by So I haven't actively posted since 2002, and it looks like I posted an
update in 2003 and another in 2005. So it's about time for another, I
figure.
All is well in our place. Had a rough year - burglarized in January with
resulting trauma to the cats, but fortunately none of them were hurt or
lost. They were all smart enough to hide really well. Sheldon, the
youngest, hid so well we couldn't find him for 6 hours after we got
home, and we were frantic as you can imagine.
With May came a car accident, and then June a job loss for T. Four
months on one salary was a rough summer. We're just now beginning to
catch up.
That's all the bad news out of the way. For the good stuff, I've had a
couple of promotions. Still working for the Big Coffee Company, as an
accountant analyst and project manager. Learning some further mgmt
skills so that I can being working toward a more supervisory role as well.
T is working for the state, in a child welfare role as a social worker.
It's a really good fit, and been a good position so far with a really
good team. The only drawback is the frequency of visits to the
courthouse. T's also in full time graduate school getting a 3rd master's
degree. Sadly even with two of them, a social worker does not make much
money. The third one will help slightly, but it's still not some "cushy
government job"
On to "the kids" - We still have Sam, Calvin, Toby and Sheldon. All are
doing well, though we are suspecting Sammy of having thyroid problems.
He's almost 10, so it would be around the right timing, and hes been
more crabby the last year or two than ever. Not horrendously so, but a
bit more than the simple "I'm getting older and am tired of the other
ones annoying me" crabbiness. He's also pulled out his tummy fur and his
fur has become a bit rough, he's lost a little weight (though not a
dramatic difference) and he's had some sores on his skin - small ones,
like a flea allergy (but he's flea-free). Just when we decide "ok it's
time to take him to TED and get ***work done," it all magically
clears, his skin is good, his fur gets soft and grows in, and he is
cheery again. So it seems consistent with thyroid in that it comes and
goes a bit.
Calvin is still huge. 23 pounds, and tall enough to stand on his hind
legs and hug my waist when he wants attention. He's turned into a
regular power-purring cuddlebug. Only traces of the hoolikitten he once
was still come out once in awhile.
Toby has learned to play. Sheldon has been good for him - they play
chase all through the house, and Sheldon is smart enough to realize that
Toby isn't, and so he goes easy on him and lets Toby sneak up on him
even when he's not being very sneaky at all.
Sheldon, the youngest, is now a real hoolikitten even at 3 years old. He
is still afraid of coughs and plastic bags (left from the burglary -
we're pretty sure one of them had a cough and we know they had trash
bags) He's at that 3 year old point where he is just beginning to fill
out and calm down a bit, but still likes to be incredibly ***,
climbing bookshelves and helping himself to whatever he'd like to take
from various hiding spots.
Right at the moment, all four are sleeping on the various corners of the
loveseat (two on top, one on the seat part, and one in front of it) as
it sits in front of the baseboard heater and is warm. T and I are on the
other couch, doing schoolwork and playing on the net, respectively.
Missed you guys. Hope everyone else is well. Updates? Anything I should
know? I see that Yowie had a little one - I think she was pregnant last
I checked in. Anything else major?
Aim