Year: 2013

Randomly Monday night

It doesn’t matter how many times I look out the back door. There’s not going to be a cute orange cat there. And that sucks.

Happier thoughts and subjects:

  • I just booked my room for New York in January, although I may extend my stay by one more day since I got such a good deal. If anyone wants to hang out, please let me know.
  • Pondering my post-Christmas travel plans as well and whether I should continue my Virginia Beach tradition into its second year or opt for a different beach…or no beach at all. I really do like winter beach trips and Virginia Beach is a good choice because there’s a city there too, just in case I get bored. I opt for the cheap oceanfront room where I read all the books I didn’t have time to read the rest of the year.
  • In case you were wondering, I’ve had a really successful soup season this year. Okra seems to be the running theme.
  • For your amusement, the top twenty Toronto music videos of all time, at least by somebody’s count.
  • I’m finally getting back to the home video project. I finished digitizing all the analog stuff earlier this year and now I’m making MP4 derivatives from those masters for easy access on the Roku, etc. It’s much easier and “batchable” than the initial project was and I hope to be done by New Year’s. This will also make it easier for me to post old video on the site and/or YouTube if anyone cares (which I kind of doubt).
  • Despite my rotten state of mind Saturday night, my friend Jeff dragged me out to College Hill and other assorted destinations and I actually had a really great time. The secret to doing that in Greensboro is to remember never ever to go to the queer bar.

Rest in peace, my little orange friend

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Unfortunately, my time with Puppy (f/k/a Rebel Rebel) was destined to be short. He died on my deck just before 6:00 tonight. We’d been playing and I went inside to get his dinner. I was inside for a couple of minutes and when I came out, I saw that he was lying on his side. As I got closer, I heard him making a horrible moaning sound. I bent down to rub his head and try to figure out what was wrong. He coughed a few times and after that, he didn’t move or respond anymore. After a few minutes I realized he wasn’t breathing.

Maybe he knew the end was coming and he just wanted someone to be nice to him for his last few months. I’m glad I got to be that person. I’m also glad I got be with him at the end. Maybe it was a little less scary for him.

I’ll miss the little orange furball and I think I’m probably going to feel pretty rotten over the next few days. But I’m glad the end came quickly and relatively painlessly (for him) and I’m glad we got lots of extra play time over the past few days.

I’ve never been a cat person and I probably won’t become one now, but Puppy was a special case.

Happy things, 2013

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, which seems as good a time as any to reflect on the things for which I’m not necessarily thankful (that sort of adds a religious element I don’t much care for) but about which I am quite happy just the same:

  1. I’m very happy that I’m not in that really dark spot I was in a year or so back. It wasn’t pleasant, trust me. Taking the required steps to fix that was a smart move.
  2. I’m happy that I’m really into new music again.
  3. I’m happy that there’s so much less of me (by weight and by volume) now.
  4. Even though I miss my house and my neighborhood in Winston-Salem, I’m happy I live in Greensboro now. It’s much better for me in a number of ways.
  5. I’m happy that I’ve entered into an open relationship with an adorable orange cat named “Puppy.”
  6. I’m happy that I’ve reconnected with a lot of old friends this year.
  7. I’m happy to have rediscovered NYC and DC.

Like it’s 1998

The funny thing about this article is the way it suggests that the wholesale gentrification of San Francisco is a new trend. I could have written essentially the same piece in 1998 just substituting “lofts” for a couple of the “high rise” references. San Francisco has been a lost cause for much longer than the past couple of years.

More random stuff for a Monday night:

  • Me. Camper Van Beethoven. 10 January in Chapel Hill. I’m not counting on being reunited with my crush.
  • New York the following week for a workshop followed by a weekend in the city seeing some old friends and soaking up the urban. And the cold. Which is probably why the hotel rooms are all so cheap.
  • The first ice of the year is a possibility tomorrow morning. My enthusiasm is minimal.