Of bits and pieces, a bored Thorne...

I managed to catch the buses /exactly/ right to get home in thirty minutes or so after Writing class. I really think I will enjoy the class with this teacher - he actually tells us what he wants, what he expects and how he expects us to do it, rather than letting us blunder through and make stupid mistakes we might otherwise have made.
Much better. ^^

We have this Monday off, so I still get my long weekend /this/ week, but that's about the only holiday we have for this term. Eh. It's going to be a long term. :/
I say that because most of the classes I'm taking this time are in the mornings. Math at 9AM, Swim-Conditioning at ten, Drawing at 9AM - on a Saturday - and most everything else either after noon (Writing) or in the evening (Basic Design). I don't much like getting up early, either. But I've been up around six every day this past week - because it takes me about an hour to actually wake up, and I need at least twenty minutes for everything else; then I have to leave about an hour's leeway for the bus.
The advantage to doing class in the morning - that leaves me the rest of the day to get shit done. Or read, which is what I've been doing a lot of lately - I went through the Artifacts of Power Trilogy and Diammara by Maggie Furey in about four days - one per book before wandering into Powells and coming out with a copy of The Shining Ones by David Eddings - which I went through in one day. Which brings me to this - which I scored from Sabledrake this time around. She claims 'everyone' is doing it. Well, I'm not everyone, but I happen to have a good book to hand, so... ^.~
1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.1. Grab the nearest book.

"Sarabian sighed. "Sometimes I wish I'd never even heard of Elenes," he mourned." The Shining Ones, David Eddings

(yes, I realise that was technically two sentances. ;p )


My latest Penzey order came in - we're /most/ pleased. I trotted the spare catalogue out and gave it to the building manager (I don't know why they have to send you a new catalogue with every order - seems to me a waste of paper, but then, I don't always have someone I can give the damn thing to..) and she was /very/ pleased. She cooks, and she said something about being interested - so. I trotted it over and she all but drooled on it on the spot. ^^
I /do/ love working with people who share my interests. ^__^
I got a fair amount of stuff in this order - some spare jars (with labels! Hee), kosher salt (cheap. And better than table salt), and some tiny jars of cake spice and baking spice - I couldn't remember which I liked better, so I got a bit of both to try. One of them is probably going to be good on oatmeal as well as in whatever I decide to put it in (pumpkin cake, apple pie... what have you). Most of the rest was just restocking things I was out of or getting low on. Stuff like Bouquet Garni, dried onion, Cream of Tarter and stuff like that. Also got some more of the /excellent/ hot cocoa mix - with mint! yumyumyum... ^^

Generally, I believe the day to have been a success so far. Which still leaves the rest of it, I realise. ^^;

Of meandering and contimplating loss...

Before I freak anybody out - when I say 'comtimplating loss', I am referring to my parents, who just lost two of their three Afghan Hounds to the road today. The third disappeared for a while, but has since turned up safe.

So when does a dog, cat, or other pet become 'family'? I know people - I am one - who grieve for their lost pets when time, natural threats or the road take their toll; as if that pet were human. People who refer to their pets as 'fur-children', for example.
When does that happen? Every time I bring home a kitten, I miss the transition of 'stray kitten' to 'member of the family'. Does it begin with the name? The first meal? The first purr? Where does that begin?
I don't know. I do know that losing a pet - and I have said goodbye to many in my short lifetime - is a heart-breaking experience. I am sure everyone who has had the benefit of a cat or dog sharing their home has experienced that loss at least once, and every one of them has probably said 'never again. I will never put myself through that pain again'. I am equally certain that they have been wrong.
Yes, it is painful. But is it not, at the same time, worth it? As an example; I brought home a kitten from a gaming session one time. I wouldn't have done it, except that he had elimination issues and the person keeping him at the time was talking about abandoning him someplace. There was a lot of eye-rolling and groaning from my parents, but knowing the alternative, we kept him. He went from a fuzzy little kitten to a sleek eighteen-pound Dire Housecat, with plenty of hilarious kitten antics inbetween. I never regretted bringing him home and neither of my parents regret keeping him.
There are other benefits besides laughter and good memories - it's said that a house with a cat is a happier place (which is probably true in more ways than one if said cat eats mice and you live in an area that has a lot of mice around) than a house without - and I s'pose it doesn't necessarily /have/ to be a cat. I'm just not that keen on dogs, although I've known some really nice ones. People exposed to animals (assuming said people aren't allergic) heal faster and better (there /is/ a reason that they have animal therapy for the injured and sick) - and supposedly suffer less stress. I am going from memory - I can't be bothered right at the moment to look up proof, sorry - but I know it's out there.

So, do the benefits of sharing your life with a pet outweigh the eventual heartache of losing them? I say yes, it /is/ worth it.

Winter Term is going about like that - Math class looks to be mostly reminding me of what I've lost since the GED and, I hope, will not be too distracting. Writing - I think Writing will be good this term - I like the guy teaching and I like the way he thinks. So far, anyway. ^^
Swim Conditioning is, indeed all the things I hated most about swim-team. *grins* Good. I can bloody well /use/ it. Class only lasts only an hour, but I got out of the pool after that first sesson with slightly shaky legs. Good sign.
I'm glad I pointed out to the instructor that I'm decidedly near sighted - he had some ideas to make it easier for me to accurately follow whatever plan he's written up on the board. ^^;
Basic design ... Sigh. This is going to be interesting. The main teacher is on some kind of residency in BFE Oregon and has a sub for several days out of the term. Are we going to give him a hard time when he gets back? Oh, hell yes! However, from the look the subs will be interesting so at least we'll have that to look forward to.
Which only leaves Drawing - I'm taking 231 this term - and we'll see what Lance has in store for us /this/ time. ^^

Of a nice dinner out and some oddments...

*belch* Mm. It was a very nice dinner, even several hours after the fact. ^^
We went down to the other side of the River and had dinner at The Rheinlander, a nice German-style restaurant. Since yesterday was Andi's birthday (I made him Chicken Cordon Bleu on the day - /that/ was an excellent meal, too!) he was serenaded and given free apple strudel. ^^ (I had a slice of nummy cheesecake - almost as good as mine! ^.~)
Actually, they do a /lot/ of music down there - there are accordian players wandering throughout the place and most of the staff can sing. And they don't mind if you help. My kind of place. ^.~
I like it there. And, the food is /excellent/. I had rabbit wrapped around veal with greenbeans and spatzle (I think - Andi might be able to correct me) and he had a massive hunk of lamb with smashed toes. Um. Mashed potatoes, even. ^^;
Yum...

Maybe tonight I'll be able to sleep properly - the past few my sleep-schedule has been all over the shop - and damn it, I /need/ to be able to sleep!
However, in the meantime, something I snaffled from the Onna, after seeing it in two or three other places.. ^^

INFP - "Questor". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4% of total population.

Free Jung Word Choice Test (similar to MBTI)
personality tests by similarminds.com

... Yup. That sounds just about right....