~ Unpublished Opinion

Horrible Dream

I had the worst dream last night. Normally I love dreaming because, if you have been around here long enough, you know they are weird and fun. Last night’s dream was awful. The worst part about it was that it seemed real. Looking back on it now, there were signs that it was a dream, but I didn’t really catch them at the time.

The dream:

I was in some country town at a vet to take Simba for something routine. I went out the backdoor and realized that I was trapped in a fenced-in area and had to crawl under a fence to get through. Simba was in his carrier. All of a sudden I heard the screech of tires and a horrible wail of pain. I looked back and saw a teenager in a car, with Simba under a tire. The kid was freaked out and called his mom. He was talking about how there was no vet nearby, which was weird since it was right there.

I put Simba back in the carrier. The front gate on it was off, which I surmised was how he escaped. I was mad at myself for not checking it and re-checking it before I left the vet, which is something I always do. I carried Simba in and they asked me if I had ever been to that vet. Kind of weird they were being so routine since I was carrying in a gravely wounded animal and I had just been in there 10 minutes before.

I was told that I was lucky because the surgeon just finished with a patient. At that point a man with a bandaged head came out and I was told there is no people ER nearby so they treat people, too. Reminded me of Baby Boom where she confides in the doctor she was taken to, only to find out he was a vet. They took Simba in and I had to wait.

Then I was told that he was going to die. They put him on a window ledge thing like the ones we have here, I guess so he could die in peace? Then I got to go over and pet him. He seemed perfectly fine and I remarked to someone there that I had thought it was a dream, but I must have been wrong. Then I asked for a brush, because being brushed is Simba’s favorite thing. Simba looked into my eyes as I brushed him and I started crying. I woke up and I was crying for real.

I got out of bed and went toward the bathroom. Simba was sitting on the toilet (lid down of course) and gave me a hearty, “MEEEEOOOOOWWWW!” I gave him a big hug (which he hates) and he looked at me like I was a little nutty.
Hey, lady! Quit your crying and get me some treats!

As I have been typing this post, Simba has come over and jumped on my desk. He has always been pretty in tune with my emotions. He has always come to cuddle with me when I am sad, etc. (even though he really hates to cuddle). He must have realized I was upset by my dream and came over to help.

Guess that Cat! Answers

Thanks to everyone who played “Guess that Cat!” If you haven’t had a chance to guess yet, go visit the original post before checking out the answers below.

It can be pretty tricky to tell Eggy and Paducah apart, can’t it? Here are the answers:

1. Eggy. Even I wasn’t sure at first, but the time stamp on the photo predates Paducah’s birth, so I knew it was Eggy.

2. Paducah. Her romp with the wrapping paper was used to make our holiday card this year.

3. Paducah. I discovered this week that she likes Cheerios, just like her older cat brother, Simba.

4. Eggy. This was a bit easier because you could see a sliver of her blue eyes.

5. Eggy on left. Paducah on right. They are getting harder and harder for me to tell apart from the side now.

Thanks for playing! Congrats to Shoreturtle for getting them all right!

Audience Participation: Guess that Cat!

One of the fun things I like to do these days is send Prince E a text message with a photo of one of our two white cats. He then has to guess whether it is Paducah or Eggy.

Since I am getting near the end of my month of blogging and running out of things to write about, I thought I would try the game out with all of you! Feel free to make guesses in the comment section and I will post the answers tomorrow.

Just to recap–This is Eggy (2.5 years old):

This is Paducah (7 months old):

Let the games begin.

5. In this one, tell me which is which. (i.e. X on left and Y on right)

A Sandy Beach?

On my walk home from work today, I came upon the scene below, which looked at first like a sandy beach.

Of course, it was just dirty snow. One of the unpleasant downsides of winter.

A Ghost?

As promised, here are some photos that I took on the ghost tour of New Orleans. As you can see, there is definitely a something in the second photo that is not in the first picture of the exact same spot. Supposedly a woman named Julia died on the roof of the building and now haunts it. So, what do you think? Ghost? Or just a weird light effect or something?

This hotel is supposedly haunted, but I didn’t find any ghosts in any of my pictures.

Oh and I don’t think that this next building is haunted, but it was pointed out to us during the tour because Richard Simmons attended elementary school there.

This is unrelated to New Orleans, but I saw a movie on TV a couple of weeks ago about photographs with images of the dead in them. It had Pacey from Dawson’s Creek/Fringe in it. It wasn’t too bad and I was surprised I hadn’t heard anything about it. It’s called Shutter. I wouldn’t recommend paying for it, but if you can watch it for free it might be worth a glance.

Tired, so here are some bullets.

* I went back to the office today and am quite tired as a result. Although technically yesterday was a day off, it was a travel day and not very relaxing. I could use a proper day off.

* Paducah got her stitches out today.

* I am uploading my New Orleans photos. I didn’t take that many, given that I was indoors most of the time I was there, which is a bit disappointing.

* I wish I was still at my hotel in New Orleans because I could really go for some PB&J and hot chocolate.

* I never realized until I went to New Orleans that I like chunky peanut butter. I feel like I have been depriving myself all this time.

* I took a picture on a ghost tour that has a “ghost” in it. I will post about that tomorrow.

* I think that the stingray in the picture above looks like he is smiling. He lives at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.

* I just realized that my post from yesterday didn’t post. I wrote it and pushed publish (on my phone) but I just opened the app on my phone and it was still loading. I am counting that as not missing a day in this month of blogging because it was not my fault.

End of the Road

I am sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight home. Today we were both tired, so we came to the airport shortly after checking out. This morning we rode the St. Charles streetcar which was fun and gave me a chance to see things in New Orleans besides the tourist spots.

Yesterday we went to the aquarium and saw a good IMAX movie called Hurricane Bayou, which involved the effects that the loss of wetlands has had on the area, specifically in the increase effect of hurricanes as a result of a loss of the buffer that the wetlands provide.

We ended up watching the game last night after all, although in our hotel room. I had really had enough of the drunk people shouting “Who Dat!” to watch it at a bar. We were even accosted coming out of a pizza place by a drunk woman who wanted us to fist bump her. Prince E accommodated her and when she looked at me, fist in the air and said “Who Dat?” I shrugged my shoulders. That was not the response she was hoping for and told her drunk friends that I wouldn’t “Who Dat” her.

During halftime, I went up to the rooftop pool for a quick swim. It was empty of course because everyone was watching the game. I have never swum outdoors in January, so it was pretty fun. (The pool was heated). After the Saints won, the fans were streaming into the street and it was fun to watch from our hotel window.

When we went down later for the free PB&J and hot chocolate in our hotel lobby (it was a nightly thing) we had to deal with the revelers. While I was standing there holding my sandwich, a rather drunk woman asked me where I got “that beautiful bread.” I casually pointed to the entire table of bread right next to me.

Although I will miss the sunshine, I will be happy to see the kitties and sleep in my own bed.

* I wrote this on my phone on Monday and pushed publish, but it never posted. When I opened the app today it was still loading. I am not counting it as a missed day, since I did blog on Monday, it just didn’t post.

Wait, there’s football today?

If I have learned one thing about this town during my time here, it is that they LOVE LOVE LOVE their football team, the Saints. My trip happened to coincide with a playoff game (today against the Vikings) and it has gotten pretty crazy here as a result. (I’m sure still only about 5-10% what Mardi Gras is like, though)

Walking around last night, we were in the vast minority of those people not wearing Saints apparel and shouting “Who Dat!” to every other person in Saints apparel. We saw some Vikings fans too.

Last night on the local news, the anchor made the mistake of wearing a lavender (not even close to Viking purple) blazer. They gave her crap about it on air and she said that she was getting shit online for her color choice. (although she didn’t say shit)

I won’t be watching because I figure everything will be pretty empty during gametime, but I hope they win. A loss would certainly deflate the city.

The local paper has had a huge front page article about the game every day I’ve been here and today is no exception.

Bourbon Street and Beer*

Prince E arrived yesterday and after I was done with work we headed to Bourbon Street. We ate dinner on a balcony over looking the street. We went on a ghost tour, but bailed halfway through due to tiredness and a touch of boredom.

I briefly went to the casino today on my lunchbreak and caught the tailend of a parade outside my hotel. We went to a brewery for lunch, which is where the funny poster below was at.

*no beer was actually consumed.

Some play

Last night I finally got to see some of New Orleans. We went to the Gumbo Shop and then to a piratey bar that specializes in absinthe. The bartender gave the history of the drink while she made it. She was dressed like a pirate. Or I guess a pirate wench? Not sure.