I was about to come here and complain how I don't wanna pack my stuff because I don't feel like it, or doing anything at all, really.

Fred, I'm so, so, so, so deeply sorry for you and your cat. I'm sorry you're at work, and I'm sorry you can't be next to him now. And damn, I'm actually with tears now. {{}} One day, when I'll have the fortune to meet you, I wanna hear all about your cats, OK?

Leeds University department FAIL. Tomorrow is the official end-date of my course. I have a two-month extension on my dissertation, so they were supposed to re-enrol me. It looks as though they did not, although they claim they did, because the library is demanding all my books back Right Now. Handy, when I'm four hours away. No one seems to know what's going on, and I'm trying to deal with it over e-mail because I am way too anxious for phones today. Oh and the library also gave me a £37 fine during the time I was too ill to ring and renew my books, when I had swine flu. They say I can bring in a sick note and they'll consider reducing the fine. I say, I'm four hours away! I get no reply. Bloody idiots.

Hey - are you sure you haven't switched between Leeds University and HUJI? Because that sounds so similar to HUJI. And tomorrow start phase 2 of schedule planning (there are 4 stages. Don't ask. Each has its own stupidity to handle. Wish me tranquilizers, full info about everything, sanity and above all, luck).

The Matilda Essay was wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with us, David.

Seska, I'm glad the library got a clue.

Too soon to tell how well new roomie L and I will get along, but she seems to be clear so far on issues I've had in the past.

OMG, this day is half over already and I have solid meetings this afternoon. How did that happen? Do not like.

OMG, this day is half over already and I have solid meetings this afternoon. How did that happen?

Are you doing the time warp again, smonster? No more jumps to the left!

What Calli said. Group sex! Group sex!

Oh, Fred. Poor Rigatoni. Poor you. {{{{}}}}} as many as you need.

Seska, I'm glad the library issue got straightened out.

Shir, good luck on the schedule planning, and finding the motivation for packing.

smonster, its too bad you can't have cabana boys and girls bringing you coffee and tea during the meetings.

I am going to hurt someone. I put in some requests from a department *last week* for stuff they wanted up at the end of this month and during next month. They have no recollection of any of these requests apparently and sent us a calendar that reflects none of the requests they put in-nope, now it's entirely new stuff.

Shir, I'm not sure whether you were here two years ago when we adopted Rigatoni. (By the way, according to the vet's morning update, his potassium is better, but big fluid problems remain. His regular vet called later and gave me a pep talk with the theme, "He isn't dead yet.") There's background.

We adopted Teddy when he as a kitten in early 1994. Hubs's mother was living with us at the time, and she'd just had surgery for breast cancer. Her doctor recommended a pet to keep her company because she couldn't go out on her own anymore. She picked out and named Teddy by combining Hubs's name and mine.

By 2007, Hubs's mother was gone (the breast cancer finally got her in 2000), but Teddy was still around. Then his kidneys failed. We went to Philadelphia to get him a kidney transplant. Rigatoni, a "purpose-bred cat" (in other words, bred to participate in lab experiments) who was then almost 9 months old, was the first donor. That kidney failed literally as we were on the way to Philadelphia to bring Teddy and Rigatoni home.

So we tried again. That donor was a 3-1/2 year old Big Orange Bundle o' Love named Seamus. Rigatoni was Seamus's best friend in the donor colony, so it worked out well. But now, we're all lost.

The last gift for TCG just arrived as I was wrapping the rest of them. I love when things work out that way.

Shir, I'm not sure whether you were here two years ago when we adopted Rigatoni

Nope. I think I'm here for about a year and a half tops, including the months of lurking before it (just checked it - my first post was in March 2008).

Thank you for the story, Fred. And continued~ma to all of you.

*snerk* I knew I wasn't totally deluded, thinking the room for my part-time class was inaccessible. An entire class has now been moved, just so I can get in there.

I wonder if I should apologise to anyone....