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T h e A d v e n t u r e s o f C h i c a g o J o

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Kitty Be Gone, Dwelling Finding, and Holes More Damaging than Poles

2005-04-04� � 5:43 p.m.
Last week there was a cat fiasco. One of Benito�s friends (who is also now my friend since we IM regularly and spent the entire day together without that so-tell-me-about-you awkwardness) asked me a while back if I knew anyone who could keep his cat for about a month. I located a house where all three roommates agreed that Kitty�s presence wouldn�t be a big deal.

It ends up that one roommate lied about it not being a big deal, threw a hissy fit, and then demanded that the cat be made into stirfry or given elsewhere.

The vet tech friend already had eight cats, so she was out of the picture.

The friend with three cats just had a baby, so she wasn�t up for watching a new cat who isn�t friendly toward other kitties.

So when the two roommates who were indeed fine with the cat they agreed to care for for quite a few more nights than the two they kept her knocked on my door with a kitty carrier, a carton of kitty litter, and a bunch of little kitty food cans, Kitty came into my house for what I told Benito�s friend (my friend) would be VERY temporary.

For those of you who remember Ming (the cat I adopted from the animal shelter who endured nine months of Hambone attacking her before I found her a home -- *cough* my parents� home in Houston), I feared for Kitty.

Although she�s larger than Hambone, she�s declawed. After the Ming attacks, I figured there wasn�t a chance that Hambone would share his space with Kitty and that she too would be victim of his sneak-and-strikes.

However, when she finally came out of the cat carrier, there was little to worry about. Kitty growled the entire time she was at my house, letting both me and Hambone know where she was at all times.

Hambone mostly looked at me confused, asking, �What�s her problem?� Otherwise, he avoided her.

After her waking a sick and sleep-deprived me every couple hours on the first night, attacking me the next day, and being an all-around pouty-face, I called the friend and requested that he please come retrieve his princess cat before I kicked her for being a royal pain in the ass.

Come Friday night I just stayed in, ignored Kitty, watched Shark Tale (okay) and After Sunset (watch Before Sunrise first to know what�s going on and to love it in that way that you cry through half the movie as you laugh through the other half), and got to sleep soon after 1 a.m. -- what�s become �a decent hour� for me lately.

Saturday was a non-stop day. That friend wanted a second opinion on finding an apartment in the city, so I went with him place-to-place until the final stop proved perfect for his liking. Ta-da! Apartment found!

We met up with Benito (who lives a mere 8 blocks from his new place), retrieved Kitty, and parted ways. Benito and I began our now-regular weekend activities of slothing because we felt sick.

However, this wasn�t to be a regular slothing Saturday night. Oh no no no. This Saturday night we had to preserve our already-low energy levels for Sunday morning�s Shamrock Shuffle 8k.

So we lounged on the couch, popped Nyquil, and ate a couple powerbars for dinner. Reset the clocks. Set the alarm. Zzzz for as long as possible.

The next morning we got up just in time and walked to the race. The weather was a little nippy, but it was a great day for a run. I don�t know how the Shamrock Shuffle planners do it, but both of the races I�ve run have occurred on a beautiful day that suddenly appears after days and days of murkiness.

To avoid the long wait, Benito and I cut into the 9 minute mile group, and we took off pretty well.

I hung with him for a mile and a half before my shoe came untied and I needed to cough up some phlegm. I patted him on his tush, wished him luck, and then pulled over to the side.

The rest of my race was stop-and-go with the walking and running. After battling a cough for two weeks, I was surprised that I even did as well as I did.

There were two bridges where the surface changed from concrete to these metal grates. I only saw one guy wipe it on a curb, but a friend reported that five people in the fast person group (7:30 mile group) wiped it on the metal grates.

Unlike last year�s Shamrock Shuffle, the poles did no damage to my head, arm, or back this year. I kept my footing steady and watched for people and objects in the way, and there were no tumbles for me this time. Whew!

Benito finished in spectacular time (especially considering that he has had the cough for many more weeks than I have), and we met up and walked home. The rest of Sunday was a wash (much like the previous race day), and we did a whole lot of napping.

He left to check into work that evening, and I headed up north to cover on a friend�s volleyball team.

I much prefer indoor volleyball to sand, and I really enjoy playing with people who are just a little bit better than I am. Lo and behold, this was some of the better volleyball I�ve played in a long, long time. We didn�t win, but we held on pretty well. I worked up a bit of a sweat, and it added to my already-sore muscles.

So today I�ve got a sore ass from running more than I have in months and sore arms from hitting around a ball for the first time since last summer. I�m in bad shape, but at least my cough is mostly gone. �



Miss something?

Moving Day - 2008-02-15
Working from Home is Glorious - 2008-02-13
Speaking in Tongues - 2008-02-07
I Have My Reasons - 2008-01-25
Got an Itch, Fix it, Shine it Up, Sing it Out - 2008-01-23

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