today trying to remember what I had in my Favorites list. Not an easy task. I am sure a lot will come to me as I skip down the merry lane of stupidity.

I can live with what I did to my list but what really has me scratching my head is not being able to do a system restore on this computer. It's only a little over a year old. Does anyone out there know what it could be? I have Windows 7.

There was a boring race on TV Sunday at the Pocono Race Track. The driver who has been holding on to first place in the points with a healthy lead got bit in the butt today and had to drop out of the race. The drivers under him made major advances because of his stumble. With this new points system it doesn't take much to scramble the drivers after any given race. As a result of Carl Edwards' mishap Sunday, Dale Jr. is still in 3rd place but is now only 10 points out of first place, and 4 points out of 2nd place.  Before yesterday's race, he was 41 points out of first place, so by finishing 6th in the race he gained 31 points.   Good deal.

One of these days he is going to win a race and all hell will break loose. I will party till the cows come home, even though there are no cows within miles of here. Suffice it to say, that will be a long party.

Back To Square One

We hit 97 degrees today and Thursday will be hotter yet. The only good thing is that by Friday the heat won't be quite as bad. They say a cold front is moving in and we will drop to the mid-eighties. Cold front? The only time I get a cold front is when I stand with the refrigerator doors (they're French) open.

I spent the entire day watching (or at least listening) to the Casey Anthony trial. They started the day off with the second cadaver dog and then went into the computer inquiries. Now THAT was very interesting. Especially some of the things that were looked up on her computer when her parents weren't home. Yet they still cannot prove it was her that used the computer those two days back in March...yeah, three months before her baby went missing. Pre-meditated?

NASCAR will be racing at Pocono this weekend. Once again it will be hot for the drivers. It seems the heat follows them. Last weekend they were in Kansas and it was hotter 'n Hades there, too. Speaking of NASCAR...someone finally took a shot at that vile Kyle (CRYle) Busch and tried to put him in his place. The only trouble is, it was a car owner and he was fined $150,000.00 and put on probation until December 31st. But he said it was worth it. He got tired of Busch beating and banging and wrecking his equipment. Richard Childress is my latest hero. He walked up to the kid in the garage, handed his watch to his grandson, put Busch in a headlock and commenced to bounce his fist off his face. No shiner though. Too bad on that account. Busch told him he hits like an old man. Well, Mr. Childress is 65, what did he expect?

Another Close One Sunday

By that, I mean Dale Jr. almost won the race. Last week he was leading and on the fourth turn just before the finish line he ran out of gas but was able to finish seventh. And this Sunday he was in second place just hoping what they were saying about the leader was true: that he would run out of gas and Junior would win the race. Didn't happen, folks. And so we wait another week. Next Sunday the race will be north of me at Pocono Raceway. I've been there a few times and two years ago I was lucky to see Dale Jr.

Now for the weather: more heat and humidity is on the way. We have air conditioning, but for some reason when it gets so dang hot outside it just seems more unbearable inside. Husband hasn't installed the new air conditioner in my computer room yet and I have been using a personal fan. It works fine on most days but when we get high humidity the poor little thing just doesn't cut it.

I will miss much of the Casey Anthony trial today because husband is having his annual stress test along with two other tests. We will be at the cardiologist's facility for almost four hours. I have my goody bag packed and ready to go. My current book and the newspaper will keep me occupied also. The best part will be when he is done and we go somewhere to eat dinner.

This is also husband's last week of physical therapy for his knee and then he sees his knee surgeon again next Monday. With all these appointments we will be out and about every day. I am getting too old for this.

The cats that had kittens finally took them elsewhere so they can teach them how to hunt and fear humans. One mother decided she would rather stay close to home so her three kittens are still up here by the house. She lets me pick them up without a fuss but I don't know how long that will last till she too decides to take them away. I've had a rough couple of weeks since most of them were born but things are a whole lot different now that I no longer have to worry about them 24/7. Finally.

Ahhhhhh...I Can Breathe Again

This cooler weather is much, much better than that 90's crap the past three days. When I stepped outside this morning I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. So much so that I actually hated to come back inside. There was such a nice breeze on the front porch, it was very tempting to just sit there and read the newspaper I retrieved from the end of the driveway. That was out of the question since a husband and three cats were waiting for breakfast.

I could live with this weather year round. But life is not nice and here I am in Podunk USA where the weather has many, many seasons.

I have been spending a lot of time watching the Casey Anthony trial on HLN and also live streaming on the computer. For those of you unaware of the case, little Caylee, a beautiful 2-1/2 year old toddler, went missing and her mother didn't report it for 31 days and then only because she was confronted about where her child really was. That was back in 2008 and now she is on trial for murder. Everyone knows she did it, and the state is pushing for the death penalty. I have never seen someone lie as well as Casey. And I think she believes her own lies. To say that she is a sociopath in every sense of the word is putting it mildly. Her defense lawyer is a real putz, he makes me want to reach out and slap him silly.

So for the next few weeks I will be glued to the trial and my housework will just have to wait. Like that really bothers me anyway.

HOT HOT HOT

I tried to post something last night and couldn't get in, so when I tried again tonight and still couldn't get in I became concerned. I fiddled around until I found a backdoor and entered and here I am. I just hope this is not going to be an issue with my not being able to access my blog to post.

It is now 11:45pm and the temperature outside is 80 degrees. Ho-ly hell. We were in the lower 90's today and they expect it to be that for the next couple of days. What did we do to be punished thusly? This country is going to hell in a hand basket in more ways than one. I don't like this weather. The cats and their kittens outside are not amused by it either.

To make matters worse, the weather people said there would be no rain overnight. Liars. At 5:25am I was awakened by thunder and lightning with a lot of that wet stuff pouring out of the sky. I was able to somehow get myself back to sleep so I have no idea how long it lasted. When I went out to take care of the animals the heat just smacked me in the face. All that rain...for nothing. And as much as I groused about all that rain day after day a week or so ago, I would welcome it now. So would the cats.

Today was a long day for me. It was just the two of us so it didn't seem like a holiday at all. We decided to go out to eat for dinner but we came right back home to our air conditioned home. Husband starts his third week of physical therapy tomorrow but only has two days this week. Next week will be his final week hopefully, and then it is off to see his surgeon again.

Going 128 MPH in a 45 MPH Zone

Yes, you read that correctly. That is exactly what NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was doing in Iredell County, North Carolina, yesterday.

It seems that Toyota gave him a 2012 Lexus to test drive and with his wife, Samantha, by his side he decided the best place to do that was on a two lane curvy road in North Carolina. When he was finally pulled over by police, it was in a church parking lot. He should have headed straight inside and gotten on his knees.

Just beyond where he was stopped they say there are two schools, both of which were ready to dismiss classes for the day.

Why am I writing about this? Certainly not because I am a fan of Kyle Busch, because I'm not. I wouldn't give him the time of day and I don't like giving him space on my blog either. What has me really pissed off about this whole situation is the fact that NASCAR said he didn't do anything wrong and they are staying out of it, saying it's a police matter.

Say what? The little jerk is already on probation from NASCAR for what he did at the track a few weeks ago when the race was over and he rammed Kevin Harvick's driver-less car and sent it into the wall on pit road.

It's an outrage how he is left go and is unpunished for his childish rants. I guess once he kills someone maybe then they will sit up and take notice. But by then, it will be too late.

Under The Weather

Just when I thought it was safe to go into the water we are getting more rain. That water quote is from the movie Jaws. I use it a lot.

Right now there is not much going on with me. I'm not exactly sick, per se, but I would consider myself under the weather a bit. I am in a sort of funk these days. I would say it was one main thing but really it's not...it's a combination of a lot of things.

I will deal with it myself and figure out a way to kick me in the butt and get me back to normal. That may take awhile. I'm a slow learner.

Going Crazy From All This Rain

The past few days have been nothing but rainy and dismal which is enough to depress even the happiest person. 

Husband started outpatient therapy on Monday and has appointment times set up for two more days this week. He also has his times set for the following three weeks before going back to see his surgeon.

This Friday it will be four weeks since his surgery and I can't believe how that time slipped by at such amazing speed. I'm surprised I don't have whiplash.

All the female cats decided to have their kittens in the greenhouse this year. Probably because the weather is so nasty. I have never seen so many kittens at one time. I have three boxes out there so the little ones don't get lost.  I have no idea which kittens belong to which mother.  It's like a hippie commune. 

There is one cute story about them. One of the mothers had her two kittens two weeks before the others started having theirs. At that time she and another female were playing musical kittens. It was put and take for many days. I sort of lost track of them, too. Now that mother keeps trying to steal one of the other kittens that doesn't belong to her. Twice I have seen her with it in her mouth trying to make a beeline for somewhere else and twice I have seen the mother of that kitten stop her and make her bring it back. It's really comical to watch.