There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. - Albert Schweitzer

There’s no good way to say it, no way at all really. Tigger died today. The words leave a burning lump in my throat, even typing the does.

Most of you know Tigger, he was one of the most awesome cats I’ve ever had the privilege of being owned by. He was one of those cats where you could swear he was looking at you and speaking. When he snuggled with me while I was petting him, he’d hook a paw on my arm to remind me that I had two hands and I should be petting him with both. When he sat, he crossed his paws like he was royalty and should be treated as such. Yet, he was affectionate and warm and loving. Often he’d come into bed and just want to lie on me or by me (which, for a 20 lb cat, could be a bit much).

He will be intensely missed by my whole family. Even dad, the anti-cat person, loved Tigger. The two of them used to play every night before bed.

So Myboyfriend and I are a bit sadder. Later tonight Myboyfriend did the same thing he did when Tigger and Hannah left my apartment… he wandered around and looked everywhere, doing little calling meows.

Thank you all for being part of Tigger’s fans.

Farewell Tigger (aka Fat Cat) — you have a special place in my memories forever.

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I swear to goodness I am not one of those people who treat my pets as anything more than pets.

But I do love my pets.

I’ve been thinking for quite awhile about both my cats – especially after recording them for the Evil League of Evil contest.

What have I learned? They’re two very different cats.

Tigger is older, he’s around 11 years old, and he’s nearly 20lbs. He’s not an extremely active cat. It’s not unusual for him to sleep in my bed all night long (8+ hours). He’s an extreme cuddler. He’ll lay on me, push off my laptop and generally squish his way on me to get petted. He’s taken the lovely habit of waking me up 15 minutes before my alarm goes off to get petted.

This routine consists of him headbutting my face, putting his paw on my lips and pulling on my arm (I kid you not, he hooks his paw/leg and pulls on my arm). This is usually the routine for us going to bed too. He’ll even sleep in my arms when we first go to bed (only if I take some moments to rub his head and face).

Tigger rarely meows. When he does – you know something huge is up. He’s really really hungry or sad.

Myboyfriend is the young buck. He’s about four years old now. He’s insanely active. This includes tearing through the house and leaping on random pieces of furniture. Shredding paper and destroying things and finding the most NOISEST thing in my room. He rarely snuggles, though lately it’s been more likely. If he DOES sleep on my bed he sleeps by my feet, my legs or even between my legs (yeah no jokes from the peanut gallery).

He’s extremely curious and knows little to no fear. He’ll jump, leap, push and squirm his way in anywhere. He can also open doors. He talks constantly – even when there’s nothing wrong. When Tigger moved out for awhile (long story) he’d wander around my apartment and whine for him.

Myboyfriend beleives the highest points in any room is -his- space. In my last apartment in Chicago he believed it was perfectly fine for him to be in the space above the cabinets. He especially liked this vantage point when guests came over. It’s almost as if he was saying “oh you poor poor little people.”

There are some points that both of them are similar at. At a certain time in the evening they both agree it’s time for them to eat and RUN to the closet where I keep the food every time I get up from my chair.

Both of them enjoy their knitted Jayne hat cat toy (which is amazing because Tigger is not really a ‘toy’ kind of guy).

Both of them are happiest when they can lay on my clothes. Why? I have no idea. They adore laying on my clothes. They don’t seem to care if it’s a blanket – but clothes? They love them.

Oh well, I love my boys and I’m happy to be their housekeeper.

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So, I’ve been looking for an apartment. I’d like to move out of my parents by April, but California landlords seem a LOT more jumpy about having pets in their apartments than Chicago ones were.

Granted my three different apartments in Chicago ALL required a pet deposit, but still – these rentals are so no way Jose! No cats here!

I can possibly see dogs, but cats? Really? My poor babies. We’ll never get a place at this rate.

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I’m stressed this week. So you get another LOL cat from ICanHazaCheeseburger.com

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This totally reminds me of my cat… he’s very helpful like that.

Snagged from I Can Haz a Cheeseburger

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So my apartment is packed and pretty much empty. I’ve said goodbye to most of my friends. My cats have been certified to travel. I got my glasses fixed. We’re flying to Los Angeles tomorrow and I’m pretty excited. I have an interview on Wednesday for a freelance web design job.

I’m tired. It’s hard to say goodbye to people, and run around like a chicken with your head cut off, and…and…and.

I sound whiny, but I’m not. It’s just surprising how much it takes out of you. I feel drained – tired. Like I just realized how much emotional strain the past couple months have been. I miss Mylady a lot. We threw out her meds today.

But I’m too tired to even cry.

In happy news, we saw Shrek the Third and I really liked it. I laughed almost all the way through. John is coming over soon to say goodbye as well. I hate leaving people like him, but I know I’m gonna be kicking thier butts to come visit me in LA.

Sleep sweet my friends and think good thoughts about my flight, my cats and all my stuff getting to LA in one piece.

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I feel like lately I’ve been bursting with things to talk about… but no time to talk about them. Or I don’t think about it when I actually am at a computer. It’s a weird feeling. I have WAY too much to do before this move. Someone hire me a personal secretary.

I’m working on my resume. Selling yourself on a page of paper is really strange. It’s like saying LOOK AT ME I’M THE BEST! Without really doing that. I liked my old resume, but I feel like I need to put more “here’s what I’ve accomplished” rather than my job descriptions. I cut out a lot of my part-time jobs too. It looks dismally small now, but cleaner and easier to read. Selling yourself is like cutting yourself into tiny bits. Or putting your hands over a photo so you can highlight only the eyes. Again, very weird.

I read about the use of plastic handcuffs in schools. I don’t really know how I feel about it. I’m in two worlds…. I have to let that story sit with me some more.

I’ve become the publicist for my dad and his new book.

I’m worried about this whole pet food recall thing. I keep wondering when the other shoe is gonna drop and my cats are sick. I hope not. I love them muchly. M’lady hasn’t been eating, but she’s really picky about the food she eats. I got the stuff she likes last night and she was happily munching away today. So I guess she’s fine. They’ll all be going to the vet soon enough.

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No seriously, I think he is. For the past week he’s been keeping me up at night. Why? I’m not entirely sure. Cat/human conversations are limited.

All I can say is it’s getting really annoying. I want to sleep.

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I loved being homeschooled. I’m glad my parents chose it for me. I’m glad my mother was so patient and put all the time and effort into it that she did. I’m glad my father worked so hard to make money to pay for it.

That said, I fully realize that homeschooling is not a valid choice for every family or every child.

I just wish public school proponants would recognize that public school isn’t for everyone either.

Recently I was asked to assist Rockstar John’s (my friend) kid with a school project. The project involves the school sending me a “stanley” figure (some cut out figure), me writing a story and mailing it back for display at the school.

Which is all fine and dandy but what exactly is the kid getting out of this experience? It doesn’t quite make sense to anyone (homeschool background OR otherwise).

Now, maybe I would understand it if the project was to send it to a penpal… learn about their state (other than yours) and you told them about your state….

That I could see.

But this Stanley thing is just. Weird. And makes me wonder what exactly my friend’s kid is learning in school.

I know that’s not a norm, some schools are better some are worse, but it just blatently points out to me that parents need to be a cross check for their child’s education. Parents and schools should work together to ensure a child is getting the best education possible. This means parents should be aware (as my friend is) about the state of education/comprehension/learning his or her child is receiving.

Of course a great way to do this is with MINDsprinting’s free assement test. It really is a handy tool and the results are detailed, but easy to understand. The test is for Reading and Math comprehension – which really are the foundation for all other subjects. I’ve passed it on to friends of mine who have children (I tried getting Myboyfriend to take it.. but he just kept meowing) and I know they’ve found it useful.

I’m not saying that everyone should board their child up in a one room schoolhouse or that one form of education is better than another. I am just saying that EVERYONE involved in a child’s life should seek to help the child learn and grow to their full potential.

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Myboyfriend has taken to laying in the sink lately.

click here to see

Myboyfriend with his Jayne hat

Mylady in my bathtub

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