Robin, your house is great!

Debet, I wish I could give you my kittens. They all need homes (but prettly clearly are too far away)

Laga, all I heard about the ferry guys is that they were supposedly looking at safety/escape plans and taking pictures. And that some news organizations thought there was no real reasonable suspicion of them having done something wrong so they weren't going to show their pictures, while others were supporting the FBI's deciion to publish their pictures and ask for information.

Belated Birthday Wishes to the Birthday Twins!

ION: at work. Someone has absconded with our order of 500 condoms!!! We suspect the USPS, since their tracking says "delivered at 6:14pm" ... but our offices close at 6pm daily! IMHO, the USPS "tracking" site is a pile of bull, since it doesn't list who, if anyone, SIGNED for the bloody thing. :: breathe :: We don't need them until next week. :: breathe ::

...

...

...Clearly I am the only one who does not know what your job is.

I guess Bordello is too obvious?

Interview~ma for JZ!

DH's employer seems to have given us our Hawaii per diem a week before we leave. Nice.

Anyone know anything about Steven's Point, WI? DH might be looking at a job there. He got a really interesting email from a recruiter that would look like a 50% increase in pay PLUS a signing bonus.

Love your house, Robin! Built-in cabinetry, stained glass, just tons of pretty. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you and your DH have filled it up with your personalities.

I'm completely gronky, and increasingly doubtful about this job. The recruiter indicated that they want someone, ideally, to start around seven every morning. Which... no, I really don't see how that would be possible once Hec is working again, with the two working adults and the baby in daycare a mile west of us and the preteen in middle school 18 miles east. I'm going to go and do my best to at least get an offer, but the schedule's just different enough from everyone else's that it seems nigh unworkable.

Plus, the woman I interviewed with last week was incredibly nice but also full of mournful wist about her ex-boss, whom she loved and who retired when the little local company was bought out by the giant entity. All her spark and enthusiasm and glow came when she talked about the old guard, none from her discussion of the new folks (not that she had anything bad to say about them; they just didn't make her glow).

Bleah. I feel weirdly obligated and chickenshit about saying no to them if my gut instinct is unchanged after today's interviews. Bother!

The ~ma is good, though. Invisible Buffista hands on my shoulders, steadying me.

Break a leg, JZ!

I was just coming to see if JZ had posted a report!

I'm sorry it sounds not-so-good. Still sending ~ma, but changing it to wisdom~ma.

I wasn't going to look at information on the fire until I'd had a cup of coffee and felt more with it to deal with whatever I found out. But, my sweetie cousin had e-mailed me to see how I was doing, and she reported the latest news. So, I went looking. More injuries being reported, but no more deaths. There hasn't been a firefighter killed in the line of duty in Boston since 1994. It's really awful.

I have to drive by the fire today to run my errands. I expect a full crying breakdown when I actually see it. It's weird. I didn't think something like this would hit me so hard, but I've really become attached to this neighborhood, and these people feel like my people. I go by that firehouse all the time. It's next door to my gym, and I have to walk by it to get to my bus. There are always firefighters out in front, even in the winter time, chatting with whoever walks by. They really are part of the community. And, it's gonna take some healing for the whole community, I suspect.

Also, I REALLY hope it turns out not to be arson. There's been a rash of arson in Jamaica Plain over the last couple of years. I'd hate to hear that it's spread over here.

JZ, I hope the job thing works out. And by works out I mean big paycheck.

My DH got his first full-time paycheck from the new job yesterday and was sad to see the chunk that Uncle Sam took. He'd forgotten, I think, since he's been on contract and I've been paying quarterly taxes.

Robin the house looks great! I've been obsessing on a house here which is on the wrong street in the wrong city, but is the kind of bungalow I want. sigh We shall see what September brings.

Lots of ~ma to your neighborhood, vw.

eta: Zenkitty, I think shrift is going to DragonCon, but if you were asking for someone to share the drive to Atlanta, that won't help you much!

Debet, our experience may be helpful. We adopted Teddy as a kitten from a no-kill shelter. Then we adopted Max and Marie as older adults from a boarder where they'd been abandoned -- we think they were 7YO littermates who'd been together their entire lives.

Kittens play, and they can play rough. My arms were covered with scratches for a good 2-3 years after we adopted Teddy. Older cats are mellower, or maybe they just have less energy. Maybe it would have been different if we'd adopted a second cat to keep Teddy company, or if Max and Marie's previous humans hadn't had them declawed (the former is more likely than the latter).

Two cats can keep each other very good company. They can also plot and conspire.

A kitten's personality is more likely to change than an older cat's. Teddy was very feisty on general principles as a kitten -- now he's only feisty if he has a reason.

If you're looking to rescue cats that otherwise wouldn't have a chance, go for the older. On the other hand, vet bills for older cats can really, really mount up.

Debet, I wish I could give you my kittens. They all need homes (but prettly clearly are too far away)

ROAD TRIP!!!!