I called in “sick” today for three reasons:

1) They still haven’t figured out our schedule (which apparently is rocket science) and this whole not being able to plan my life beyond the next few days is annoying me and giving me migraines and I needed a mental health day;

2) This need for a mental health day just so happened to coincide with the NHL All Star Game, which, with a 3pm start time, I would have missed had I been at work doing nothing for the third Sunday in a row (Brian just texted me to confirm that I am missing nothing);

3) I found a woman who was interested in Mufasa and since she (like normal people) works during the week, early afternoon today was the best time for her.

And so, as can be implied by #3, Mufasa is gone….  Don’t worry, I googled/facebook stalked the lady – she’s 39, has two adult children, is married, and has a steady job.  I met her at a PetCo, she was enchanted by Mufasa, and the whole exchange took less than 5 minutes.  It’s feeling pretty bittersweet right now.  One the one hand, he deserves to have a home where he isn’t locked in a walk-in closet for all but a few hours a day.  One the other, he’d been here nearly a month and had started to worm his way into my heart, despite my efforts to keep him out.

I know this is for the best – Mufasa didn’t fit in here in several ways.  Aside from not liking Albert, Mufasa and I weren’t a great fit either.  He’s a loveable, sweet cat, but he always needed to be the center of attention.  If I was somewhere, he was there, and if he wasn’t in my lap or in my arms, he was meowing for attention.  It got pretty damn annoying, not going to lie. I couldn’t be mad at him, but….exasperated is a good word for it.  I’ve been spoiled in the past.  Whiskers, Max, Halifax, and Charlie have all been lap cats who love being pet, but they settle down after a couple minutes and let you do your thing, and half the time they’re perfectly content to do there own thing. And Albert’s very self-sufficient.  Mufasa was just….too much.  I told the woman to give me a call if things didn’t work out, so this might not be the last I see of Mufasa, but he’s such a bundle of love that I’d be very surprised to get that call.

Sidenote: In a totally weird parallel, I found myself vetting Mufasa’s potential new owners much the same way I vet my dates….. There were two people interested in him before the lady I ultimately chose, but neither of them could spell or punctuate to save their lives and based on that I decided there was no way they were getting near my (temporary) cat.  Snobbish as it is, I don’t want him to go to a low income home. Hey, he might be turned out if money gets tight (yes, I know that’s unlikely, but I can’t help that my mind thinks these things and I never would have been able to live with that possibility hanging over my head).

According to this article on Yahoo, a woman named Lilly McElroy has been conducting a scientific experiment for the past two years to test her hypothesis that men are more likely to catch a random flying woman than to let her fall.  Basically she literally hurles herself and strangers while her assistant snaps a pic. Check out the story or google her for more hilarious pics

Sigh. Mark’s not getting it…again.  (STL Mark, not NYC Marc, just to be 100% clear).  He’s single, having broken up with his ex-not-so-ex-but-now-ex-again about 10 days ago.  Apparently the only reason he kept taking her back is because she’s a bombshell in bed, but I guess he finally realized that she’s bad for him, and he’s 27 and wants to start finding someone to settle down with.  He has a friend in Utah who wanted a “half-relationship” in his words (meaning non-exclusive) who he’s going to visit next week.  But apparently half-relationship turned into no-relationship and he’s despairing about not having regular access to sex (to the point where he’s considering making the not-so-ex a not-so-ex again).  So what does all this have to do with me (aside from providing interesting stories at work)?  Well…he’s doing that sending-out-feelers thing again.  I thought we were both on the same page in realizing that we would never work, and in all honesty I’m probably reading too much into this, but he’s started coming over and inviting me to get water in the morning before Brian comes in (even though I turn him down every single time and tell him that we should wait for Brian), and the other night Brian and his fiancee were going out to celebrate her birthday and he invited us to come.  I politely declined because a) there was a hockey game; b) I don’t drink, and they were doing a bar crawl; and c) just because Brian thinks Lyn won’t mind if we crash her birthday plans doesn’t mean she won’t, no matter how nice she is.  Mark had a date, but said he might go out after and asked if he should text me if he did.  I shrugged and responded with “If you want to, but I doubt I’m going out.”  Around 10ish he texted and asked what I was doing.  I told him I was getting ready for bed and asked if he was going out with Brian.  His response?  ”Well I was thinking about it, but now I guess I’m not.”  Sigh.  Why does it matter to him if I go or not?  He and Brian are bffs and some other coworkers were also invited, so it’s not like he wouldn’t know anyone.  Sigh.  Again.

STL Mark got me thinking about NYC Marc again (especially when he commented on the scarf I had to break out for the first time this year which happens to be the one NYC Marc bought for me – hey, it’s warm, don’t judge me for keeping it lol), and I realized that I still have some negative emotions attached to him.  I’m sure you’re thinking “well obviously,” but I had thought I was over the negative and into the blissful uncaring phase.  So this morning I went through my blog and gmail, reading posts about and conversations with him.  Idk why, I guess it was kind of a closure thing.  See, I’d tried to avoid thinking/reading about him at all, but the only way I know to know that I’m truly over it is to be able to read through the emails without feeling anything.  I won’t lie and say I felt nothing, but as I read through everything and, in a way, relived what happened, I realized again why I’d cut ties with him and why that was/is the best thing for me.  I thought about deleting the emails and texts, but decided I wanted to keep them–both for the amusement of future serious boyfriends/friends, and in case I needed future reminders of why I cut contact the next time I start to feel nostalgic.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of relationships, I might as well include a brief blurb about okcupid in this post.  I finally got a message worth responding to.  It was very short, touched on our mutual interests, and showed that the guy actually read the profile instead of just looking at the profile pic.  He hasn’t responded back, but this just happened last night.  And then I got another message.  Looking at this guy’s profile we seemed like a really good fit.  Similar interests, passions, beliefs, sense of humor…..and then I noticed he was 33.  And that was the end of that…..  See, it’s one thing if I meet a guy in person, get to know him, get to like him, and then find out he’s older than my comfort range, but knowing his age from the start just makes me forget all his other qualities.  My father literally just turned 40 a few weeks ago, so dating anyone in their 30s would mean they’re likely closer to his age than mine, which is just creepy to me.  It might mean I’m missing out on some great guys, but I just can’t get over the “eww” factor….

1. Last Thursday was snowmaggedon here in STL, despite the fact that it only snowed a few inches.  It was embarrassing, really.  MoDot (Missouri Dept of Transportation) misread the storm and didn’t bother pre-treating the roads, so that few inches of snow made everyone’s commute seem like hell on earth.  I’m lucky in that I don’t live far from the office and I leave earlier than most people, but it was still touch and go, right from the moment I tried to leave my apartment complex only to see a car sliding down the slight hill straight towards me….. luckily it was a T-intersection, so I just quickly turned the other way….  In another fortunate twist of fate, the ramp I use to get onto the highway happens to be right after the point where they had shut the highway down, so I didn’t have to worry about merging onto the icy expanse of roadway with no visible lane markings, because there were zero cars coming from behind….. But all’s well that ends well, I suppose, and the fact that I survived without getting into an accident is what really counts.

2. I find it funny that I used to have so many political opinions.  In 2007-2008 I was all about Barack Obama and the democrats and screw the Republicans and all that.  If there was a debate going on, you can bet I had an opinion on the issue.  But I think I’m all politic’d out.  I won’t say Congress has done nothing these past couple of years, but they’ve come pretty darn close. The Repubs have made no secret of the fact that their #1 goal is to shoot down anything supported by the President or Democrats in general, regardless of whether it would benefit the American people.  And the Democrats are almost just as bad with the mudslinging and finger pointing.  Everyone’s seemed to have forgotten that they were elected to get sh*t done, not to play politics.  It’s not completely their fault though, I suppose.  Idiot, ignorant voters are usually the loudest, drowning out those of us who are more realistic and moderate (it doesn’t help that many of us are disgusted with the system and have disengaged with a “good riddance” attitude) and politicians have a vested interest in catering to the voters who will get them their jobs back.  But whatever happened to a sense of honor and doing what’s right for the majority?  Sigh.  I’ll certainly be voting for President Obama again – he’s not everything he promised (what politician is?) but there aren’t any strong independent candidates with a chance of winning, and have you seen the Repub candidates? They can’t even get along amongst themselves, how could they possibly be effective in working for the whole American public? Electing one of them would be an absolute disaster! (Plus they seem a little out of touch with the ‘we’re going to cut taxes and pay down the national debt at the same time, even though cutting taxes would mean less income with which to pay that debt….)

3.  The schedule change at work is official. For at least 2 months we’re going to try a system where half of us work M-F and the other half work Sat-Wed one month, and then switch the next.  My manager actually made up a spreadsheet that shows that it can run smoothly (no 4 day weekends off or working 10 days in a row) and it’ll be interesting to see if we can make it work.  What we’re doing now certainly isn’t working, so there’s no harm in trying something new that’ll give us a few weekends off in the meantime.

Yesterday was mom’s birthday and we celebrated by going to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch, just me and my parents (so weird not to have the younger ones around…haven’t had much of that for going on 14 years now….).  I had the delicious sausage and ricotta flatbread and a small caesar salad, but made sure I saved room for the delicious confectionary delight shown above: their 30th Anniversary Cheesecake.  The slice was a bit smaller than some of their other varieties, but it made up for its size in richness.  I could only eat about half of it at lunch and had the other half later that night, after a very meager dinner.  I should have saved it for another day, but it’s one of those things where you know you shouldn’t, you know you’ll probably regret it, but sometimes you just can’t resist it

It’s amazing what people will talk about when they think no one is listening…..  A few weeks ago I wrote about the… interesting people I run into at Starbucks.  Well, the couple who I thought were having an affair were back again today, and I got a little more clarity on their situation….

Apparently the man had been married to this woman who was a lesbian, so they’re divorced now, but I guess he has a new wife because she always texts him when he’s here with “the other woman,” as I shall call her until further evidence proves otherwise.  He has two or three kids, all of whom have serious issues – can’t do well in school or hold a steady job, are depressed, have arthritis and are drawing on disability because she doesn’t feel like getting treatment, etc. Same goes for his sister.

The woman is also newly divorced, but is still listed on her ex-husband’s credit cards, which is why she can’t get a really good rate while refinancing her mortgage.  Her son is in Afghanistan, her sister underwrites low-income mortgages and is having trouble making ends meet, and she loves The Hunger Games (a book series geared towards pre-teens and early teens….it’s like those 40 year old Twi-hards all over again).   She’s also clingy, wanting to know why he didn’t call her the second he got back in town.

They’re both conservative, but claim to be liberal, and they seem very judgmental of anyone who doesn’t agree with exactly what they do- they even squabble with each other over unimportant differences. They both have a woe-is-me martyr-ish outlook on life and seem like it’d be very draining to be friends with either of them.  But maybe they just feed off each other and wouldn’t be so negative apart.

Some people may think it’s rude to eavesdrop, but is it really eavesdropping if I was here first, and they’re talking loudly enough that the only way I could ignore it would be to pop in my headphones?  Just a warning for all of you who think your Starbucks conversations are private….

Despite my earlier post about not really believing in New Year’s Resolutions, there is one major thing I’d like to change about myself: I’m too serious.  Too driven to do what I think I should do, even if it’s not necessarily what I want to do.  And then if I do what I want to do, I feel guilty about it later.

Take yesterday.  I really wanted to either catch up on either House or A Game of Thrones.  But the weather was gorgeous, and I kept telling myself that what I ought to do was take a walk in Forest Park, because it would be a good way to get extra exercise, and it would be a shame to let a great day go to waste.  But…I didn’t want to go (not least because Forest Park is not Central Park.  Had I been in NY, I would have been on the subway heading to the Park in a NY second).  I literally wrestled with myself for a good hour…stalling, pretending I had other things to do, etc…before I finally admitted to myself that just because it would be good to get some more fresh air and enjoy the day (I’d already taken Albert outside for about 20 minutes) there was no point in forcing myself to and no point in feeling guilty about it.  Screw the nice day, my mind shouted, there’s nothing wrong with doing something less healthy and less productive if it makes you happy.  So I spent the afternoon and evening watching A Game of Thrones and hockey, and was soooo happy that I did.  I didn’t even do any Japanese.

People always say you need to learn to say no to other people if you can’t handle (or don’t want to handle) what they’re asking, but what I need to do this year is learn to say no to myself from time to time.  My internal drive has served me well in the past and will serve me well in the future, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being completely unproductive from time to time.  In fact, letting my mind rest and recuperate could actually end up being a very good thing

I seem to have a lot of those…anyway, recap (boring as it is):

1. Mufasa has been with us for a week and nothing’s changed, so I don’t see the little guy staying with us long term.  Sad, but he’ll be happier in a home where he’s not confined to a walk-in closet because he can’t stand the little demon who was there first.  I think I’ll also be happier, because he’s one of those cats that need constant attention (as in, won’t leave me alone for even two seconds) and I’ve been spoiled with aloof Albert who will come lay by me, but won’t impede my ability to do such things like surfing the internet or reading a book.  Sorry Mufasa, you’re a little too high maintenance.

2.  They’re thinking about changing our work schedule…again.  Latest plan I heard was to split us into two groups, have one group work M-F and the other group work Sat-Wed and switch off each month.  Which means that every other month you would either get a four day weekend (if you’re switching from the Sat-Wed to the M-F schedule) or work for 9 days straight….  The 4 day weekend every other month would be nice, as would having a “normal” schedule half the time, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the overall scheme. Oh well, my 18 months hits on October 25th, and on that day I will turn in a time-sensitive demand for a normal schedule.  If they screw me in-between now and then…well, I’ve gotten quite used to that.

3.  My poor coworker Brian.  He’s the designated trainer of the new girl, who none of us can stand.  She worked as a AAA sales agent for 4 years and she just has a horrible attitude about everything.  For one thing, she thinks she’s better than the rest of us because she’s worked at AAA longer (despite the fact that she knows nothing about claims).  For another, she hasn’t figured out that claims is a team-based thing where you help other people out if the need it, not a cut-throat competition (like sales).  And she’s horrible on the phones.  None of us can figure out what she did in the interview to make them think she’d be a good fit….

4.  Yesterday I started watching A Game of Thrones.  I’d tried watching the first episode when it first aired but, for whatever reason, didn’t like it.  Can’t imagine why.  I watched three episodes yesterday afternoon and would have watched another one or two if not for the hockey game.  Seven more to go….

5.  It’s days like today that I’m incredibly jealous of EK in Australia.  It’s rainy, chilly, and just dreary overall.  Yesterday was nice – sunny, 50s–but tomorrow will be snowy and the day after will be freezing.  Is it spring yet?

6.  I made a chocolate chip mug cake for the first time.  It took 5 minutes and was pretty darn good (and not too unhealthy as I cut down on the already low amount of sugar and oil).  A five minute chocolate cake is a very dangerous thing.

7.  For the first time in the couple weeks since I reactivated okcupid, I finally got a message from a guy who I didn’t find horrendously unattractive and who didn’t seem psycho.  He went to NYU and moved back to STL because of family, just like me.  But he’s not very…talkative. Most of his messages have been one or two sentences, and his apparently lack of interest is making me lose mine.  (Yes, I know I’m ultra picky and finicky!  But I think my subconscious has latched onto the idea of meeting someone in grad school, so I’m finding reasons to discount the guys from around here)

I’d been thinking about getting Albert a friend to play with, so when I was suddenly give the option of taking in a 4-year-old cat who had just gotten out of the shelter but was about to go back in because of unforeseen housing issues, I didn’t hesitate.  Now I’m wondering if that was a mistake….

Don’t get me wrong, Mufasa is a very loving cat.  He reminds me of Halifax in his mannerisms, and his desire to cuddle is definitely a nice change from Albert’s aloofness. But, as anyone who’s brought a new cat home knows, they tend to hate each other in the beginning.  Motherless Albert is socially-inept, so he’s all for getting to know this new guy.  Mufasa is….not so thrilled.  So right now Mufasa has his own set-up in my walk-in closet and Albert has the run of the apartment.  Hopefully things’ll get better in time, once Mufasa gets a little more acclimated to his new environment.  If nothing changes in six to eight weeks, though, I may have to find Mufasa a new home and accept that Albert is just too weird to be around other cats.