Not selected for a jury, whew.

I suppose I should go on in to work. Bother.

Mycroft is leash-trained, and it wasn't a huge deal with him. I've had other cats who absolutely wouldn't go for it, and I suspect the individual cat's temperament makes a much bigger difference than it does with dogs. The best tips I have are to let them get totally used to the leash and harness indoors first, in a few sessions of no more than a couple of minutes, and without even touching the leash except to keep it from getting caught anywhere. After that, move on to picking up the leash, but not trying to "walk" them anywhere, then to getting them to go your way by calling/bribery/strategic use of the dot/whatev rather than trying to pull or drag them. By now, he's totally happy to have his gear strapped on and head out the door -- we don't exactly go anywhere, but spending 15 minutes at lunchtime a couple of times a week sniffing around the yard and chewing grass and stalking bugs makes him happier. We go where he wants, and the leash is basically there to stop him bolting out of reach if something goes pear-shaped.

I believe Calli also walks Liefur; at least, she was one of my "this is totally possible" guides when M. was a wee thing, so if she doesn't, delusion-Calli and imaginary-Liefur were an inspiration.

I suspect that a lot of the cat-walking freakouts you can find on YouTube are down to the fact that a cat who has never had a chance to get used to the gear gets that AND a whole new environment AND a human alternately laughing loudly and trying to physically drag them in one direction or another, and cats are Really Not Good With Change.

(Temperament: M is mostly a big mellow boy-cat bum, but when he gets freaked by something he goes super-reactive and fight or flight without much warning. As an ex-feral, he'd looooooove to be allowed to hang outside whenever he wants, but as a very reactive ex-feral, he'd be way too likely to skedaddle off out of sight at the first thunderclap or car backfire; we live a block from the interstate; ain't gonna happen no matter how adorably you chirp out the windows, boyo.)

For Pumpkin, the halter and leash are one gigantic toy (this is the cat who will remove her collar to play with it) and thus the whole purpose is defeated. Unless the purpose was to watch her writhe and attack, which she can do without the harness on (she drags it all over the house.) Though I suppose I could probably keep her from bolting in random directions outdoors by dangling it....

Sorry, Consuela, about the craptastic, sleep-free night, and ~t, I hope the insomnia fairies bugger off tonight and let you sleep as well.

I've done a bit of groceries and tutored at the kids' school, but it feels like I haven't done anything yet. I think it'll take a bit before I adjust back into a summer schedule. oops.

Oh and billytea, that xkcd is wonderful! Must share it with the kids when they come home from school.

Sigh.

I called mom yesterday for mothers day and it was another conversation that was akin to having a three year old on the phone. She just has days when she is truly not there. I don't really know how often they are. I feel bad about not calling more often, but more often than not I get a minute or two on the phone that goes no where and honestly ends up just making me really sad.

There is also apparently some drama with caregivers and my sister. My sister wasn't there but the weekend caregiver tried to pull me into some of the gossip, or whatever you want to call it. I just don't have the spoons to deal with it. The thing is that means that I end up disengaging.

So yeah, it's the day after mother's day and I'm still upset about it.

You guys, I'm about to order food online.

Oh, we did that yesterday for Mother's Day--there's a restaurant in Oakland that just does mac-n-cheese, about ten variations, so we got four orders of that and a big salad, bought it right off the website. So awesome. And I have the leftovers for lunch.

She just has days when she is truly not there. I don't really know how often they are. I feel bad about not calling more often, but more often than not I get a minute or two on the phone that goes no where and honestly ends up just making me really sad.

ND, I'm sorry you are also going through this. Just remember that she's pretty much living in the moment, and so you can help cheer her up a little bit just by talking to her. The downside of course is that she won't remember having talked to you, and she may say things which upset you, but it really isn't about you anymore. She's probably constantly bewildered and upset.

Anyway, two of my brothers called my mother yesterday and got concerned about the confusion she exhibited, but frankly I'd prefer the confusion to the horrible vicious harridan we got between 3 and 6 AM this morning...

And now I'm off to fix my face and catch a bus to work. Hopefully I don't look too much like the walking dead, on four hours of sleep.

Jesse, since I know my browser craps out after one submission:

• role models: >[link]
• stole my wedding: >[link]
• slow news day: >[link]

This isn't for goodstuff, it's an amazing (but sad) NatGeo pic: [link]

I'm sorry, Noise, that's so hard.

Also sorry you are awake again so soon, 'Suela!

I just tried teh nast candy from a co-worker the row over, and for some reason I'd promised to return. So I did, told her menthol and melon didn't belong in the same candy, and that it was very exciting, thanks.

When I got back to my desk I yelled over at her that melon was supposed to be a slow-moving flavour, that's what was wrong with it.

Her new co-worker, who I'd walked past a number of times this morning, asked "Oh, is that the one who yells over all the time? I hadn't put a face to the yelling."

I guess the bit where I'm annoyed at the loud people who moved in to our left should go on the back burner.

Lunch. I should get that from somewhere. And why did I schedule an 8AM meeting for a day I'm going to be at the office???? No, moving that is more important than lunch. I can't possibly do that.