Stolen from o_k_computer and pretzelpretzel!


January
( 2009 in pictures. )

2009 was a rough year. I spent a good chunk of it jobless and lonely, but I hope I've set some things in motion that will make 2010 fabulous – and I think I have! (I even got a raise today hurrah! And I earned some new special responsibilities at my job starting Monday!) I want to be more aggressive about going after my dreams in the new year and stop being such a big ol' wuss.

Thanks for your interwebs friendship, guys. :) Livejournal has been such a haven for me this year and I love reading about all your lives. I hope you all have a fantastic new year filled with magical times and fuzzy kittens.

Lots of love ♥,
Lily, Earl, Patricia, Frenchie L., Alva & Willadeene.

Perfect Saturday laying around with The Hunger Games (thank you for the rec, elnoradawn !).

I almost forgot the month of December! I've been busy bein' a sadsack. I've been pretty stressed out about money, which I realize isn't an excuse for coming home and being a mopey jerk and it certainly isn't going to make me any less poor. You know that Guy Lombardo song Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)? That part that says "You don't have time for silly things like moonlight and romance. You only think of dollar bills tied neatly in a stack," I'm totally that guy. Oh man, I really love that song though. My favorite part is when he says to lay down that gun, my friend, you'd have more fun by reachin' for a redhead or a blond. Anyway, I'm done with that mess!

This was a four day weekend for me and I've gotten a lot of cleaning & organizing done! That always makes me feel nice. :)

( a few pictures from the past month + #1 crushes. )

( cats & tofurky )

This week on my tv:

Misfits! If you're not already watching this, you should be (misfitse4!). It's fantastic and you will love it.


My new favorite movie (thank you, cookiecarnival!). I watched it twice in two days.



I'm also completely hooked on The Wire, but I'm afraid if I look at anything about it on the internet it's going to spoil everything for me. I love Kima and Bubbles and Omar and all the Oz alumni, and I get a little thrill whenever the crew is in a neighborhood or street that I recognize. The kid who played Kenny Wangler on Oz is still essentially Kenny Wangler on the The Wire and I love that. Kenny didn't have a whole lot of redeeming qualities, I could never believe how much I missed him after he was killed (season four really tore apart the gang, man). I feel like there's no way Bubbles and Omar can last for the entire series, and that bums me out. Kima sticks around though, right?


What podcasts should I be listening to?

This picture is misleading, she is totally not terrified of me.

This is more fuuuuuuu- than hooraykitten, 'cause man, I don't need no more cats. But I wasn't gonna leave this sweet face out to get run over or starve either (car dealership on a 50mph road = lots of roadkillkitties around). These post-bath pictures don't do her justice, she's a beauty queen in person – mix of tabby and tortoiseshell.

She showed up last night at the dealership I work at last night after I went home and spent a few hours patrolling the new car showroom and howling her head off. She was there again today and spent the morning mewing and tapping at my window and trying to be friends with everybody that walked by. I took her to my car on my lunch and she ate so voraciously, like she hadn't had anything in a week. All shaking and purring. She's a little bone, with burrs all stuck in her belly fur. I left her in my car with a window rolled down and a blanket covering her. She cozied up and slept all day long under the blanket, poor darlin'.

She slept curled up in a ball half the car ride home and spent the other half sitting in my lap purring loudly. She was wearing a pink collar (no tags), so I'm putting up a Found Cat ad and she'll see the vet this weekend, get spayed if she isn't already.

One of my favorite salesmen (he's a huge animal-lover and a ballroom dancer!) was falling in love with her this afternoon, so with his wife's permission he might adopt her. I'm crossing my fingers!

I HAS A JOB!
I HAS A JOB!

Now I am off to buy some fancy pants, because I have none and I start TOMORROW.
I AM SO EXCITED (and a wee bit nervous about my first day!). I may have made a loud happy squealing noise as soon as I got into my car.

P.S. What do you vegans eat for lunch at work? This is where I always fall off the wagon, because it's so much easier to just eat pizzas. There is a little fridge and a microwave at my new job. I need suggestions!

Unemployment
11/21/2008 - 10/13/2009

Alva has been a sick baby. :( He's been put on a new regimen of antibiotics for the next three weeks and then he has an eye check-up after that. He has a crazy eye now (notice the mismatched pupils in the photo above). He's doing a lot better since starting the antibiotics, but Tuesday was pretty scary for us. His left pupil disappeared for awhile – his eye was solid green with a hairline pupil that didn't react to light. It looks like this now and perfectly fits the description there. The vet said it was unusual, but sometimes the infection gets into the nerve in the back of the eye and causes this syndrome. Hopefully it's not something more serious. We'll know more after he finishes this treatment. Think happy, non-tumor thoughts for him please!

( More kitty-cat stuff. )

Thrift finds last week: eagle, frame, owl clock.




I've been pretty bummed out lately. I keep hoping I'll be able to update with "I has a job!" but it's just not happening. I've been so close to landing a few different positions, but it seems that there's always someone a smidge more qualified. Most employers I talk to are receiving upwards of seventy-five to a hundred resumes for a single posting. While I feel that most people genuinely like me and I do have a lot of desirable qualities and a reasonable amount of experience for someone my age – it's incredibly competitive out there! With so many fancy, slightly older/more experienced people out of work as well, it's hard to rely on being sweet and well-spoken like I did pre-recession. These are rough times, man.

Nothing I can do but continue looking and bringing my A-game to interviews, I guess. I still can't believe it's been this long, though. Shoot. I've been to so many interviews now that I feel all confident talking myself up to strangers – I used to get sooo nervous! At least each interview is a chance to improve my spiel. Think positive thoughts! I still haven't made any friends here either though! :'( Need work. Need friends. Well, Survivor and The Office wedding are tonight! TV is my buddy. :)

In my home. September 2009.
Twenty-one years old.
I've always liked the idea of hanging an unconventional family portrait. I had planned to do one with my old roommate (the jerky one), but clearly that never happened. I'd want my cats in it too, of course. :) And unless I sedated the girls and then through some miracle managed to get the boys to sit still, there is no way that is going to happen. I was thinking of taking four separate shots of me + one cat, and I'd wear a different dress in each... or I could do an individual photo of each cat, but I feel like it's going to be more difficult to get them to stay in place without me sitting with them. I don't know, these are just some ideas I've been rolling around in my head.

( favorite first lady, alva, on my tv. )