the grass is always greener…

’nuff said

I’ve been in a pissy mood for the last week, since dropping my kitty into oblivion 11 days ago. still no word or sighting, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to bitch and moan for a bit…

I ‘borrowed’ this idea from meno, who got it from gina. I sincerely hope neither of them mind…
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dear citgo station at the corner of church street and 150,

fill up you damn receipt printer!! what’s the point of paying at the pump if I still have to come into your ratty-ass store and get my receipt? you’ll only fool me once, as the other lazy neighborhood purveyors of fuel have no doubt learned. I don’t need a car wash, I don’t want your stupid little bobble-head pens, I just want a receipt that says I did indeed pay $200 for 3 gallons of gas…well, maybe $25 for 6 gallons.
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dear children of my flesh,

I love y’all dearly, with all my heart, but I fail to understand the difficulty in refilling the ice trays that I have so lovingly filled so that you will have the ice you need at your command. lucky for me I hide ice in bags in the bottom of the chest freezer. one of these days you’ll realize that I still have ice when you don’t. Just fill the trays!
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dear asswipe in the lexus at the top of the 87 ramp on freeway drive,

I don’t know how you were raised ~nor do I give a rat’s ass~ but around here, a yield sign means that I have the right of way and you need to wait until I’ve passed before you pull out. it does NOT mean that you run me off the road and blow you stupid little horn at me when I fail to submit to your superior will. clue: if that inverted triangle thing is on your side of the road, it’s yours not mine.
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dear old man in the ford pick-up on oregon hill rd & the old man in the chevy silverado on old 29 old men in pick-ups in general,

I have not yet guessed the reason that you feel the need to pull out in front of me, then drive 35 miles an hour in a 55 zone. the fact that there was not one car behind me as far as the eye could see, confuses me even more. I hope you get a flat tire and all the people behind you just pass you and laugh. no, I don’t, not really. but I am angry. can you tell?

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dear mail lady,

I’m sorry. the day you pulled out in front of me on the rainy road, when you forced me to almost ditch my car to avoid hitting you…you didn’t even notice me. I was so upset I called your supervisor. as soon as I hung up, I felt bad. and then, AND THEN, you offered to keep your eyes out for my chewey, then even called to check in with me a few days ago. I misjudged you, and for that, I am very, very sorry. thank you for you kindness, even when I didn’t deserve it.
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dear husband,

thank you. I love you. I know that you are really struggling to keep your head above water right now. between your crappy job, finances, and your stupid wife losing your cat, every day is a battle. and yet you still find the kindness to just hold me and rock me when I’ve been upset about your cat, and to brush my hair to help me calm down and sleep. I love you and I don’t know what I’d do without you.
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I’m sorry that y’all had to see me like this, but I just had to get it off my chest. thanks for listenin’

chewey is missing. my big, lovable, snuggly handsome boy is lost. my heart is breaking.

chewey joined our family on father’s day weekend 12 years ago. our 3 other cats were grown, no longer playful, and we wanted a baby. he fit the bill, he was so sweet, came right to me when I followed my heart to the house with the ‘free kittens’ sign. I knew right away that he needed a daddy as much as rich needed a kitty. I took him home and he was promptly nicknamed chewey, short for chulalongkorn after the prince in ‘the king & I’ ~although most people think he’s named after the wookie on star wars.

over the last few years, he’s been venturing outside, just around the house, and mostly in the garage. he spends hours in the garage daily. and that’s how this whole mess came about.

on friday afternoon I was headed to school to pick up the babies, when just a mile from the house, I heard a soft thud. I looked in the mirror, and chewey was sitting in the road! apparently, he was on the roof of my jeep when I pulled out of the garage, and he hung on as long as he could. how could I not have seen him? I’ve asked myself this hundreds of times over the past 4 days.

I immediately pulled over and turned around, but when I got back to the spot where I had seen him, he was gone. I called and cried and pleaded for him to come to me, but I couldn’t find him.

we searched, from that point, all the way back home…over and over on friday, then again on saturday. finally, I went door to door on sunday, down the dirt road that crosses the track, which is where I lost him. 2 of the people I talked to had seen him friday afternoon; in fact one man described him as not having missed many meals. yep, that’s my handsome boy.

we’ve gone back down that road a couple of times since then, and driven and walked the area loads more. I’m comforted by the fact that we haven’t seen him in or beside the road. the animal shelter hasn’t seen him, either, so that’s hopeful.

and people keep telling me that cats can find their homes, but how long does it take a cat to walk a mile? he’s never had to find his own food, it’s always been handed to him. he doesn’t have claws. he’s a teddy bear. and we’ve had a couple of good storms. what if he’s scared somewhere?

ugh, I just want my handsome boy to come home.

I am so sick of EOG’s and they haven’t even been administered yet!

when I was in school ~back in dinosaur days~ we had to take the california achievement test at the end of the year. I don’t remember alot of build up to it, just bring a #2 pencil on test day. I also don’t remember if it determined whether or not we moved on to the next grade; it may have.

these days, down here in the carolinas ~heck, maybe everywhere~ the kids take the EOG’s. and with all this ‘no child left behind’ crap that dubya came up with, our school is having trouble getting everyone to meet the required test score. that has more to do with the pool of children they draw from than with teacher ability. we have many, many kids who don’t get reinforcement at home, no homework help, no participation at school functions. we also have kids who just don’t care. when they don’t care, they’re not going to learn, which makes the teacher’s job difficult.

this all results in a heavy handed approach to these damn EOG’s. every quarter they take practice tests, and now, with the test 2 weeks out, tony’s bringing home sample test booklets for homework, with instructions to complete the first 40 pages. 60 FRIGGIN’ PAGES FOR HOMEWORK?!!

we’ve had 3 appointments so far with a pediatric gastroenterologist to get to the root of tony’s stomach aches. at this point, the dr. thinks it’s a combination of bowel issues and heartburn ~rich has had heartburn since he was in elementary school~ and tells me that stress makes it worse. duh! but how to keep him unstressed when the school feeds stress from 8 until 2:30?

I’ve always told him to just do his best and not worry about it. I’m confident that he’ll pass, but I also know that a stupid EOG grade does not define who he is. so, I down play the importance of it, hoping he’ll relax a little.

man, I am SO looking forward to summer vacation. the kids are already asking what activities I’ve got planned. I’d better get busy!

several times a day, I’ll hear an 80 decibel hiss and growl, promptly followed by 3 to 5 kitties running hell bent through the downstairs rooms in an attempt to break the sound barrier.

casa de hockett has a big circle, which has been beloved by many children and cats.  the living room opens into the foyer, which also opens into the kitchen, which is right next to the dining room, which opens into my workroom from one side, as well as into the living room, creating the fun track.

common sense tells a person that the huge hiss and growl has prompted kitties to flee from the assailant,  but I’m not so sure.  when these kitties run, they are hauling fur; couple that with the fact that the issue usually starts in the kitchen, so they run the circuit of dining room, living room, entry way, kitchen, before they flop down on the floor or dining benches…basically back where they started.

do you see what I’m getting at?  I’m thinking the hiss is the ‘on the mark’ and the growl is the starting shot.  what I find really humorous about it is that in a matter of 30 or 45 seconds, they go from being deafeningly loud to church mouse quiet.  hmm…

you suck
cheerios
sand
acorns (?)
pebbles
grit
thank you

clean, not like new
but better than this morning
still worn
but no longer trashed
kids have obviously been here

you suck
thank you