I'm sorry I've been neglecting this place of late. My life has very quickly gone from nearly insane with boredome (pre-job) to nearly insane with shit to do and things on my mind. I'm not going to go on about the hurricane or the relief efforts or the finger pointing going on down south. It's a shit storm and it will pass but not before hundreds if not thousands of people will be buried. Maybe in the end a few higher ups will lose their job. A minor price to pay considering what so many others have lost.

Speaking of jobs I am still loving mine. I've had to get comfy on a mac very quickly (I've been a pc girl all my life) so that's been fun. I've also learnt that Photoshop and ImageReady are not so difficult after all. Anyway, I love going to work and especially love getting paid. When I was unemployed I quietly worried about money despite Jeff having a good job. I blame it on the fact I grew up poor and my parents were always just scraping by.

This brings me to my next ramble. I found out today that my grandmother, a woman in her mid seventies and who has lived her entire life from paycheck to paycheck is only barely keeping herself afloat. She is my only surviving grandparent and has been so for about thirteen years. My mother is her only surviving child and for as long as I can remember their relationship has been a bit strained. My grandmother needs help and this I will give her but along with the help I must deal her a harsh bit of reality regarding her spending and bingo habits. It's not going to be fun but I'll do it anyway. I know my eldest brother will help me but my mother, sister and two other brothers I'm not so sure. I'll explain the situation and ask they assist any way they can but I really have no expectation and that makes my shoulders sag. Have I mentioned the reason I found out about her financial situation is because she's been in the hospital for nearly three weeks? She's diabetic and was having problems with her circulation, her leg nearly "died", was operated on, was infected, blah blah blah. She'll be moved to rehab any day now and may not be home for another three weeks. Hence the need to check her mail and bills and for my unhappy discovery.

More fun news: my cat Bear has pissed in my living room, drawing/quilting room, on the spare bed (twice) and in the foyer (in Jeff's duffel bag) all over the course of a month. Becky, in her infinite kindness, has offered to foster her to see if her "problem" is related to living with other cats. I took Bear to the vet when the first incident occurred and there is nothing physically wrong with her. I have four litter boxes in my basement I clean regularly, I even bought a ton of this ridiculously fucking expensive cat pheromone shit called Feliway that was recommended by the vet. Nothing has worked. I refuse to play "find the piss" every fucking day so she has to go. If she pisses in Becky's house I will take her to a no-kill shelter and hope for the best.

Now for something more light hearted. Jeff and I visited his cousin and girlfriend in upstate NY this Labor Day weekend and went on a beautiful mountain hike. Six hours, nine miles and many beautiful views and pictures* later we were all completely exhuasted. It was a great time and I can't wait to do it again.

*Here are a couple.