tonight's special: cat soup!
12 Oct 2009 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigouCe n'est pas un chat.
C'est a damn nine-pound demon in pinstripes.
It began when I decided to clean up, a decision that necessitated doing a bit of taking-apart in order to get at some of the worst of the grime. A few parts fell off, as they will, but I piled the bits up and put them out of the way. When cleaning was done, I made dinner, entertained myself by rewatching a bit of Oofuri -- my basic comfort anime, it seems -- and went back to work... to discover the piled-up bits were missing a few bits. Strange. I look around, find nothing, I cast the net wider, find nothing, I get irritated, still don't find the part. It's only about the size of a quarter, so maybe it popped off and I didn't notice and thus never even set it with the pile of bits. I console myself with hope that I can get replacement bit from any hardware store, or cobble something. Righto.
An hour later, I'm cleaning up elsewhere, this time with vacuum. Vroom, vroom, while avoiding a pile of stuff that looks clog-inducing, so my fabulous plan is to pick it up as I come alongside it. That's right when Fiero comes into the room, carrying something in his mouth. He drops it, bats it around, and right as I realize it's the damn part I'd been looking for, Baccano grabs the little rubber part and tears out of the room. I yell, make a grab for the cat, and promptly run the vacuum cleaner right over the stuff that I'd figured would create a clog -- and immediately clog up the vacuum cleaner. WHOOSH-kerrrrrCHIK-oooooooooooo, and we have straining motor and the sound of nothing being sucked, which, in a word, sucks.
So I end up on the floor with the vacuum cleaner trying to unclog it. I can't find the clog, but I do discover there's about two years' worth of dog hair embedded about an inch and a half thick all along the front inside of the vacuum's nose. So much for hypo-allerginc vacuum cleaner, Kenmore asshats, because a vacuum that has a scoop right there that's perfect for catching up stuff and not actually, y'know, sucking it... well, that sucks even more than the lack of suckage would suck. More, because I end up spending more time cleaning the damn vacuum than I do actually cleaning with the vacuum. Including side-trip to google for the manual because I can't figure out how else to get rid of a clog when I can't find it in any of the usual suspecting locations... and return to find both cats keeping the vacuum cleaner company. Baccano is beside the vacuum, up to his elbows in the mound of dog hair, and Fiero leaning against the canister with that smug smile on his face.
I drive off the demons, manage to get the vacuum unclogged, finish vacuuming, and put it away... and then set off to find the little rubber part. No luck finding it, though in my quest I discover that the pile of dog hair I'd figured I'd throw away separately -- and then looked so small, after all, I'd just vacuum it up without a problem? Oh, the reason it was so small was because apparently two demons had rolled, pulled, tossed, and dragged the pile... all the way down the hallway and into the other room I'd finished cleaning only an hour before. Out comes the vacuum cleaner, find nearest plug (why don't we ever have plugs in hallways? would it kill a contractor to have a plug in the hallway?) and get to cleaning up all the mess thecats demons have left behind... including the various things they're carrying in and playing with, behind me, as I clean ahead of them.
One last final sweep of the heaviest traffic area and I'll be done, so I pivot and vacuum back the way I've come. Say, what's that? Looks like it's just the right size, and as I bend over to see if it's the rubber part, it's like being a teenager again and turning the wheel when you turn your head.
That's right, I ran over the stupid rubber piece, the piece that hadn't been there only two minutes before when I'd vacuumed my way into the room. WHOOSH-kerrrrCHIK-- and I think, hah! clogged! I can undo it! -- and then WHOOOOSH -- as the suction starts back up, and I realize: yep, I will be opening up this vacuum bag, replete with dog hair and various other post-cleaning crap and more than a few cups of kitty litter from certain demons who like to track that stuff about -- and digging out the rubber part. Because by now it's personal.
And wouldn't you know, the two cats sat by the back door and waited patiently while I crouched in the garage and dismantled the bag. Sheesh. If I'd let 'em, they probably would've grabbed ring-side seats, just to enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Like I said, cat soup, served with a garnish of demon exorcism -- since nothing else is getting them to behave.*
an essay worth contemplating, by Matt Steinglass:
Somehow, I think the Leo would definitely draw the line at this kind of exterior treatment. Although I suppose first we'd have to have a house with that much architectural coolness, to really pull it off in style.
I have no idea who this person is, but thanks to the power of google, I now know this person rocks my wordpress world, for resolving the issue that's plagued me ever since the WP2.8 upgrade that destroyed about a hundred and twenty hours of work. Y'know, upgrades have their good points. Sometimes, though, not so much.
The LLF nonsense appears to be dying down (or, at least, I got distracted and haven't been paying attention), but when there's a post on one side proclaiming that "breeders need not apply!" and a post on the other side predicting "a sudden 'coming out' as bisexual for those m/m/ writers who feel that an award validates what they're producing", wow. A pox on both your damned houses, people.
* I'm not even going into the annoyance of working merrily along without realizing that apparently, for demons, the greatest joy of a cloth on the floor is running, skidding into the cloth, and shoving it along until it bunches up, at which point you then roll in it until your brother attacks your cloth-covered body, and you get him back by tangling him up, and both of you together manage to render a queen-sized sheet down into a bunched-up pile not much larger than a bathmat... and that was about the point I looked down to find that everything the drop-cloth is supposed to catch was, well, definitely not caught. And what had been caught was now scattered, smeared, and as ground into the carpet as two nine-pound pinstriped demons can get it. The real problem? Only Baccano runs when I yell. Fiero just looks puzzled... and then goes right back to doing whatever he's doing. There's a reason we call him Fiero the Unrepentant. But I'm not getting into it. My blood pressure is fine where it is. REALLY.
Last week's humpday Sinfest would be a great deal more amusing if I'd not had to live through this weekend.
C'est a damn nine-pound demon in pinstripes.
It began when I decided to clean up, a decision that necessitated doing a bit of taking-apart in order to get at some of the worst of the grime. A few parts fell off, as they will, but I piled the bits up and put them out of the way. When cleaning was done, I made dinner, entertained myself by rewatching a bit of Oofuri -- my basic comfort anime, it seems -- and went back to work... to discover the piled-up bits were missing a few bits. Strange. I look around, find nothing, I cast the net wider, find nothing, I get irritated, still don't find the part. It's only about the size of a quarter, so maybe it popped off and I didn't notice and thus never even set it with the pile of bits. I console myself with hope that I can get replacement bit from any hardware store, or cobble something. Righto.
An hour later, I'm cleaning up elsewhere, this time with vacuum. Vroom, vroom, while avoiding a pile of stuff that looks clog-inducing, so my fabulous plan is to pick it up as I come alongside it. That's right when Fiero comes into the room, carrying something in his mouth. He drops it, bats it around, and right as I realize it's the damn part I'd been looking for, Baccano grabs the little rubber part and tears out of the room. I yell, make a grab for the cat, and promptly run the vacuum cleaner right over the stuff that I'd figured would create a clog -- and immediately clog up the vacuum cleaner. WHOOSH-kerrrrrCHIK-oooooooooooo, and we have straining motor and the sound of nothing being sucked, which, in a word, sucks.
So I end up on the floor with the vacuum cleaner trying to unclog it. I can't find the clog, but I do discover there's about two years' worth of dog hair embedded about an inch and a half thick all along the front inside of the vacuum's nose. So much for hypo-allerginc vacuum cleaner, Kenmore asshats, because a vacuum that has a scoop right there that's perfect for catching up stuff and not actually, y'know, sucking it... well, that sucks even more than the lack of suckage would suck. More, because I end up spending more time cleaning the damn vacuum than I do actually cleaning with the vacuum. Including side-trip to google for the manual because I can't figure out how else to get rid of a clog when I can't find it in any of the usual suspecting locations... and return to find both cats keeping the vacuum cleaner company. Baccano is beside the vacuum, up to his elbows in the mound of dog hair, and Fiero leaning against the canister with that smug smile on his face.
I drive off the demons, manage to get the vacuum unclogged, finish vacuuming, and put it away... and then set off to find the little rubber part. No luck finding it, though in my quest I discover that the pile of dog hair I'd figured I'd throw away separately -- and then looked so small, after all, I'd just vacuum it up without a problem? Oh, the reason it was so small was because apparently two demons had rolled, pulled, tossed, and dragged the pile... all the way down the hallway and into the other room I'd finished cleaning only an hour before. Out comes the vacuum cleaner, find nearest plug (why don't we ever have plugs in hallways? would it kill a contractor to have a plug in the hallway?) and get to cleaning up all the mess the
One last final sweep of the heaviest traffic area and I'll be done, so I pivot and vacuum back the way I've come. Say, what's that? Looks like it's just the right size, and as I bend over to see if it's the rubber part, it's like being a teenager again and turning the wheel when you turn your head.
That's right, I ran over the stupid rubber piece, the piece that hadn't been there only two minutes before when I'd vacuumed my way into the room. WHOOSH-kerrrrCHIK-- and I think, hah! clogged! I can undo it! -- and then WHOOOOSH -- as the suction starts back up, and I realize: yep, I will be opening up this vacuum bag, replete with dog hair and various other post-cleaning crap and more than a few cups of kitty litter from certain demons who like to track that stuff about -- and digging out the rubber part. Because by now it's personal.
And wouldn't you know, the two cats sat by the back door and waited patiently while I crouched in the garage and dismantled the bag. Sheesh. If I'd let 'em, they probably would've grabbed ring-side seats, just to enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Like I said, cat soup, served with a garnish of demon exorcism -- since nothing else is getting them to behave.*
an essay worth contemplating, by Matt Steinglass:
When I see my post cited or countered by someone with access to greater specialized knowledge than myself in the area I’m talking about, i.e. in this case Tyler Cowen, I feel a sudden sting of conscience: did I have good grounds for saying what I said? Did I express my response in a fashion which I would be comfortable with, if I had said it directly to his face? Because, in the blogosphere, you are always potentially speaking to someone’s face.
Somehow, I think the Leo would definitely draw the line at this kind of exterior treatment. Although I suppose first we'd have to have a house with that much architectural coolness, to really pull it off in style.
I have no idea who this person is, but thanks to the power of google, I now know this person rocks my wordpress world, for resolving the issue that's plagued me ever since the WP2.8 upgrade that destroyed about a hundred and twenty hours of work. Y'know, upgrades have their good points. Sometimes, though, not so much.
The LLF nonsense appears to be dying down (or, at least, I got distracted and haven't been paying attention), but when there's a post on one side proclaiming that "breeders need not apply!" and a post on the other side predicting "a sudden 'coming out' as bisexual for those m/m/ writers who feel that an award validates what they're producing", wow. A pox on both your damned houses, people.
* I'm not even going into the annoyance of working merrily along without realizing that apparently, for demons, the greatest joy of a cloth on the floor is running, skidding into the cloth, and shoving it along until it bunches up, at which point you then roll in it until your brother attacks your cloth-covered body, and you get him back by tangling him up, and both of you together manage to render a queen-sized sheet down into a bunched-up pile not much larger than a bathmat... and that was about the point I looked down to find that everything the drop-cloth is supposed to catch was, well, definitely not caught. And what had been caught was now scattered, smeared, and as ground into the carpet as two nine-pound pinstriped demons can get it. The real problem? Only Baccano runs when I yell. Fiero just looks puzzled... and then goes right back to doing whatever he's doing. There's a reason we call him Fiero the Unrepentant. But I'm not getting into it. My blood pressure is fine where it is. REALLY.
Last week's humpday Sinfest would be a great deal more amusing if I'd not had to live through this weekend.
no subject
Date: 12 Oct 2009 06:06 am (UTC)I think my Kowalski must be related to your Fiero and Baccano.
no subject
Date: 12 Oct 2009 11:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 12 Oct 2009 01:46 pm (UTC)Do you still have your other two cats? What's the current quad-ped to bi-ped ratio?
no subject
Date: 12 Oct 2009 02:47 pm (UTC)*reads essay instead of Homer whee*
no subject
Date: 12 Oct 2009 04:47 pm (UTC)