Happy New Year

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oleorezinator
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Happy New Year

Post by oleorezinator »

Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
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Nanohedron
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

Stayed home because it was getting down to -13F (-25C), and I couldn't be arsed to go out in that just for a drink or two when I could have a tipple staying put in the warmth of my apartment. Didn't even watch any of the New Year celebration programs on TV; the nature programs were more up my alley. Then, at the very stroke of midnight, what should happen but I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business. I hope that's an auspicious augury for the new year. Any seers out there?
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Dan A. »

It's pretty cold in my neck of the woods, too. I just remind myself that in six months, I'll be grousing because it's too hot and humid.

Happy New Year to all!
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by ytliek »

HNY!
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oleorezinator
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by oleorezinator »

Nanohedron wrote:Then, at the very stroke of midnight, what should happen but I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business. I hope that's an auspicious augury for the new year. Any seers out there?
I'm a snot divinator from way back.
All that you did was rid yourself of the
accumulated filth and corruption of the
previous year. Let's now hope fer the best!
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

oleorezinator wrote:All that you did was rid yourself of the
accumulated filth and corruption of the
previous year.
A good shower could do that. And here I was hoping it meant riches soon to come. Damn.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by ytliek »

Nanohedron wrote:I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business.
Let's not forget that cat as they've been known to cause allergies.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

ytliek wrote:
Nanohedron wrote:I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business.
Let's not forget that cat as they've been known to cause allergies.
No cat at the moment, not since last March. Lester was normally very mindful of traffic (he even looked both ways before crossing the street!), but unfortunately his love of the chase also gave him a tunnel vision that overrode his prudence, and since he was green and just out of his adolescence, I worried it could one day be his undoing. At least it was quick. There wasn't a lot to be done about it, because he couldn't be confined indoors without becoming neurotic and destructive. His athletic energy and drive to meet the world needed an outlet that only outdoor time could provide. At least for the scant year I had him he was happy, healthy, a good pal, and being half Abyssinian, he was one of the smartest and most extraordinary cats I've ever known, and I've known a few. I've had cats in my life almost nonstop since I was around 6, so it's not as if I'm new to this. Even the neighbors talked about him, he was that social and larger-than-life. Yeah. I miss him. So does everyone else. The little girl across the street recently asked hopefully if I would get another just like him, yet she already has two cats of her own. Such was the impact he had on everyone.

I'm finally starting to think of getting a new cat, although of course I can't promise another Lester for the little girl. If I could I would; because of him I've come to love Abyssinians with a passion. Look 'em up some time to get an idea; they are especially noted for their intelligence and outgoing personalities, but a full-blood one is way, way out of my price range. If you want to keep them indoors you'd really have to have two to keep each other occupied, and that would mean a 24-hour circus if you're up to it, never mind that's twice the cat box, too. Besides, I prefer hybrid vigor almost as a matter of principle. With luck the next cat, whatever it is, will be just fine with staying indoors. :)

Didn't have any cat allergy issues then or before, so after a lifetime of living with them, I'm not super-concerned about that. No, I'm pretty sure this was just an epic cold. :)
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by ytliek »

Sorry to hear about Lester. I do remember you mentioning him affectionately. Yes, an indoor cat might be better suited to your home. I was just reading somewhere, and I cannot recall where, about keeping cats indoor because they are so predatory on birds and wildlife. The reading must've been related to Audubon or some such organization that favors birds. I was laughing to myself while reading about keeping cats indoors because of the birds, meanwhile, the hawks feast away daily at the feeder, and the red fox and coyote have their way in the food chain too.

Stay warm and hot tea or hot toddy will help that cold.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

ytliek wrote:Yes, an indoor cat might be better suited to your home.
If only an animal's personality were the sort of thing one had any control over. If you're going for real companionship and want to do it right, you go with the animal that chooses you, and those are the cards you're dealt. End of story. People who don't know may not understand, but when it comes to a choice between doing the politically correct thing and an animal's mental and emotional health, that's a real quality-of-life issue that counts, and I'll side with the animal being happy every time if the issue really matters that much to them. Cats are not dogs. As companions, cats consider themselves your equal, and they think that's entirely reasonable, so imposing conditions on a cat for its own good is a relative matter that should be weighed, and in Lester's case there wasn't a real choice. Yes, hunting's regrettable, but Lester wasn't a wanton killer, and one also rightly factors in that rabbits, house sparrows and common starlings are reliably abundant and pretty much the only common prey available around here. One takes the good with the bad. He intuitively understood that going to the vet was for his own good, so he was very well-behaved about that, but being confined to home was a bigger issue he just couldn't shake. I tried letting him do his roving in a harness with a 20 ft. lead I could pay out as needed, and to his credit he did his best to be game about that, but it really wasn't satisfactory to his personality. He'd occasionally get into a pickle and slip his harness, and he dutifully allowed me to put it back on - I was frankly surprised he'd sit still for it, but that spoke to our level of trust - but there inevitably came the day when he slipped the harness and decided it was finally time to go exploring as he really needed to, free. He spent a good four hours at it before he was ready to come home - me biting my nails all the while - but come home he did. After that, it was unreasonable to do anything but let him out on his own. Letting him out on his own ended his destructive and neurotic behavior just like that, and his gratitude was unmistakable. But in an urban environment with its particular distractions and dangers, of course I worried for his safety every day, because his smarts got him into as much trouble as kept him out of it. It's easy to say he would have been better off in a rural setting, but the reality is there is just as much cause for worry there, too. Outdoor-faring cats can live long lives - I've had many such, myself - so it's a toss-up, and what can you do but hope for the best?

Sometimes a life burns too bright to be long for this Earth, and fearless, irrepressible, all-the-world-loves-me Lester was one of those. But I suspect that if there are Cat Gods, they assigned him to me in his ephemerality for a reason. One can only accept the arrangement and live up to it as best as one knows how.

And now, soon it will be time to open my doors again to another animal that needs a home. Mubu, only the latest of the many who came before Lester, lived with me for 23 placid years to a natural end. Quite the contrast to a brief whirlwind, eh? One hopes for the best, whatever that really means. To me, it means that they are loved and genuinely happy for their time allotted. There is no better.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Tunborough »

My condolences, too, for the loss of Lester.

After several catless years, we took in a new feline family member over the holidays. He seems to be adjusting nicely to being worshipped, and is even reciprocating in his inscrutable catly way.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

Tunborough wrote:After several catless years, we took in a new feline family member over the holidays.
Several years ... I don't think I could do as long. For me, no place of mine is really a home without one. I must say, though, that Lester's loss really affected me as no other before, and I expected it might take a long time before I got another. Turns out that around a year has been time enough for me to get back around to the position that there's another out there somewhere that needs a good home. It's almost kind of like a calling, you know? :)
Tunborough wrote:He seems to be adjusting nicely to being worshipped, and is even reciprocating in his inscrutable catly way.
Inscrutable. Lester was anything but. He was more bold and up-front, like. There was never any question what that lad was about. Apart from his coloring, he looked Abyssinian and certainly behaved like one, which is to say he was a sporting creature, and the world was his plaything. He even accosted dogs! Dogs fascinated him. He was fully armed and very able to defend himself, but his thing was to make friends and play, rather than fight. Life was for having a blast, and he thought everyone should just get along. He made plenty of cat friends he could play and tussle with, but the dogs were usually too confounded by a confident, fearless cat to be amenable to the idea. One time a Great Pyrenees was nervously yipping at him, and Lester just sat there unruffled, stubbornly batting at the enormous dog's nose as if to say, "Oh, just chill out, wouldja?" That's pretty remarkable. Had to make a production of saying Hi to everyone, and he absolutely could not resist pretty women and babies. Ran after joggers for the fun of it, too. Just about everything he did made for an entertaining story, and hardly a day went by without an amused neighbor reporting Lester's latest antics to me. Even at rest, he crackled with energy.

I expect somehow that the next cat that chooses me will be one of the inscrutable types. After the likes of Lester, that will be quite the adjustment, I can tell you. :)

Here's a vid of two Abyssinians playing together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvfyMaiSmUQ

An Abbie being affectionate to its human: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvT5RlBd_XI

That would be business as usual for the breed. And that, in a nutshell, was Lester too. :)

Sorry for the big tribute - but I think that he, in particular, had one coming.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Tunborough »

Nanohedron wrote:Turns out that around a year has been time enough for me to get back around to the position that there's another out there somewhere that needs a good home. It's almost kind of like my calling, you know? :)
Best wishes for your being-searched-for.
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Re: Happy New Year

Post by Nanohedron »

Why, thank you.

When I get a new one I shall report to the Pub. :)
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
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