Entries tagged with milo

Current Mood: awake

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Double Dreaming

It's been a while since I've had some really vivid dreams, but I had a double last night.

The first dream had me inheriting this huge mansion and company from a millionaire. I don't recall the exact details, but I was touring the house that seemed to have endless rooms. Each one seemed like time capsules of sorts. The one room that stood out was a comic book room full of comic books, posters, and artwork from the 1980s, including a spinner rack full of the comics from my youth. These were not originally mine, but they were now, so I was thrilled to find such a treasure trove. The rooms seemed to inter-connect in different ways, like secret doors that led to another room in addition to their regular doors. Strangely, the people who originally had lived in the house, but they were not upset that I was taking over their possessions, so I could not figure that part out.

The second dream had me working for or with my sister at a magazine. I was either writing articles or researching articles for the company. I was given two immediate assignments. The first I've already forgotten and the second was to develop a beard style to make a guy whose beard didn't connect to his hairline at the ears look "cool." I have no idea how I was going to make that happen, but I that was what I was told to do....

... and then Milo woke me up by head-butting my chin, wanting me to feed him.

Current Mood: awake

Entry tags:

dream,
milo

I had a quirky dream this morning. It started off by my dreaming about an older woman who went around spending money, but she was spending it on others. She put large tips in the buckets for street performers. I saw a large volume of change sliding down a change catcher, playing for everyone getting on a bus. I seemed to have the impression that this woman was not long for this world and was spreading as much joy as she could with all the money that she had. She wasn't miserable or sad, she was happy.

The last part of the dream was me on a metro train and I had paid $200 to pay for several people on the train. The train folks said that they didn't have the change for it, so I told them not to worry as I had paid for multiple folks. They said I wasn't supposed to do that, but I exited the train before they could chastise me for it. It just seemed more important to spread the happy around instead.

And then I woke up to Milo head-butting my chin.

"Feed me, human," he lovingly appeared to say.

Current Mood: good

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Update on Milo and Boo

I haven't posted a kitty cat update for a bit. Milo the Cat (TM) and Boo the Kitten appear to be getting along pretty well, as he's licking her. Boo has been in the house for about six weeks now and I'm surprised how much she's grown. She's no where near Milo's size, but she's definitely growing up faster.

Milo Licks Boo

I'd forgotten what it was like to have a kitten in the house. The last kitten I had was back when I was a teenager. They certainly do take a lot more work than the average housecat, but we (Milo and I) are adapting. It's the little surprises that Boo does that catches me off-guard.

For example, when I clean the litter boxes, she watches. Not from a distance, but right into the mix of it. She will literally sit just outside the box while I clean it. When I move from one box to the next (there are three of them), she moves along with me. When I am done, she just leaves. She wasn't waiting for me to clean it so she could use it, she just wanted to make sure I did it right, I guess.

The other night, I was in the shower and she jumped onto the tub rim between the transparent shower liner and the curtain. I took the shower sprayer and blasted the liner, making her jump. She leaped back up a second later and I blasted the liner again. She jumped down again. Thinking she was done, I went back to scrubbing my naughty bits when the shower liner attacked me. I saw a black blur fall from the liner, scratching my big toe, and then back out. Boo drew blood. Another joy of having a kitten in the house.

I'm sure there will be more stories as little Boo grows up.

Current Mood: awake

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The Week Thus Far

It's been a busy week so far:

My boss is out of town, so I'm acting branch director this week. Luckily, there are a lot of trainings going on, so we're on a near skeleton crew. It's not been crazy busy, but the workflow has been constant.

Playing competitive teams at softball continues. It's an unusual thing really. We got trashed by a team who we should have beaten, but then beat one of the best teams in the league afterward. I actually had one of my best hitting nights. I have found that my "no f**ks to give" attitude seems to be helping my game as there is no longer any pressure on me.

Boo the Kitten is settling in well. She got her first bath at home last night. She jumped into the unflushed toilet, thinking the lid was down I'm sure. She wasn't happy and neither was I. She fought the bath, but it was a necessary thing, I assure you. She is getting along with Milo the Cat, which is a good thing.

Most of my evening time is being taken up with coloring the pages for the next issue of "Grizzly and the Bear Patrol." It's taking about 90 minutes a page. Not sure why, but I'm trudging through it.

Dentist appointment this morning, so I'm going in late today. I did manage to get my bicep workout in this morning, so ... yay...

Current Mood: happy

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Hello Boo!

I have noticed that Milo the Cat (TM) is incredibly excited to see me when I get home. I think he's starved for attention and gets lonely when I'm not here. So I had planned to get another cat at some point. Murphy had Maggie and I know it made a significant difference in his stress level when I adopted her. So I have been looking to adopt another cat at some point.

The search has been tiresome. I have often read online that black cats are often the last ones adopted, due to superstition or to volume, I'm not sure, but I had made my mind up to adopt a black cat or kitten. In addition, I thought a female would be a better fit so Milo wouldn't feel threatened by another male cat.

A co-worker volunteers at a local cat organization and has been on the lookout for a black female kitten for me. Well, this past week, she had found one. The rescue named her "Skylar" (gag!) and I put in an application to adopt her and was approved. While I went to my hometown this weekend, the shelter was open today and I could stop in see if she'd be a good match once I drove back. So, she seemed to be a good match, so I adopted her today. Meet the renamed Boo (short for "Boo Boo Kitty" if you know the reference from 1970s TV).

Boo the Kitty
Boo's story is very interesting. In the photo, you can see her left ear is clipped. She was captured from a feral colony by the this organization. She had been fixed and her ear clipped and she was slated to be returned to the colony. When they took her to be released, she refused to leave the trap. Apparently, she knew a good thing when she saw it and had become very acclimated and socialized. So she was put up for adoption instead.

So far, I'm keeping her in my home office and not letting her roam the house. She met Milo and the two of them seem to get along. They are currently chasing each other around my drafting table. I need to but some screening to block off the laundry room from the crawlspace. I really don't want to chase Boo in there like I did Milo. After a couple of days, I'll turn Boo loose in the rest of the house.

My household just got a lot more animated.

Current Mood: good

Entry tags:

good times,
milo

Milo Update

It's been a while since I've given an update on Milo the Cat (TM).

Milo Sleeping

Sleeping Milo
Basically, he's doing well. He's settled into a routine from what I can tell. When I adopted him, the shelter estimated his age to be "around" two years old. Given his behavior and his size, I believe that he is actually closer to a year old.

He has very kitten-like attributes. He's very playful, incredibly vocal, and amazingly affectionate. When he's in my lap, he falls asleep quickly. He trusts me and that makes me feel really good.

His very sweet and innately trusting personality makes me wonder what his previous owner was like. It's clear that he was socialized in a home, I think. He was healthy, with a nice coat, and a full tummy when I got him. He was also intact when I adopted him. The shelter said he was a stray, but I can't help but wonder if he belonged to someone who let him out and he got rounded up by animal control. Worse, maybe he was "set out" by a family who didn't want him any longer.

I can't fathom that last bit as he seems to be a perfect pet. Someone's loss was definitely my gain.

Current Mood: tired

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Odds and Ends and Weekend

Since I've not had much of a chance to update of late, here are some odds and ends:

Milo the Cat (TM) is doing well. His butt fur still hasn't grown in yet. It is coming in, but it's taking its time. He's not hiding any more for the part. He's learned he hates the vacuum cleaner. He spent his first weekend solo as I had gone to my hometown for the first time since I adopted him. He seems okay, no cat barf, no pooping issues, etc. He seems to have settled in well.

My sister and her family like my car. I put a bear flag plate on the front of it, which has led to one of my coworkers to refer to it as "The Bearmobile." I thought my car was unique at my office, and it was for two weeks, but lo-and-behold another Kia Soul in "latte brown" showed up last week, virtually identical to mine. I've not quite figured out who it belongs to, but I'll ask him or her where they got it. I suspect that they could have bought it from the Kia dealer where I test drove an identical car before I bought mine. That bear flag plate is going to come in handy in making sure I get into the right car.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday and today in my hometown. I saw family and celebrated Mother's Day with our mom as much as she wanted. I tried to take her out to dinner, but she wouldn't go. My sister and I bought Mom a new phone, as the caller ID on her old one was hard for her to read. The new one has big, bright screens, and announces the ID of the caller out loud. To be mean, my sister and I programmed the phone to announce our brother Joe as "Joe the Golden" when he calls. Mom has a bit of a blind eye to my twin's rudeness and forgives him anything, so we (jokingly) refer to him as "The Golden Child."

I pre-ordered "Deadpool" on Blu-Ray and it should show up on Tuesday. Since I'm expecting a rainout for softball this week, I'll be diving into that. I can't wait.

Things I need to do this week:
1. Send off my passport renewal.
2. Get the new car registered.
3. Work.
4. Workout.
5. Nap.

Have a good week everyone!

Current Mood: good

Entry tags:

housecat,
milo

Milo Update... As Requested

Milo the Cat (TM) seems to be settling in quite well.

For the last week, he's been out of the storage space for the most part. He still goes in there to relax I think when I'm gone to work or out of the house for other reasons. However, when I come home, he quickly puts in an appearance, demanding some attention from me.

It's the kind of kitty I was hoping for really.

Like

dr_tectonic had pointed out, he's gone from recluse to loverboy literally overnight. Now he cannot get enough attention. He likes being in my lap, being in the room with me, being in my face when I go to bed, etc.

The only real issue right now is his claws! He kneads me all the time and he's drawing blood in some cases. I need to trim his claws, but I'm gearing up to that to make sure he doesn't freak out. He's also starting to claw furniture and wall paper. So far, he's been good at not doing damage, but I bought some of that deterrent spray to see if I can prevent him from wrecking the couch.

As you can see, he's now the king of the house:

Milo Lounging

Current Mood: optimistic

Entry tags:

housecat,
milo

Milo the Cat Comes Out ... of the Storage Space

It's been nearly two weeks of my constantly trying to coax him out of the storage space, but last night he finally clamored out of hiding in search of food. Yesterday, I figured that one of the issues was that he didn't leave the room was that everything he needed was in there -- litter box, food, and water. So I removed the food and water to where they should be -- the kitchen. I figured if he got hungry, he'd explore more.

I was right. He started meowing in the late evening, like he was bellowing for his dinner. I talked to him (like he could understand me), explaining that this was not a restaurant but a home. I shook his bowl of food to let him know where it is, but I went to bed.

About 2 AM, I awoke to his loud yelling. I went to the bathroom, then to the edge of the stairs to find at the very bottom, just peeking around the corner. I called for him and crouched down at the end. Slowly, he carefully crawled up the steps to where I could pet him. Any sudden move on my part would send him back down the stairs, but then I managed to convince him to come back.

I went to bed, thinking we'd see how it went in the morning, but in the dark, he kept meowing. I called for him and he came into my room. I patted the edge and he jumped up on the bed with me, rubbing his face against my beard and collapsing when I scratched his ears. I was amazed, but also really sleepy. Eventually, I just decided to roll over and he went back downstairs.

I saw him again this morning with his continuing to be vocal. I could pet him if I carefully approached him. I got dressed and went to softball practice. When I got home, he'd returned to the storage space for the bulk of the day while I cleaned house and vacuumed.

This evening, he came back out again, meowing and wondering where his dinner was. I led him to the kitchen with a trail of cat treats. He was still cautious, but he'd roll around on the floor. Milo jumped up on the couch while I was watching TV. He kept kneading me with those claws, but it was nice.

Look How Cute I Am!

Milo the Cat Kneading
He's still skittish, but I definitely consider this great strides. When he stops hiding in the storage space, I'll consider him truly at home.

Current Mood: sleepy

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The Odds and Ends

This week has been tiring and busy, so I haven't been in much of a posting mood. Not that I've been in a bad mood, but I'm fairly wiped out at the end of the day.

Milo the Cat continues his self-imposed, storage-space hiatus. He's almost like a sad kid who didn't want to go to his grandparents' home for the summer. When I am asleep, he does get out. When I'm at home, he stays in the storage space. When I check on him, he just stares at me, keeping his distance. I am getting some faint glimmers of hope. He meowed at me today when I looked in on him an hour ago. Baby steps, I guess.

I did catch up on my DVR. I've been really enjoying this season of "RuPaul's Drag Race." I thought the Snatch Game episode was a bit of a bore, but the queens are a varied bunch this season. So far, my favorite two are Bob the Drag Queen and Thorgy Thor, both of whom are doing well in the competition. I strongly suspect Bob the Drag Queen will win it.

The local softball season was supposed to start with a scrimmage this past Tuesday, but the fields were too wet from a couple of rainy days. I was both disappointed and relieved, as work has me so tired I wasn't sure what my game was going to be like.

On the car front, I found a brown Kia Soul that I really, REALLY like. I test drove a 2014 last weekend, but there is one at Carmax that's a 2015 with fewer miles and less cost, so I'm having it shipped down to Cincinnati from Illinois. I'll give it another test ride when it shows up, but I think I'm wanting it.

I'm in a bit of a creative slump. I've started writing Issue #20 of my comic, but it's slow going. I guess I'm just not in the mood.

I am getting the itch to do some hard-core Spring Cleaning, including some purging of the comic books. I tried this once with little success, but I'm starting to buy into the idea of uncluttering those that I really haven't read or wanted to read for some time.

I burned through some of my earned credit card points this week. I decided to get into my "wish list" and get some DVDs. One that just came available this week is 7500, which I wrote about a while back. It never got a wide-release in the US, which is surprising as it's better than some of the other crap that has been put into theaters of late. I'm watching it as type this up. I have seen the movie as someone posted a subtitled version on YouTube.

Luckily, the weekend is looming and I'm grateful. I'm looking forward to sleeping in and enjoying the warm, sunny weather we're supposed to have.

Current Mood: tired

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Wrecking Progress With Milo

After dealing with more car stuff earlier this morning, I took a much needed nap.

It's been almost a week now and Milo the Cat (the name I'm keeping) was making a bit of progress. He looked at me through the open laundry room door and meowed at me briefly before vanishing again earlier. He has started hiding behind boxes and it worries me when I can't see him.

So before dinner, I decided to crawl into the storage area to check on him. I found LOTS of empty boxes that need to be cleared out (mental note for spring cleaning). As I got close to him, he bolted farther away. I crawled after him and he ran into the laundry room.

I cornered him next to the hot water heater and he started meowing at me. Not in an aggressive way, but like he was afraid. I put my hand out for him to smell it and he did. I managed to scratch his head and behind his ears, though he continued to have this sad meow going. I thought I was making some strides, but I quickly trashed them with what happened next.

Milo bolted around me, but I tried to catch him. Out of reflex, I grabbed for him, but only snagged his tail. I should have just let him go and I don't know why I didn't. With his tail in my hand, he FREAKED (understandably). I tried to calm him down and he wasn't having any of it. He attacked the flashlight still in my other hand and I was shocked how panicked he was. The bowls of dry cat food and water went flying all over and I finally let go.

Crap, I thought, now he'll be even more skittish around me.

So I cleaned up the mess, checked on him via flashlight again and he ran from me, and ate dinner. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.

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The House, The Car, The Cat...

It's certainly been a busy Saturday.

Last night, I went to dinner with a friend who has recently started a new career at a bank. He deals with mutual funds, retirement accounts, etc., as well as basic banking processes. I asked for his opinion on whether to pay off the mortgage or buy a new car. His response was basically to pay off the house, as I wasn't paying hardly any interest at this point, then get a home equity loan to buy the car. The interest from it would be tax deductible and likely last longer.

So this morning, I showered and dressed and headed to my bank. The Assistant VP gave me an estimated pay off amount. However, when it came to the interest rate on the proposed loan to buy the car, the rate was 3.24 to 6%, a variable rate. I thought that was too freakin' high considering. Of course, it would be toward the lower end if I opened a home equity line of credit for half the value of my home. Ugh...

I left and went to lunch, determined that I should at least test drive some cars. My Toyota Corolla is still doing well and it's been a good car, but I'm craving something different. It's nine years old and has over 164,000 miles on it.

So I drove up to Carmax in Northern Cincinnati and met a very handsome, young salesperson named Jeff. Jeff is probably in his late 20's, has wavy brown hair and beard, lean otterish build, and the most amazing deep blue eyes I've ever seen on a man. Seriously, he is a good looking feller. So Jeff talked me into letting them give me an estimate on my car and then we test drove a couple cars on the lot. I drove a Nissan Rogue (with some nice bells and whistles) and a Nissan Ultima (which was unimpressive). I looked at a Camry and was very interested in a Ford Escape (until I saw the Consumer Reports ratings -- yikes). Overall, I just wasn't ready to buy, but I have a few more that I'd like to drive, like a Kia Soul because I'm curious and it's fairly well-rated.

So, I'm back home and a bit tired. While I haven't made any big decisions, it's been a good information-gathering day. Ideally, I'd like to see about being in a new car by next week. Since my bank won't give me a decent loan rate, I'm not sure if the house will get paid off at this time, as I may buy the car outright to avoid the loan.

As for the cat, I think the name "Milo" is going to stick. At this point though, he's still hunkered down in the storage space. I moved some boxes so I could get a better look at him, but still have yet to crawl in after him. I'm trying to be patient. I think he is exploring a bit at night, though he seems to be walking gingerly (no pun intended) so I can't hear him.

Current Mood: good

Entry tags:

housecat,
milo

A New Kitty

I was searching more local pet shelters last weekend and still found nothing I felt was a match. I went to a Petsmart where there was a very sweet little female cat that I strongly considered, but yet I hesitated. She was shy and friendly, but aloof. She reminded me seriously of Maggie, so I was hesitant to adopt her for fear it was for the wrong reason (i.e. a Maggie replacement). I left, but emailed the charity during the week to inquire about her, but was told that she had been adopted by a young female college student. I was happy she found a home.

Daddy Bear and Kitty

Today, after work, I decided to stop by the animal shelter down the road from my house. I'm not sure what I was looking for. I just felt that I needed a sign of sorts to know that a particular cat was for me. And I hadn't felt that yet. The animal shelter is set-up nicely with a room just for cat adoptions, full of nice cages segmented so the litter and food are in separate "rooms" for each cat. I particularly loved this poster on the wall. It has a nice bearded daddy bear and a ginger cat, two of my favorite things.

I went into the cat area and was drawn immediately to a 2-year-old male orange tabby named "Sly." No one was looking at him. There were other people there, but they were more interested in the few kittens, or one of the female cats on the other side of the room.

When I opened his cage, he was sleeping in the corner. He sleepily looked up at me. I carefully reached in and scratched him behind the ear and he started purring. He is a handsome feller, but still wasn't sold on the idea of him yet.

New Kitty

He carefully climbed down from his perch and stretch his back while I pet his back.

He was purring up a storm. He then got up on his hind legs, put his paws on my chest, and rubbed his face across my beard.

That was the sign I was looking for.

He did it a couple more times and seems like a genuinely sweet cat. According to his file, he was a stray and the vet estimated his age to be about two years old. He's healthy, with soft fur, and very personable, so he's not been a stray long.

I put him back in the cage, noticing that his fuzzy nuts were still intact, so I assumed he was a relatively new arrival. I filled out an application and was approved. They micro-chipped him and told me that they would have him fixed on Monday and I could pick him up on Monday afternoon.

As for names, I'm debating. Usually I pick an "M" name for the kitties, but based on his dark brown/orange colors, I'm leaning towards naming him "Copper" (like a penny). Being a chemist, I think it might be a fun name. Much better than "Sly."