One for the Road

Music does the most amazing things to you. I love it. It literally is able to express my feelings perfectly, whether through others' words, tunes, and rhythms, or my own compositions. You can always be in the mood for music. Music is constantly available, whether on the internet, on the radio, on a computer, on some other means. There is now a website which actually comes up with playlists that you select according to the Day, Time of Day, Activity, and then what genre you like. So, music is definitely for everyone.

Have you ever experienced that feeling when, after listening on the radio in your car to some bad songs, some okay songs, and a lot of commercials, THE song comes on? You know what I mean. How do normal people react? I have absolutely no clue. But when I'm driving, I go all out. I start using my drums. I punch the top of my car. I am absolutely free, yelling as loud as I can sing, and I don't care who sees me. (I live in the country, so usually, nobody). If P!nk tells me to raise my glass, I Raise. That. Glass! If Dean Martin tells me to sway, then guess what? I sway.

*So, I wasn't paid for any reference here. Just to be clear, the song Sway was sung by Dean Martin, and Raise Your Glass was sung by P!nk. And I'm referring to Songza as the website in the first paragraph.

Motion? It's Alive!

Who understands them? Cats, I mean. I think Rudyard Kipling was the one to get closest to it. "The cat that walks by itself". You should read it. I mean, I'm laying in my bed, and my cat lays down on top of me. That doesn't bother me. Then she sees skin. It could be my nose, my foot, my elbow. It could be my pinky toe. Whatever. She attacks it. Not with claws or teeth, but with her tongue. I mean, why? Why does she have this NEED to lick me before I even wake up? And if I leave my hand out of the blankets, she forces me to pet her. She literally shoves her head under my palm, and moves underneath it repeatedly.

I need all your attention. But only when I say. Sometimes I don't want any.

So, I finally get up, and she follows me like a dog out to the couch. Today's one of those I don't have to do anything days, except I'll have to clean the bedroom. But I'll do that at noon; so I have the morning free. Checking my internet sites-- Facebook, some blogs, email-- the cat rubs up on everything. My keyboard, my screen, the remote. So I pick her up and scratch her head violently. Then I let her go. So as I'm writing this, she settles down next to me on the arm of the couch, and just sits, purring.

We love this big window!

Looking out a window! I live to do this!

Also, their fascination with windows. Both my cats just sit in the window all day, doing nothing, just sleeping. It's November. It's not like the windows are insulated or anything,  and we don't get enough sun. Maybe it's that. They are definitely inside cats. The older one has always lived inside, from a kitten. The little one, my cat, was born outside. We had to chase her around just to get her. But she's an idiot, can't remember anything. For example, she goes to the water bowl to get a drink of water. As she's drinking, she notices the water moving. Bumping the tray gets the same movement. OMG!! So off goes the water tray. We've tried everything to keep it from spilling. We moved it from the floor, where it would slide around, put it under a cabinet to keep it from moving... nothing works. So she knocks it over, and I don't fill it until later, so that they know what happens when you knock the tray down... spilled water and nothing to drink.

Moving thing! Must. Attack. Predator!!!

And toys? These two cats are extreme opposites. Boyfriend got cat one almost a year before we started dating, and he would buy a lot of toys and treats for her. But most of these are in okay condition. When I moved in, I demanded a cat of my own. Cat one pretty much hates me for taking her place. So, enter cat two, the sweetest, most annoying cat in history! She can turn anything into a toy, including pens, straws, and random pieces of plastic. Just carrying them around is exhilarating. I found a bouncy string toy, not meant for cats, and hung it. Now, she jumps at that, and moves it herself. She pushes, the toy moves, it is obviously alive, and must be killed. Cat one doesn't do this. The only moving thing that gets her interested is the infamous red dot. Why must my cat be the crazy, overweight one? Why???

It's All a Blur

Getting ready for the day. To some people, this actually means something pretty stable: get up at an ungodly hour in the morning, prepare the coffee, get a shower, eat breakfast with coffee while reading the news or checking the email, or both. Then, get dressed, and head off to work. Actually, this is routine for most people, with some minor changes, but the blueprint is pretty much the same.

This is how I imagine it.

Not for me. For me the day begins with pondering on what day it is; also what time I've been able to sleep to. The next order of business is to remember whether or not I have to actually leave the house, and if so, what time. If not, my "getting ready for the day" is over. I can sit in pajamas, eat when I want, and don't have to do anything else. If I choose to eat, then I cook or rummage. I don't have to take time from my busy TV schedule to shower, dress, even brush my hair! This is convenient.

Don't leave me. I want to intermittently cuddle with/ run away from you!

On the other hand, when I actually must leave the house, I know exactly what I have to do to get ready. I usually have to shower... if I procrastinate enough, I just sprinkle some baby powder and use a comb. And put on a lot of body spray. But I do make an effort not to procrastinate. I decide whether to apply makeup, and how much to use. Sometimes I decide to curl and straighten my hair. Usually at least my bangs, so that they don't contort into weird positions. Then, I try to find something clean to put on. If I have a big day coming up, I will do laundry, but otherwise, my clothes stay pretty clean, and I have quite a few pairs of pajamas. Then, I frantically look for my keys, wallet, phone, or D) All of the above. Finally, I leave, a few minutes after I had planned, but I did plan to leave a little early, so, right on time :).

Dishes? Nah.

Everyone says that the time right after you graduate is one of the hardest of your life. But this is a total over-exaggeration, intended to scare students to "keep on going", possibly just a marketing ploy for colleges, computers, and ramen noodles. After all, the only ones who actually benefit from a long college career are the schools attended, the need for ever greater technology, and the need for cheap, easy-to-cook food. So, the huge conspiracy to drive students into ever greater debt, just for the elusive reward of a great job, and to avoid the dreaded "just graduated but don't have a job yet" phase. Or at least, hold that phase off for a little bit.

I get to annoy my cats in the name of Art!

Well, due to lack of funds and an unwillingness to drive myself into a huge amount of debt, I graduated with (shock) an A.A. degree. And no, I'm not an alcoholic (yet). For the academic world, it means Associate of Arts. For the real world, it means I should just apply to McDonald's and get over with it. But, I am determined to do better... probably from a misplaced sense of self-worth, or some of the delusions that I fool around with. Wow, I need a job... Anywho, let's pretend that didn't just happen. Moving forward.

And I can really understand this cartoon.

So today I have a job interview. Surprisingly enough, I've made it to the second interview. This has never happened to me before! So obviously, I'm trying hard to make a good impression. I've figured out what I'm wearing, I washed my hair, I've done all the things a responsible adult does daily. And I thought, wow, why don't I do this everyday? And then I thought, why do others do this every day? And then, well, maybe most of the recently-graduated, Associate-degreed, jobless young people actually do go through a pattern of favoring watching the latest TNT marathon of Bones over taking a shower or doing the dishes.

Also, time to extensively search the internet for stuff like this!

Well, this is way off topic. I wasn't going to write such a philosophical essay at first. Looks like you'll get another topic later! And don't forget, "If you think all detectives are the same, let Patrick Jane change your mind" (TNT commercial).