A Sad Ending to an Otherwise Happy Friendship

or
Please Adopt This Cat. Please?

When Iggy decided that it was time to get a cat, she had been weighing the pros and cons for years. Single, employed, stable... lonely? Would a cat bring more joy than heartache? At the time, the answer was a clear YES. The therapeutic benefits to having friends in the animal kingdom have been well documented and though she often argued that she "even managed to kill a cactus once", we, her friends, encouraged Iggy to make her dream a reality.

It has been 2 years since that fateful drive down to the farm. I remember the deer in the yard... the youthful retirees in their jeans... the raggedy tennis ball barely visible in the slobbering mutt's jaws... and the empty litter. Empty but for the runt: Antigone.

"She's so little" we all exclaimed! When Iggy took her in her arms, we could see in her face... she fell in love. Antigone (which we later shortened to Tiggy) was a doll: fuzzy kitten fur, over-sized ears, candy pink nose... and those eyes! aquamarine eyes that looked more like polished marbles!

Alas! the good days have come and gone. Iggy, who left her wartorn homeland at the tender age of 7, leaving behind her parents and her childhood, finally has a chance to get close to her mum - it's been over 20 years. No one would pass that chance up! But Winnipeg building owners are apparently godless baby eaters who deny their tenants the joys of furry companionship.

According to the Residenial Tenency Branch, landlords are allowed to deny tenency to pet owners. But pet owners in Winnipeg know it's worst than that. If you can FIND a pet friendly building, they are likely to charge you more upfront. Even though Iggy is willing and able to pay more for the priviledge of keeping her Tiggy, she hasn't found a single doggone building willing to set her and Tiggy up.

She is being forced to choose between shelter and companionship - a decision NO ONE should ever have to make.

Enter Andi: I am a cat lover living in a pet-intolerant environment. If I could, Tiggy would come to live with me. So would every stray and orphaned pet I ever come across and ever will. So I am asking you to take Tiggy in my stead. And if you can't, ask around you. Please! For Tiggy's sake.

Below you will find additional information on Tiggy and her current owner and human companion as well as my contact info, if you or someone you know is interested in having Tiggy FLOWN OVER TO YOU AND HANDED OVER IN PERSON - garanteed.


Owner will arrange for pet to be flown via WestJet or will bring her anywhere in Canada herself. hand delivered cutie pie.

Pet has insurance with Purina, which covers 80% of on most things, like annual check ups, minor surgeries, shots, some major surgeries.

Owner is willing to continue paying the insurance if the new owner is unable to do so for the next year - negotiable.

Tiggy has been spayed and in top health.

Tiggy is litter trained.

Tiggy eats a mix of dry and wet food.


Contact me for more information. I can get you in touch with Iggy. Deadline is May 31 2009 (because Iggy needs to move into an apartment in June) with a possibility of extending till June 30 2009.

Just call it what it is: Swine Flu.

Inside the newsroom at CBC.ca

We are not renaming swine flu

Friday, May 1, 2009 6:12 PM ET
By Esther Enkin

It's the old clichéd question — what's in a name? But it doesn't feel clichéd if you think the name is doing you harm or causes confusion.

Swine flu or influenza A (H1N1)? What's the difference and what should we call it?

Many of you have asked us why we still use the term swine flu for the virus sweeping the globe now that the World Health Organization is referring to it as influenza A (H1N1).

It is a good question and, in the last two days, groups of us have asked ourselves the same thing, more than once.An electron microscope image shows an H1N1 swine flu virus culture obtained from a California patient suffering from the current international outbreak. (U.S. Centres for Disease Control)

But along with the New York Times, other Canadian broadcasters and international wire services, we have opted to continue calling the disease swine flu.

Here's why: in such an anxious and emotional time, our goal is to be as clear as possible in our broadcasts and publications. We think our audiences will understand the term (swine flu), which we have been using for the past week.

At this stage, it seems very confusing to change the name.

A confusing name

Also, we have an obligation to be accurate. Many public health officials and immunologists say there is already a virus by the name influenza A (H1N1). In fact, H1N1 is the name of a whole category of viruses.

In its most virulent form, influenza A (H1N1) caused the world pandemic in 1918. Estimated to have killed up to 30 million people worldwide, that outbreak came to be known as the Spanish flu.

In this instance, there are some, including our prime minister, who have referred to this particular outbreak as the Mexican flu. But we feel that is also a name that could cause confusion at this point.

There is precedent, of course, for naming a virus based on the species from which it has evolved.
Avian flu comes from birds. And in 1976, there was another outbreak of flu that derived from pigs — and it was called swine flu.

We understand pork producers and processors are very concerned that the constant reference to this disease as swine flu is affecting their industries.
We also understand that we have an obligation to continue emphasizing that eating pork can in no way lead to infection from this virus. And we will continue to evaluate our use of the name in light of any other developments.

But right now, swine flu is still the prevalent term in most mass media. If we think the use of that term becomes confusing, or if a more accurate and appropriate term is coined, we will change our practice.

We feel the more important issue at the moment is to bring you the information you need as this flu develops.

We are committed to bringing you the latest developments as well as any information that may be helpful in keeping you and your family safe.

We recognize that, in doing so, we may be raising anxiety levels in some cases.

But, as in our discussions about what to call this thing, we will continue to ask ourselves how we are doing in telling this story.

worthy of http://www.postcardsfromyomomma.com/

RE: Cat ‘Crapping’

Hi,

As you probably know, the cat doesn’t know how to use the BOX. This is a reason why the cat defecates outside the BOX and when she is lucky and does it in the BOX she doesn’t cover it up as cat do and that reduces the odour.
Please, don’t assume... The cat spent the night under closed doors IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM and I let it out this am at 0430 hrs and closed the door at that time because THE ODOUR WAS NAUSATING! The CRAPPING is not new from last night as you can see it. Why do you think that the cat did not bother last night?
It is because she was in the laundry room with the door closed so I could sleep in peace and not being awakened by the cat at midnight or 2 AM. Then, when I let the cat go out at 04:30 am, she started to MIAU again at my door steps. She was calmed down when I took my time to pet her.
(The cat doesn’t crap that much in a few hours or a night.)
The odour in the house from crapping is getting a little too much and also, the cat calls during the night, waking me up several times during the night. As I informed you, I will put the cat in that room if I am waken during the night. And that is what I did...
I am not here every day of the week, and when I come here to rest/sleep I wish to be able rest, eat and sleep in peace, and not be awaken by the cat or laud noises during the night or early am. I work long hours and I need to rest in peace.
Please take care of the cat, and train her how to use the BOX. The odour to crap in the house is a little too much. The cat should spend the night in the laundry room with the door close until she learns to use the box and SHE needs a flat and wide BOX, that box is too small and too high for the animal.
Please, don’t blame me without having the full history.

Thanks

oh my treacherous nation

your words are poison
your illogical rhetoric suffocates me
you stab me where stabbed i have been before
and lick my wounds with your briny tongue
come and take me hostage
take my home, my mind, my soul
i care not

hark
your cloven-footed steps draw near
your fiendish voice cries out my name
enclosing me in guilt
even as you tower over me
i yield not
hear me now: you will not vanquish me

i have not forgiven you

idil: day 2

another brief point-form account. sunday with idil.

we wanted to get started at 12. then at 12 we decided to start at 2. then at 2 hibz said she'd pick us up at 2:30. then she came at 4.
we bought hijabs and clothes at masjid el salaam.
we were late picking uo inti.
we were supposed to eat where ever idil wanted to go but... it ended up being hibz' choices. it was pretty funnny.
we went to efes, which is under new management. it isn't called efes anymore. it's a high end turkish restaurant now.
there were evil eye beads all over the place.
it waS good... but over priced, if you ask me.
idil asked for a shirley temple. i started laughing at her till i realized i was just jealous. so as i was still laughing i ordered one too. then inti ordered one as well. hibz had mango juice.
our drinks had umbrellas.
idil nate her marachino cherry and then asked if she could have mine. i said no. apparently this was quite the joke.
hibz said: "sharing is caring, from the church of jesus christ of latter day saints".
i ate so much my back hurt.
we went to brioche bakery. i bought canolis. like 10 of them. they weren't all that great.
hibz was our arab sweet expert.
we talked about rihanna and chris brown. again. for real. i know. let's move on.
the girls came over to my place. hibz and i had tea.
idil and i played scrabble. theme: how to hook up with your coworker.
winner: idil, with over 220 points. (even tho we played with french letter mixed in with english letter, so Ys and Ws were worth like 10 points instead of 4).
we took lots of pictures. it is hard to take a picture of yourself while keeping three other faces in the frame. not easy at all.
i didn't know diar never met idil! i wish they had had a chance to talk.
they left at around 11:30.

imma waiting for idil's pics. especially the scrabble one so i can post it.

k bye idil! luv u!

idil : day 1

foreword
at noon, my friend anne picked me up and took me grocery shopping. i had a very hard start, this morning (i feel like i bombed my own castle to smithereens) and i really needed the company. after a subway breakfast and a race to the self checkout at loblaws, we drove up to an apartment she may be renting this july. after that, helped her make cupcakes and she gave me the giant one. i say this because my day with idil starts with the cupcake. (thanks anne!!!)

part I: overview
anne dropped me off at hilda. after that, hibz arrived. the three of us inhaled the cupcake. then inti came and we were on our way. we decided to go out for dinner (appetites not quite spoilt by the sugary goodness). we loaded ourselves up in the car and decided on the works. after eating, we dropped a woozy inti off and headed back to hibz's place to chill until it was time to go home. the following is an account of the more notable points of the evening.

part II: highlights
the cupcake was perfect. not overcooked at all.
idil's assessment day went well. there were all kinds of important people from all over the place, including this manhattan lawyer.
i decided that i'm OK with calling it Africa.
hibz's car was working. yesterday it wasn't.
idil wears high heels, although she claims it's only her boots. she looks like a calgarian now, too.
inti is into life coaching.
we heard about iggy's haunted room. inti had good adviceto give. hibz just advised they get the heck out of there as soon as fricken possible.
i had an olive oyl organic beef patty and had a fried egg added to it and it was delish.
hibz also had organic beef. idil had chicken and inti had tuna.
hibz and inti had milk shakes as well.
bernie was our waiter. he really took a liking to idil for the following reason: whe idil asked for coke and also a glass of water, bernie said " we don't serve water" so idil, playing along, said" oh no! well then i'll have two cokes". (i thought that was hilarious).
also, fyi (you know who you are) bernie has a GF.
idil also has a potty mouth. i told her i wanted to stop talking like a barmaid. eventually i dropped our guards and i may have said something along the lines of "she can ride him" in regards to a morbidly obese man who was getting married.
hibz taugh us that morbidly obese men can't get it up. get what up? isn't it burrid in flesh, anyway?
i ate all my food.
apparently there is a nfl player who is a devout muslim.
the word "nin" sounds like it is about this big (i didn't mean it that way)
i can't believe "nag" is what women are called. wow.
i paied cash.
hibz is a social butterfly.
we met an older white anglosaxon muslim man who took his shahada in kingston 3 yrs ago. i am going to tell my man so we can go down there and he can be his friend.
inti hurt her ankle recently and had trouble walking briskly.
also, inti has been a little sick with flu-like symptoms so she went home after the meal (but she will be coming out again tomorrow).
i really miss idil.
we tried to contact fadumo but found out, after txting mfeminista, that she was also in T.O., job hunting.
we went to jasmine but didn't ring anyone. it was too late, anyway.
hiba got a timmie's tea and it made her sick (i told you so. ew.). i had 1 chocolate timbit.
i admitted that my work environment is making me into a snob. hibz says she noticed.
idil likes hibz's apt. apparently, in calgary, they pay way too much and they live in a run down shack of a building. or something.
the snl opening sucked. jonas bros on snl sucked.
idil thinks bateekh is better than tiggy. apparently, all tiggy's got going for her is her looks.
we actually discussed chris brown and rihanna.

part III: best of
best line of the evening:
hibz: i'm so lame i don't understand how people flirt, or whatever. what do i say? "have you tested these fatty cells?"
idil (laughing): no you say " have you tested these sexy cells?" or something, gawd!
-laughter all around-
hiba (seriously): by the way, there is no such thing as a sexy cell.
idil (sarcastically): omg hibz! thanks for the lessons! i had no idea! :p

funniest bigot moment:
a latino family of 15 (i am NOT exagerating) wanted to eat at the works. but when they saw there were lots of people waiting, the family man suggested they go to chinese. the little latino boy cried out: let's go! let's go! let's go to the shineese boofet!
i swear we laughed about it for a good 15 minutes.

afternoon tea and social interactions

i had something really fun planned for today. i took a day off, and everything! but in the end we only ended up going to have afternoon tea, mum and i. because of all the valentine's day nonsense (i saw a heart shaped pink rug at a department store. really? a heart shaped rug? pink? for cleaning your dirty boots on? ugh.) i wasn't able to reserve at the fairmont, even in advance. so i went through review after review online and settled on the tea party in the byward market.
my experience was fair. here is why.

ok. first of all, they call it high tea, which it isn't.
then, some of the bread was stale. i dipped it in my tea in order to eat out of embarrassment.
i tried with all my might to be cheerful and convince mum that it was great. but truth be told, the food was just OK (no butter for my scone! wtf? and when i was offered milk, it never arrived. and we were the only people in the tea shop so wtvr).

the tea however was so delicious and perfect. i would definitely go back for the tea.

i felt a little ignored and somewhat mistreated but i felt that way the whole day. everywhere we went, i felt like people were being deliberately rude and avoiding me purposefully. or might be perception, i dunno. ottawans aren't nice people i found out. they keep saying french people are mean. well imma gonna start being mean too then. stupid ottawans who ignore everyone and act all holier than thou-ish. but all this is beside the point.

two afternoon tea services: 27 dollars, incl tax.

in other news: IDIL IS GOING TO TOUCH DOWN OTTAWA IN 30 MINUTES! W00T!

OK. So English isn't my first language.

But let's get something straight.
There is NO SUCH THING as "would of". What you mean to write is WOULD'VE, as in the contraction of the words "would" and "have", as in "I would have told you sooner had I known you were that stupid".

"Would have" is what happens to the verb TO HAVE when it is conjugated according to a tense called the CONDITIONAL PRESENT. It goes a little something like this:

I would have
You would have
He, She would have
We would have
They would have

HAVE, not OF, HAVE!

I thought they taught this in grade school.

My Husband Is A Cat

Prologue

It was November of 2003 when my beard moved in with me. At first I was worried about it because I feared he and the family cat, Minu, wouldn't get along. Three days before the move, however, Minu disappeared.
True, he was old and visibly weakened by age.
True, the weather was brutally cold and he was a wild cat.
And it may be that he felt the oncoming changes in our household and wished to remove himself from the situation... but sometimes I wonder... I wonder if they weren't one and the same.

Evidence

Likes to be scratched behind the ears.
Has fur.
Enjoys naps in pools of sunlight, on the floor.
Rips paper for fun.
Likes to spend time alone.
Doesn't respond to bossiness, indeed rarely even responds to his name.
Sleeps lightly and in odd positions (pictures not posted to protect said cat husband's privacy).
Does not enjoy company very much.
Does rounds of the apartment to see what's new.
Needs to be around food at the moment I am cooking it. And needs to ask to taste it before I am done.
Likes meat.
Likes heat.
Likes all milk products such as whole milk, cream, condensed milk, whipped cream, all cheeses, yogurt, etc.
Indeed, the number one evidence that my husband is a cat, is this:




that... is a saucer of cream. A saucer of cream that my cat was not done eating and that he decided to refrigerate for later consumption. I believe the evidence speaks for itself.


Conclusion

My husband is to my cat what Polka Dot Door's male host was to Polkaroo.

crinoline exposed

tweeded, beaded
hypocrisy seeded
looked like a rose but
had to be weeded
walked like a queen
so her path I impeded
my troops she demeaned
so my party seceded
and cloaked in cochineal
I stood to reveal
that my call to alliance she never heeded

to her excellency:
your monarchical empire bears no might unto me
from the threat of your canons I shall henceforth be free