Oh, HEc. I hope you had a damned fine martini tonight. No -- several.

Inconsistent performance?! BWAH. Isn't every fucking human inconfuckingsistent? What the fuck EVAH. I will come and smite them righteously with a spork, boobs bouncing with malicious yet sensual glee,while you stand there laughing, BY GOD, laughing with evil booming laughs and JZ dances a wicked dance of vituperative pain on their lying heads with tiny pointy painful boots.

Inconsistent, my smooth glowing white ASS.

Oh, I LOVE spite!

What IS it with this thread? We obtain boys, frolic with same, and then they act inscrutable!

Yo, I am so down with this, Tep. I am down with the wantinga smack me upside the head love, because I am normally so goddamned logical and think-it-through and slow, that, damn it, it would be nice to be gobsmacked with love for one damn time and have it be returned for at least a little while, because I would like to not just thoughtful and somewhat angrily analyze someone else's actions and motivations, but I would like to just worry because I am in LOVE, damn it, and I want him to love me, love me, LOVE ME.

And I am slightly incoherent because I took a painkiller for cramps and am a we bit more craxy than usual.

OMGNEED

I keep running across adorable things I need to buy NOW just in case they're not available any more by the time I have a kid. Like, next year.

[Like, Virgin sells a onesie with the logo "Anarchy in the Pre-K," and I REALLY REALLY NEED IT.)

(At the bar tonight, my co-worker read all of our palms. Mine said that I met The One when I was really young -- TRUE! -- and that I could have lots of kids if I wanted to, because I have a really long pinky. Also that I'm going to have lots of money right before I die, and that I need to be careful about my health when I turn 40.)

I have a cat question while David is out drinking. I'm seriously considering staying in Otter Lake this summer and I'm unsure about the whole cat move thing.

Kitty has always lived in Florida. I adopted her when her first mom moved upstate to the land of eagles and other big cat munching birds. There are 2 areas of concern with the summer in NY plan.

First the travel part. I'm not sure how she will be in a vehicle for a trip that is 24 hours driving time. She only goes in the litter box when she has no other option (hurricane or she got stuck inside way too long). I don't know if I should have her loose in the van for much of the trip and in her carrier to get her into hotel rooms, or if she should stay in a carrier. Do I maybe put a little litter box in a carrier in the van? Although she prefers the great outdoors I can't quite imagine she would pee on a walk with leash.

We make this trip often. Sometimes straight through, sometimes up to 3 days. Depends if we want to chill along the way.

When I finally get to NY do I just let her loose to check out her new home, climb some trees, eat a few chipmunks scout out the hood. Or should I try and keep her inside a couple days. She loves to be outside. She is a cuddly people friendly cat, but she still stays outside most of the time.

The dog is so much easier for this thing. She loves to travel. Loves being in the van. As a city dog she goes nuts when she is in the mountains in a house with a dog door. The first few days she goes in and out about 200 times. I never tried to take a cat on vacation.

The alternative is to let a neighbor take care of her for a couple months. We can do this, but we would all like her to go with us if possible.

I'd put her in the carrier with a small litter box in it. I wished I could have found slightly bigger carriers but any longer and they got to wide to fit in my car.

I've never had good luck with loose cats in cars. Mostly I've ended up bleeding.

When I just moved the cats it was about 22 hours of driving and they settled into the car pretty quickly each time we started out. If I do it again? I might just drive straight through because the first hour or two was the worst for them and me.

Don't know about acclimating an outside cat to a new place. But I wish her plenty of chipmunks.

And Laura? You can get kitty tranqs from the vet, in case the drive turns out to be terribly traumatic for her. You can slip her a small dose to calm her down. I don't know anything about acclimating outdoor kitties, though.

I agree that keep kitty in a carrier during the drive is wise. Cat free in car is BAD, in my experience.

I keep running across adorable things I need to buy NOW just in case they're not available any more by the time I have a kid

I hear ya, Jess. What if I can't find these things when I need them?

Laura, when we drove the cats out to Cali, they mostly stayed in the carriers even when we opened the doors so they could roam about the car. OTOH, my mom's cat yowled the entire time she was in the car on every trip to the vet for 15 years before my mom tried letting her out of the carrier. She curled up in the back window and was peacefully content every time after that. You'll be able to figure out what's best with a little experimentation.

I think you can trust the cat to decide if it's better off inside or outside once you get there, though I always try to make mine stay inside for a day in a new place. Just for my peace of mind. With a pet door, that may not be possible.

I think taking her with you is definitely possible.

Ah, driving straight through and kitty tranqs might be a plan. When we do the straight through drive we only drive for 2-3 hours at a time and switch drivers. That way we don't get too tired.

When I moved from Fort Lauderdale to Delray Beach I moved my cat. (big woop, 25 miles) She was also an outdoor cat, but much more so than this one. When I let her out she took off and I didn't see her for 4 days. I was sure she went back to her old home. (and more than a little freaked) First good hard rain she was crying at the door and hung around the yard after that. I figured she just needed to get the lay of the land.

You just earwormed me with the BoDeans.

Good Things? Hmmm... the lyrics are a teensy bit fitting, no? (Not in a bad way, though.) Unless there's a Yay Yay Yay song of theirs that I haven't heard of.

I'm going to have lots of money right before I die

Jess, is that like winning the lottery and then getting hit by a bus? Eeek! But the rest of the palm reading sounds exciting.

Laura, I've heard (and practiced a few times) that if you put a little bit of butter or margarine on the front paws of your kitty and then place her just outside the door of your new living space, the kitty will take the time to lick the paws clean *and* take in her new surroundings much more slowly. Meaning, she'll be less likely to bolt and get lost the minute she's let outside.

Hec -- I'm so sorry! But you deserve so much better and I hope you get a job where they appreciate you soon.

Yeah, I think it's possible. Easier if she were an indoor kitty, but she does love to cat around town.

This whole going away for the summer thing is complex. The one essential thing that still has to happen is high speed internet. Because while I can go up north for a couple months I sure as hell can't go without being able to work. There is no cable or DSL there and for some strange reason satellite internet doesn't seem to be offered. More research to do there. Apparently if they get enough interest they plan to pull cable in. They were pushing the idea last summer.

The kids get out of school the end of May so I have some time to work out the details. I don't want to go too early because I have unfond memories of Spring that involve black flies and mud in that area. I want picture proof from my family that summer has happened before I head that way.

eta: cool idea with the margarine Nicole, but wondering if she is going to be annoyed enough with me already at that point