Home Sweet Home

I’m moving. Well, of course, I’m moving. My body is always moving, even when I think I’m sitting perfectly still. What I mean is this: I have signed a two-year lease on a new home and will be moving from my current residence into a new home by the end of April.

I have been experiencing apartment life since I left my marriage and subsequently divorced my husband over five years ago. It has been interesting and varied to say the least, having changed “homes” three times in those five plus years. (This will be the fourth and final move before I break down and purchase a home.) The first apartment was small, about 800 square feet which eventually came to be known as “The Hamster Cage.” Too small and converted to a condo anyway. The next place was the Papa Bear place: Too big, and too expensive when the annual rent increased by $125 in one pop.

The current place has no real problems, just neighbors from hell. It is a duplex and the folks with whom we share the building are fine, in fact great. I couldn’t ask for better neighbors than Ed and Julie. It’s the folks in the building adjacent to ours. The first set of crazy people were evicted in December. The second set of crazy people should be evicted, but they are related to the building’s owner (NOT the owner of my building) and I doubt that “Mom” will find it in her heart to evict her daughter, even if she is an obnoxious person who continues to park in my driveway, who has middle-of-the-night obscenity yelling fights with her boyfriend in my driveway, and who leaves her dogs out all night to serenade the entire neighborhood. My neighbor Ed and I agree that the landlord must have an application that includes the question: “Are you rude, loud, and completely unaware of the concept of community courtesy?” The correct answer to rent the property is “yes.” We’ve decided that’s the only way that they can consistently rent to such people.

Back to my move. The new home, I’m hoping will be like Baby Bear’s porridge: Just Right. Moving back to a single family home is exciting. I am looking forward to having a larger living space and, most importantly, quiet neighbors.

Past Post from g3niusgirl Website

I used to have a webiste called g3niusgirl g3nuine graphics. The following is a post I found from that now-defunct site:

2 June 2005 - Most cats are aloof and independent. My cat is the most affectionate creature with claws that I have ever known. Yumosh (Turkish for “soft”) is a Turkish Van cat, a huge ball of white and black fluff that loves being close to humans. He loves being in the same room with me. When I work at the computer, he curls up on my left foot. When I go to bed, he snuggles into the curve of my body and places his head next to mine. What a love!

Here’s a little information about Turkish Van cats for anyone who would like to own such a cat:

The Turkish Van is a loyal, loving and very intelligent cat. They are very affectionate, giving head butts and love bites, but to the uninitiated this could be slightly alarming, but when you get to know your cat you will begin to understand.
They are great climbers, so don't be surprised to find them sitting on top of doors, kitchen units or wardrobes, and some wouldn't think twice about climbing your curtains and sitting on the curtain rail. A great game is retrieving screwed up paper, some catching the ball of paper in mid flight, others making great somersaults.

Where water is concerned, some are not very keen at all, whereas others may love dripping taps, especially drinking from them, then flicking the water with their paws, or dropping toys into their water bowl. It has been known for Turks to swim in the bath, swimming pool or even the sea. So be warned they may come and join in your daily shower. They may also become curious about toilets, so DON'T LEAVE THE LID UP!

They like to be involved in everything their owners do and follow them around like a dog. In fact some people have said that Turkish Vans are more like dogs than cats. On the whole, they get on very well with dogs indeed, but the Turk will want to be the boss. In most instances the females are more independent and if you have a male and female, she will normally rule the roost, but there are always the exceptions.

24 March 2009 Update: Yumosh is still my cat. He continues to be affectionate with the addition of some annoying habits, like waking me up at 4am by putting his long whiskers in my face and then nipping at the bedcovers. He rarely drinks water from a dish: Insists on running water in the bathtub. He's still large: 21+ pounds. Not fat, just big. He's still a love.

The Puddle Theory

"Do you want to know my puddle theory of life?"

"Sure"

"Well, I have this vision, this image of all of us before we're born. We're this luminous, iridescent pool of energy: being, flowing, moving, creating the most beautiful patterns imaginable."

"Yes, go on."

"When we are born, it's like we are drops separated from the puddle. We spend the rest of our lives searching for someone, longing to be complete, because without the rest of the puddle, we are not. And when we die, we return to ourselves, to the puddle, and become whole again."

Haiku Madness

I have some very creative friends with quick minds and quick wits. Lately, they’ve been prone to communicate via Haiku, via email. Here are a couple of conversations between two of them. (Perhaps I should mention that Eric is Stephanie’s younger brother . . .)

Stephanie:
We learn when ready.
Anytime before is waste.
Accept the beauty.

Eric:
“we learn when ready”
then what good is “foresight” for?
I told you so, nyah

Stephanie:
System doesn't work
Not in past nor in future.
Begin in the end.

Eric:
begin in the end,
indeed. yet when will we learn?
"the air is the air..."

And, then there is my own feeble attempt at what I call Hip-Hop Haiku:

Lavish exec home.
Where'd you get the money, dude?
Taxpayer bailout!

Police Codes

Today, the Dallas police department announced that it is eliminating radio codes for a new-plain language system. A few signals currently use by police are:

7 - minor accident
7X - major accident
11 - burglary
18 - fire alarm
26 - missing person
27 - dead person
28 - sick person
34 - suicide
50 - eating

So, does a seven-fifty (7-50) in progress mean "I've spilled a spoonful of soup in my lap." while seven-x-fifty (7x-50) means "I've just dumped the entire bowl on me and I'm soaked?" And, what aobut a 27-50? Do dead peopl eat or did you find a dead person in your soup? I can see why they're going to plain language announcements. These codes can be confusing!

Here we go!