I don't know if I imparted this bit of news last week but as it turns out, Jeff and I will be having his family over for Thanksgiving this year. Got the menu planned and picked up all the groceries today. Nothing fancy mind you, it is Turkey Day after all and for the most part we know what to expect. I'll try to add a side dish or two that is not of the green bean casserole variety and see how things go. I'm sure it will be fun. But as soon as possible I will begin planting seeds for the impossible. I want to get my entire family together next year for this holiday. I said in an earlier post I could not remember the last time we were all together and even after some thought and reflection that stands true. Very sad indeed.

So nothing really going on at the moment. I have TiVo taking care of the Pat's game. I'll watch it in about an hour. Jeff is downstairs playing a new PS2 game and so I find myself up in the office blogging. With nothing really to blog about and for that I apologize. I suppose I could tell a story. And by story I mean a non fictional event that has happened to me. My friend Andy tells me I am good at it so here goes.

My husband and I used to live in a two family home in Newton, MA. His Dad owns/occupies the top floor of the place and we were living downstairs. It was bloody sweet at first. The low rent enabled us to save for things like our wedding and honeymoon, then later for a house. This was post honeymoon, pre house (a'course). Anyway, the home situation is another story entirely so I'll move on. Late Spring 2001 I decided I wanted a cat. I have always been a cat person and I was jonzing for a furry pet. The herd of lizards just wasn't doing it for me. Neither was Jeff's dog, especially after he made it known he hated me by climbing up onto our bed one night and releasing the entire contents of his bladder upon it. This puzzled me to the extreme since up to that point, I thought he was a great dog and was nothing but kind to him. He should thank his lucky stars too, because if it weren't for me, Jeff probably would have killed him with his bare hands that night. Again, that's another story. Anyway, I wanted a cat so Jeff went upstairs and left an offering to the gods in the form of vodka and diet sprite. The next day my wish was granted. I could indeed bring a cat into the house.
After purchasing an absolutely ridiculous amount of cat stuff from the local pet store that included (but was not limited to): food, toys, food bowls, toys, fleece lined window ledge, toys, automatic litter box, toys, cat treats, toys, (I think you get the picture) ~ Jeff and I took a highly anticipated trip to the animal shelter to adopt a kitty. I wasn't there for five minutes before I found a beautiful short haired, gray kitten with a black nose and sweet little face.

"Him, I'll take him!"
Great! Just fill out these adoption forms.
"Oh, right. Forms."

I took the paperwork and sat down. This thing read like a job application and silly, silly me was honest with my answers.
Do you have any other pets?
- yes -
Are they up to date with their rabies shots?
- uh, I have no idea -

NO KITTY FOR YOU!

So, they wouldn't let me take home the gorgeous gray. Wouldn't wait till I got the dog checked either. I was absolutely heartbroken on the way home. Heartbroken and feeling stupid for being honest on the form. What did they know? But then, I had no idea it would mean I'd not bring home a cat. So, I made an appointment for the dog to have his shots, took him to said appointment, listened as the vet told me I should really be brushing his teeth (are you fucking kidding me??), paid about $100 for said visit, then tried again at the shelter.

This time there were to be two litters of kittens up for adoption. I peeked in one cage. A bunch of long haired angora types. I wanted a short hair. I peeked into the second cage and met with a yowling kitten climbing the door. Nope, don't want that one! There were four others in the cage and all but one were climbing about and wailing. There she sat in the back with her tiny legs curled under her looking as serene as can be. She was looking right at me, as if to say "what took you?" I know this sounds incredibly lame but it's as if she adopted me. And to this day that's how I feel it happened. With an almost unbearable amount of anxiety I asked if she was up for adoption - she was - I got the forms - I filled them out in a frenzy and got to bring her home with me. Needless to say I was giddy.

And now for the bit that makes it a story. About two days later I get a call from the shelter. Turns out that kitten was not supposed to be up for adoption. That kitten, her littermates and mother were foster by a couple who wanted to keep my kitten but had sent her back to the shelter for reasons I cannot fathom. The fellow on the phone was so kind and patient as he tried to explain the situation to me. The couple was VERY upset. The couple WANTED the kitten. Would I be willing to bring her back and choose another? Now at this very moment the furball in question was sleeping on my lap. All I could think of was all the hoops I jumped through to get her in the first place and how after two days she'd become a part of my home and life.

I'm sorry, I don't want to give her up.

He said something about understanding, apologized and hung up. Unfortunately, this left me feeling no small amount of guilt and anxiety. I don't like being the bad guy. I really don't. It gets better. Not two days later I get another call from the guy and I can tell from his voice, he's wishing he didn't have to call me. His tone is beyond apologetic as he explains the situation ~ turns out the couple who fostered the kitten were now threatening to sue because the shelter let somebody else adopt her. These people were willing to bring a lawsuit....against an animal shelter! Soulless mutherfuckers.

"I'm sorry. I still don't want to give her up. And after hearing this I am even less inclined to do so. Anyone who would stoop to such a low deserves to be disappointed."

Unfortunately, the more adamant I was in keeper her, the more he tried to convince me to bring her back to the shelter. He'd refund my adoption fee. He'd let me adopt as many cats as I wanted for free and so on. By this point I was again feeling more than a little bad about the situation. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing but contempt for the jackasses causing the fuss. I was feeling bad for the guy who had now called me twice trying to get me to give her up. He was most likely getting a rash of grief at work and I truly felt sorry for him. I must have been on the phone with the fellow for nearly a half hour before he gave up. I was at work at the time and had explained the entire thing to my coworkers who came up with a great plan if a suit was filed against the animal shelter. That plan was to call every television station in town and clue them into what was going on. An anti-human interest story if ever there was one. Luckily we never had to resort to such tactics, as far as I can tell the lawsuit never materialized and the shelter is still in business. People are such massive shits sometimes it's unbelievable.

Best thing though, my cat has got to be the coolest cat on the planet. She loves people, she comes when I call, she uses her scratching post, she doesn't eat my plants, she catches mice, she's playful, a bit of a talker and of course, she loves me!

Look at this face! This was taken the day I brought her home.