Feels like a Hooky

Ah. Columbus Day. A holiday where everyone else you know outside of government is hard at work.  Usually, Brandon would be off work today too, but Mr. Crazy Pants over there had scheduled a 2-day training course for today and tomorrow. Here in my home office at 9:30 a.m. on Monday with a mug of tea.  It feels like I’m playing hooky. It has been a very short and exhausting weekend so I’m grateful for today.  As you know, Saturday early afternoon was all zombie stuff.  Later that evening, we were at the Orange County Police Canine Association benefit show. ...
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What the Cat drags in

Athena has stirred up a lot of emotions for a lot of folks. The neighbor downstairs apparently gathered a petition to send to the landlady to get Athena back after hearing that she was released to CSULB campus. She said she has almost 80 people on the petition. (But, shouldn’t the petition came from the people who actually live in the complex?) Another lady who spotted Athena’s listing on Craiglist warned me about a local guy who’d go around “adopting” cats to torture them. Then she continued to help Athena find a home. If I can go get Athena from...
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Lost. Love.

I KNEW it was too good to be true when Athena started to hang out with us, when she comes running to me when she hears the jangles of the keys, when she sits purring on our floor begging us to rub her belly and every elsewhere on her fluffy black coat with a twinge of orange tabby pattern. I don’t think it wouldn’t have been a big deal if the manager lady found Athena napping on the wicker chair, but the food and water bowls set the woman off. According to the girls, the lady lost her shit and...
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The Cat Whisperer

I witnessed a first up close and personal cat fight this afternoon, right in front of our door. A REAL cat fight. Not the human kind. It was Athena v.s. “Muffins” the Other Stray/Outdoor cat. (The girls downstairs called it a him and named him that.) I picked Athena up from downstairs instead of having her trail me when I came home. She didn’t protest any and made herself at home the moment she came through the door. She was eating in our doorway as usual, but then I spotted Muffins outside the door. Athena looked up from her bowl...
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Happy Busy

Seriously. Friday was a combination of hard work and fun. Nhien and I managed not to hurt ourselves while moving all sorts of boxes of our printed matter around the office and worked up a pretty good appetite. We grabbed Celeste and Pat and headed to Sushi Go 55 and the rest is over there. We came back just in time for me to throw the office birthday party. With yummy stuff from Delilah Bakery, everyone had a happy afternoon, all hopped up on sugar! I mean, all 6′ 5″ of Canadian Greg scooted over to us on this thing...
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The next best thing

Today was just like any other day. I parked my car in the parking lot behind my building. My spot is the closest one to the gate to the apartment, and I usually would be the 2nd or 3rd car in the lot when I get home. I got out, got my stuff out of the back seat, and walked around the car. Athena was sitting in front of the gate. In the parking lot. And no, she wasn’t there when I parked my car. The cat has apparently learned to recognize the jingle jangle of my car keys. The...
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