Can I come over? Say, two weeks? We'll hang and paint stuff.

What are those dates again? Over your birthday right?

Thank you all!!

And Robin, it won't be NEARLY as awesome as yours. Your house looks BEEEEYOOOTIFULLL!

Woo hoo on the new place!!

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.

This! The Cat Daniel was a very bitey scratchy kitten. I found it quite hard going, and was constantly scratched up. He's four now, and he's way more sweet-natured and mellow. He tolerates being picked up and snuggled (although not for very long) and is always coming up to be all head butty and friendly. But as a kitten, he could be hard work.

What are those dates again? Over your birthday right?

Yeppers. I'll be in Ft. Wayne from the 8th to the 16th.

squeeeeeeee

(Might be the first squee in Ft. Wayne's history.)

SO happy for you, Aims.

Oh yeah. Stevens Point has (had) a population of about 20,000 and UW-Stevens Point has about 10,000 students. Some big insurance company is there (I took my first actuarial exam there, and also got some math award there when I was in high school.)

Stevens Point is near Wausau (about 40,000 people?) and about an hour and a half from Appleton/Fox Valley. And not too far from Minneapolis.

Lots of pretty lakes (the Wisconsin River is dammed there.) Very pretty area. A lot of paper mills in the area.

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.

A brewery and a university. I know someone who went to UWSP, so if you find you need more info I can put you in touch.

My first boyfriend was from there. My memories, over 10+ years old now, were of a small, midwest town, but with water. I think there's a brewery there.

I grew up in a small, Midwestern town with water, so that sounds nice to me.

Some big insurance company is there (I took my first actuarial exam there, and also got some math award there when I was in high school.)

That would probably be where the recruiter is looking.

This is the only suggestion I've taken seriously because it's still in the Midwest (driving distance to family) and in a smallish town, which is what I like. We'll have to see. The possible salary jump is huge, and it sounds like the signing bonus + executive moving package makes it very, very tempting.

Yeppers. I'll be in Ft. Wayne from the 8th to the 16th.

Spending your birthday in Ft. Wayne! Exciting. Only you'll miss Bluffton's Street Fair the week after. Bluffton's only 20 minutes south of Ft. Wayne. cc: Abi.

Robin and Miracleborns - yay for the nice new place having.

As far as bitey, scratchy kittens go, I always recommend not playing with kitten with your bare hands. There are so many great interactive toys that can keep our thin skin separated from their sharp claws, not to mention gloves, oven mitts, and ever popular sheets and blankets. Sure it takes some of the spontaneity out of it, but like with condoms the protection is worth it. Kittens are preprogrammed to wrestle more or less constantly with their littermates and parents, who are protected from sharp little teeth and tiny claws by a nice thick layer of fur. For feral and working cats, the strength, fighting, and hunting skills developed by this are imperative. Kittens generally do not understand that their human friends are lacking in that protection.

eta: re: Stevens Point

Sentry Insurance. That's it. It was bugging me that I couldn't remember it.

Also, in high school we had math competitions there.

Oh yeah, my first two years of college were at UW-Stevens Point. Then I transferred to UW-Madison. The students at UW-Stevens Point all seemed to come from small towns or the country (as did I) so they seemed pretty conservative and provincial compared to students at UW-Madison. Wait - there was one guy from Milwaukee. Who was an asshole.

Spending your birthday in Ft. Wayne! Exciting. Only you'll miss Bluffton's Street Fair the week after. Bluffton's only 20 minutes south of Ft. Wayne. cc: Abi.

Great. I'm missing Ft. Wayne's exciting thing.

This will be the third time I spend my birthday trip with Abi, the second with the Miracleborns. Cashmere (and Deena? she's nearish too, right?) I'd love to add you to the tradition of Buffistas making my whack-ass birth date happy once again. (It started in 2002 when I spend it in Halifax with Elena, her DH, Sue, and the rest of the Haligonians).