Oversights Lead to Ouch! That Hurts!

Today I relearned a lesson I should have already known in full. It is a lesson that involves cats, though this time it was the cat above specifically. The lesson? Don't give a cat the opportunity to use your neck as a spring board.

I learned this when I was younger. One of our cats had wanted out of my arms and up onto something, and as a result I got my neck gouged pretty good. I still have a scar from it. Well today the same thing happened. I was holding October with the intent of putting him on a bookshelf. However, I forgot that the plant on said bookshelf was cat grass, and in his rush to get at it I was used as a spring board. It would have been fine if it'd been my chest; I was wearing a robe. Unfortunately though his back legs landed on my throat, and double unfortunately we haven't clipped his back claws recently.

He got me in a few places on my neck, and at first it didn't look bad at all. But then a minute went by and the suckers started bleeding, quite a lot actually. I knew it wasn't anything too bad though, it just looked bad. I bleed rather easily you see. So I cleaned it up, got a gauze pad, taped that on, and then to keep pressure on it wrapped a scarf around the area. Then I went right back to organizing the books (which was what I'd been doing previously to this incident).

It's a pain in the butt, and I have to be careful with it otherwise the tape will come off. It also aches somewhat. Hopefully it'll heal quickly, though I am curious as to whether or not it'll scar. That might look cool. Anyway, to those of you who own pets, BEWARE! DON'T DO WHAT I DID! PROTECT YOUR NECK!

You have been warned.

Analyse This: New Bed

Wow. Okay. Did you know that analyse can also be spelled analyze? 

I look at both and they both seem wrong! Gah! 

Anyway, onto the subject of this post: I am getting a new bed.

I bet you're wondering what the big deal is. I mean it's just a bed, right?

WRONG!

You silly sausages, do you honestly think if it was that simple I'd be talking about it?

Well... maybe I would. But that's not the point! Perhaps I should get to the point you say?

Great idea!

This is no ordinary bed. It's not simply a mattress replacement deal here. 

I am getting a brand new bed. A bigger bed. 

I'm talking with a head board and foot board here!

*flails around like a crazy person*

Still confused? Wondering why I'm nervous about it... 

maybe even freaking out a little, tiny bit?

Truth is... I don't really know. I mean I am excited for it. I am. 

I get bouts of giddiness. But then I hesitate. I feel... apprehensive. 

The question is why though? Why does something as

small as a bed freak me out, even just a little?

I have a couple of possibilities for you.

1. It's, le gasp! Change.

2. I don't get to have nice things.

Now I think my problem is a combination of both of these things. 

There might be more to it,  I'm not sure but let's just roll with these at the moment. 

We shall start with the first one. The dreaded change.

Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of change in my life and consider myself decent at

rolling with the punches. However, I think it's precisely because I've had a crap ton

of change in my life that the small changes are what trip me up.

Also, if I think about it, the size of my bed has been a constant in my life. 

I've always, always had a twin bed, and I'm getting into the thick of my twenties. 

That's a long time to have a certain type of bed. Also I've only really had two frames in my life. The first I had for forever; it was the top bunk of a set of bunk beds. 

The only reason we got rid of it was because it died and could no longer be put back together.  The second is currently sitting in our garage, still wrapped up in plastic from the move. It wouldn't fit up the stairs, and if we were to take it apart it wouldn't be able to be put back together. Thus, the need for a new bed.

But it bothers me that I can't use my still perfectly good bed. It's not dead yet, so why should I get a new one? This brings me to the second issue.

I don't get to have nice things. This could also be interpreted as new things. I get stuck in this way of thinking that if something works then I should keep it. I shouldn't trade up for something better, I should just wait until it falls apart. This applies to big things and small alike.

I think it's a self-esteem thing? Maybe? Or maybe it could be the fact that these things,

though not as good as they once were, are mine and so I don't want to give them up? Oh!

I think that one is true. Let's add it to the list.

3. I'm somewhat possessive of objects already established as mine.

I think I feel sorry for the objects I'm letting go. 

Like I'm saying they're no longer good enough or something, and so I feel bad. 

Wow. Giving yourself a guilt trip over an object. *shakes head*

Anyway, back to number two. No, not that number two. Anyway (again), I don't

get this way when other people need things. Only when I do, which further suggests

the self-esteem thing. I worry that if I get something new/better, that that means someone

else won't be able to get something when they need it. So then I feel bad.

Yay guilt trips! *rolls eyes*

The good news? I know that my feelings are a tad irrational. I can reason out

why certain things are necessary, and that me having things is, in fact, a good thing. 

I'm a lot better at this then I once was. The other two numbers are something that

I can handle with perhaps a bit of a pep talk, and if that doesn't work then a swift

kick in the rear should do the trick.

Because in the end this is just a bed. I will probably have many other beds in the

future. And that's okay. It's no big deal. It's normal. It's so normal it's mundane and boring. Therefore there's no need to get stressed out over little rediculousnesses (totally not a word) that won't matter in the long run anyway.

And with that said, I need to go organize the library.

Does anyone have any other theories about this subject? 

Comments? Rude gestures? Sparkly pinatas?

Let me know in a response.

It's Okay... Just Be Yourself

Picture this: Your doing something. This thing is something you enjoy. However, every now and again you pause. You get self conscious. You get embarrassed. You feel the need to justify liking whatever it is. Not anyone else, but to yourself. You remind yourself that it's okay to like things. That because you like them you aren't somehow some strange, abnormal thing that should be shunned away. It's fine. You're fine.

Maybe you haven't experienced this. Maybe you have. All I know is that this is something that I deal with a fair amount. Not all the time, but enough to be annoying. Enough to keep me on edge. I don't like those moments. I don't like checking myself, doubting myself like that. I know in part where it comes from.

My past, for one thing. As a child I felt that there were expectations I had to meet, and that no matter what I did I could never meet said expectations. Some of them were from my family (a few real, but most imagined) while others came from peers, teachers, or religious folks. It was really rough for me, and took me a long time to realize that what some people said didn't matter in the long run. It took me even longer to realize that in some instances I'd been brainwashed, or indoctrinated if you prefer.

I'm still a work in progress. I know more pauses will come in the future, and that sometimes I'll have setbacks. Sometimes I'll breakdown and freak out, wonder what the hell is wrong with me. But I also know that those times won't be the majority, and that when they happen they won't last. I won't be beaten by fear, by doubt. I will be myself. With all my wonders. With all my flaws. Everything.

I encourage you all to do the same. 

May your own journeys be filled with more ups than downs, 

more joy than sorrow, more tenderness than pain, and plenty

of whatever it is that makes life worth living for you.

Le Sigh...

So we've moved into our new house and everything is going great!

Except...

we're sick.

And...

there's no running water.

Sooo... addressing the first thing. I believe I started this whole thing off. I got sick, went to see the doctor, he gave me penicillin and sent me on my way. I started to get better, took the whole week's worth, and while I was doing that my sister got sick. Now my mom is sick, and I am too... again.

Went back to the doctor. Guess what he did. Any ideas? Whelp, he gave my sister a different kind of antibiotic than he gave me. For me? He checked my ears, took some blood to test for allergies, and sent me on my way. So apparently he thinks my issue is allergies... oh and salivary stones. Coughed one of those babies out right in front of him. But it's "nothing to be concerned about". Uh huh. Suuuure doc. 

The water thing is a bit of a pickle. We had some for about half a day. Then the thing crapped out on us. We've had a guy come out, and he's still not 100% sure what the issue is. Thankfully my family has had to endure worse conditions than this before so we know how to rough it for a bit. It's just... uncomfortable. Our landlord is doing everything in his power to get things worked out, which is nice. Most landlords we've had aren't so good at their job. It's awesome to have one now that cares.

All in all I'm just a little bit miserable right now, but doing my best to cope. Hopefully things look up soon. That's all for now. This is Kimi, signing out.

Peace!

Moving On...

So, in a few days I'll be moving. I've moved several times in my life so I know how it goes. You pack everything up, sifting through it as you go, and whatever you have that no longer works for you you then give away, or get rid of in some way. Usually this process hasn't been too hard for me, but this time around was trickier than the others.

You see, when it comes to holding onto stuff from childhood I'm the one who has kept the most stuff. I have pieces ranging from about five years old and up. Both of my sisters have one, maybe two items from that time (not including things like pictures, school awards, and whatnot). I had somewhere in between seven and twelve.

Don't get me wrong, I've downsized my collection of things before, however it was usually by one or two things. This time around I got rid of several. Some were easy; they were items I received later on in childhood, and while I had fond memories of them I wasn't as attached.

There were, however, two in particular that I did have a special bond with, that I had a hard time letting go of. So I decided to compromise with myself and take pictures of them with the intent of posting about each one here. All right, here goes!

First is the Furby! This is not your newer version, but one of the old ones. She's just a little bit creepy isn't she? As she is a Statue of Liberty version she was dubbed "The Statue of Furby". Yes, creative I know. I got her at my sisters' birthday party. This was one of the years my parents decided to not only have their birthdays together, but they also decided to invite a ton of people.

I admit, whenever they had birthdays together I would get jealous. It always seemed so much more spectacular than any of my birthdays. However, I tried to take it like a champ and not get too melancholy. So it came as a huge surprise to me when the last gifts also had one for me! I was super excited. It made me feel included, which was really all I ever wanted. So we all opened them up at the same time and found we had Furbies. My older sister got a graduation one, my younger sister got a sort of speckled one, and I got the one above.

We got right to annoyed our parents with them. It was a lot of fun. Of course after the novelty wore off, my older sister got tired of hers. So then my younger sis and I annoyed her as well. We'd feed them (not real food, obviously), get them to say things, and swing them around really fast. All in all it was great fun. However, then their batteries started to die, and well... that's when they started to seem a little creepy. At least to me anyway. We realized that sometimes they wouldn't go to sleep, that their eyes would just stay open... staring at us.

So like I said, great times! We never really put batteries in them again. I did once, but then my Furby needed to be washed (which I took the batteries out for). She never worked after that. You'll notice she's missing her eyelashes. That's due to them falling out. But then she is over ten years old.

This next one is a little more complicated for me. He is much newer than my Furby was, but he represents a stuffed animal far older. This is the story:

When I was young I had a bear. I took him with me on many of my grand adventures, getting him muddy, wet, you know the drill. I even took him to a hospital event where he got a cast. His name was Teddy. Now there is a great mystery surrounding that bear. For one evening I had set him down on my bed and went to dinner. However, when I came back afterwards he was gone. I looked for him everywhere. So did my mom, but there was no sign of him. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and eventually I knew that wherever he was he was not coming back.

It broke my heart. He was my bestest most favorite of bears. To this day I still don't know what happened to him. This brings me to the bear above. His name is Teddy the Second. We found him one day while shopping. It was amazing. There he was, just as we were passing by. I stopped, stared, then showed him to my mom. Sure, he had clothes on, but I knew... this bear was an exact duplicate of my bear. So she got him for me, and I started a friendship with him.

He and I haven't had as many adventures, but I did perform surgery on him. He was very brave to let me do that. However, I realized that I wasn't doing him any justice by holding onto him. I knew some other child would play with him, have adventures, and love him dearly, and all without having thoughts of another bear at the same time.

Intense feelings for a stuffed animal, I know, but when you really get down to it there are lots of people who develop real attachments to their things, especially those from childhood. People also have a range for when they can let go of said things. I'm just one of those people who has taken a bit longer.

You should have seen my room when I first became an adult. I still had most of my stuffed animals throughout the years. Now I have only a few, small ones with which I have great sentimental attachment to. (I also have some anime plushies, but they're a tad different in my opinion.)

But yeah... moving on is hard. It feels like you're leaving everything you've ever known or loved behind. It doesn't have to be that way though. You don't need to keep the items to keep the memories. And you can always take a picture like I have. Speaking of pictures, I need to find that one of Tigger Tiger (he was a very special beanie animal that was much bigger than me for a good long time). I'll have to show him to you all another day.

Ta!

^-^

The Wonderful World of Cat Videos

You haven't really been officiated into the cybernetic world of the interwebs until you've seen a cat video. It's  hard to get anywhere in this cyberspace without somehow tripping over a video of a kitten whining for food, a grumpy-looking cat seemingly judging you, or any other variety you can think of. Cats are as diverse as humans, and we all love us a good cat vid (unless you don't like cats, which in that case I say to you GET OUT).

Anyway, today I finally broke into the world of cat videos for the first time. No, not as a viewer, but as a creator. It was a simple video, only a little less than forty seconds long, but it was still an adorable little introduction to one of our furbabies. His name is October.

This is a recent photo of said furbaby.

October is our oldest, and crankiest of furbabies. As you can see he is a lovely, little, black kitty with pretty yellow eyes. I am his favorite (much to his owner's annoyance), and he spends most of his time hanging out in my room.

So, back to the video. I decided to test the waters by taping him with my new camera I got for Christmas. I'd taken a few with him deeply entrenched in my blankets, but finally on the third try he emerged just enough so I could get more than just his eyeing me or biting my fingers (which is his way of saying "Back off! This is my cave!). It took me all of a half hour to complete, and that's with dinking around. So if any of you would like to take a look then here's the link:

A Kitty Short

I hope you enjoy it.

^-^

Projects

Okay, so today I'm going today I'm going to talk about some projects I am working on. A little back story is first needed. So...

I have 13 different projects listed that I need to get done. Some are small and can be finished in one sitting while others are much larger and will take months, or even years to finish. Of these 13 projects I have 7 of them already in some stage of work. There's a lot to be done, and relocating (a 14th project coming up) doesn't make it any easier.

However, some of my projects can be streamlined a little so that I can continue working on them, and working on said projects will actually help with the moving process. The first of the projects is consolidating writing articles from a rather large stack of magazines into a writing binder. I've already gotten through a few of them, and once I finish this I will no longer have a tower of paper threatening to topple over every time I move my feet wrong.

The second project is one I've been working on for years. I say years because I've been saving up old/holey pieces of clothing that I liked and am making them all into patches for a quilt. I have wanted to make a quilt out of my (and some of my sister's) things since I was a child. We're talking 7 years old. However, when I was young my mom accidentally gave my bag of old clothes away. I was... rather distraught about that, and for a long time didn't try collecting any more for fear of the same thing happening. Around the time I was 18 or so I decided to start anew. Since that time I have amassed a fair amount of clothing which has periodically been made into patches. I'm hoping that soon enough I will have enough to make my quilt.

The patches won't all be similar. They are various colors, cloth type, and whatnot. They are all, however, roughly the same size (7 1/2" x 7 1/2"). Once I have enough I'll sew them all together, after learning how to use a sewing machine mind you, and then I'll have a nice quilt! It will look kind of like the below only waaaaay cooler.

The third project I've only started recently. It is similar to my quilt idea only it won't take as long. I have plans to also make a patchwork scarf. Those squares are 3 x 3  and unlike the quilt will have some repeating square types. I imagine it will look something like this:

Again, only way cooler. Not sure if I'll have fringe on the ends or not, but we'll see. I'm almost done with the bag of old clothes/stuff I have. I only have 5 or 6 more pieces to go through. So in 2 days I should no longer have a big, bulky bag and instead have a neat, little box ready to move to the next place.

I won't worry about sewing until after the move. I probably will need some more pieces of fabric anyway. On that note I need to remember to take another look at my sister's fabric stash. She might have something I'd like to use. Hmm...

Well until next time!

^-^