FraidyCat , LionHeart and the 12 step program

The other day two 16-year-old korean students came to stay for 3 weeks. The school board keeps em pretty busy most days, (mostly on touristy type things) and michelle seems intent on doing things with them on the days off... because there isn't much else for them to do.
Yesterday, then both found some toys- my nephew's scooter, a skipping rope, and a hula-hoop... (which is actually Ping and Radar's magnetic 'health hoop'.. wtf...) and then went out into the front area, and played. Yeek. Ladies, we have tv and vid games, and you're outside being randomly active? SICK SICK SICK!

Ah, I have to assign them 'minor-protecting-codenames'. Well, I don't know them that well yet, (and in the course of 3 weeks, I probably won't know them TOO much better, as their english is a bare minimum) so I'll be lazy and categorize them by one defining event.
I let my cat Leela jump up on my lap as she often does, and I wet to go introduce them to her. One of the girls FREAKED RIGHT OUT. I'd seen this kind of thing before, but it was because of a dog. (and it was a GUY, who screamed like a 12 year old girl whenever our dog came into view.) So, for the next 3 weeks, when the girls are awake and home, I'll try to keep Leela outside. In this weather, that's not such a bad thing, but when she comes back in, she demands attention. Lots.
So codenames? FraidyCat and LionHeart. Not that LH was eager to embrace Leela, but compared to FC's reaction... yeah. It's kinda sad.. Leela's the meekest little thing. (At least when humans are concerned)

We're going to attempt a couple Kimchi recipes. We never bothered with Radar, since she had already been in the country for a year and a half, and she was swept up in the kitchen chaos that Ping created.. so we didn't worry. Wish us luck.

Slightly less recent news- Caitlin is walking!! Not much mind you, she still sees crawling as far more efficient, even when carrying something. (her one handed, one-knee, one-foot crawl is hilarious, with an empty energy drink can under her arm like a football...) Her record walking so far is 12 steps. She only stopped because she reached her destination; the toybox. I think it was mainly an exercise in laziness. When I put her down, she was standing. She wanted to go to the toybox, and knew she had to stand to get at the toys. I'm sure she debated in her mind for a while about what was easier- WALKING over there, (what a pain in the ***! Walking! Sheesh!) or getting down to the ground, to crawl over, then having to get back up. Walking won.
Usually when we try to get her to walk, she won't, or takes one step before decided it's dumb and inefficient. He best walking is done for no particular reason, with no prompting, and with no camera around.
Oh yeah, she LOVES FC and LH. They like Caitlin quite a bit too, though I try not to let Caitlin bug them TOO much. FC and LH aren't here to babysit afterall.


AND.... Last moment Lifehack news- I'm still waiting on the first hardcover copy. The other shop in Maple Ridge that I was hoping to put some copies in officially said yes, and I had an unintentionally good day for local promoting yesterday.
As for those 2 shops and I going to the Vancouver Sci-fi convention- that's still up in the air, but I have identified which of the fellows would be leading the charge. He's out camping, so I didn't get to talk to him yesterday, but I did get come productive talk with the comic shop guy. So, the waiting game continues.
Before I ask people if they want copies for my big order, I still have to approve the hardcover copy, and settle the sci-fi con thing.

Cat's eye view, and Lifehack update

Lifehack update- Passed the halfway mark in the revision the other day. whee! There was a section I wanted to paste into the blog, but not I can't remember which section it was... Aw, what the heck, have a neat lil clip that hasn't been changed much...

Just then, Alisia arrived. "Regan?" She sighed, "What are you doing here?"

Regan paused, thinking fast. "I.. just came to give these back." Regan pulled out the dog tags that she had taken days ago. "I'm sorry."

Alisia, still mostly in the hall, took the tags. She happened to look past Regan for a moment and saw her teddy bear out of place. She looked at the tags again. She didn't really mind if Regan had them, but she didn't want Regan to know that. She glanced at the garbage can nearby in the hall.

"I don't need these anymore. These say I'm a Captain. I've been promoted to Major, remember?" Alisia reached the tags over to the garbage, 'accidentally' missing, leaving them on the rim. She moved past Regan into her room and sat down. "I'll be getting new ones soon. Was there anything else?"

Regan stood, stunned. She didn't think she was convincing, but you can't argue with results. She still felt that something odd had happened. "mm, no. That was all. Just, uh.. thank you. For today."

Alisia smiled ever so slightly. "What are friends for?"

Wordlessly, Regan backed out and closed the door. She then spotted the dog tags. She considered not taking them... it's not as if she was digging through the garbage or anything. She picked them up and hugged them in her hand.

Alisia looked at her bear as if to ask what Regan did in her room, but the bear told no secrets.

Tada. Now watch the blog software chew up the formatting... which reminds me- You who comment anonymously... you know who you are... Alright, I can guess who it is by the content, but just cuz ya don't have a blogpot ID, doesn't mean ya cant sign the message... I might not always be so cunning...!

Anyway, as for the Cat's eye view....

This past weekend my wife Michelle packed up lil Ciatlin, and they went camping at Perrygin lake where much of her family camps. Next year I'm told I'm going long too, despite my disability. Grr.. oh well, I guess I have to give it a hack eventually, but this time around I ended up having the house to myself for five days.

Unless you count my mother downstairs, the renters in the suite, oh, and of course Ping and uhh... Hmm... I need a codename for our korean student! Korea.. um.. what do I think of when I think "Korea"... Radar! Alright, alright, Radar O'Riley was an american male in Korea, but she has a similarly helpful attitude, and gentle cheer. Radar it is.

Anyway, yes, aside from them, I was solo.

On the second day or so, my cat Leela wanders by. She had always been my cat more than our cat, ever since the first day we brought her home, and I defended her from the giant, hairy, overexcited, older canine sister she had just gained. Leela was my lil baby. I'm not sure when I became a cat person, but I did.

"Hey, Joe." she said with her eyes as she casually walked into the room.

"Yeah, Leela?"

She sits a few feet in front of me. "We gotta talk."

"Sure." I put my hand out 'cat-height' above my lap, inviting her to jump up. She's a big girl now, just turned three. Not too old to get on daddy's lap. (In actuality, she's still pretty small.) "What's on your mind, lil one?"

She runs her head under my hand to get petted, and wanders back and forth on my lap to garner more attention. "Well, daddy... I'm used to being the baby.."

"Yes, well..."

"And I kinda suspect I'm adopted... but... this new thing. The hairless little one...."

"Caitlin."

"Yeah, whatever. Is she gonna be here long?"

"Oh, leelers. Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"..... no! Not me! I don't get jealous! So when's that hairless thing leaving?"

"She isn't. She lives here now. She's my daughter."

"....!"

I sigh, and calm Leela with a scratch behind the ear. "You're still my lil girl too."

"Is that hairless thing on my side or the dog's side?"

"Right now she's pretty much just on her own side. I guess it'll depend on which of you behaves better."

"PAH! Then I win."

"Alright then. Happy now?"

Leela looks around sulkily, then back up at me. "You still love your leelerz?"

"Of course."

"Kay. Now let me outside, stupid human!"

Lucy doesn't get it.

Lucy's my dog. She's a beagle cross. Picture a taller beagle, and you've got the idea. All the bad bits, all the barking, and the chewing, but with double normal beagle horsepower.

The only thing keeping the beagle breed from being strangled into extinction is the sad sorrowful look they can give ya.
Here she is showing her cunning. And also here is Leela, who as you may have guessed, is a cat. My cat for sure, Lucy is my wife's dog. Not my any means of ownership- the pets picked.

Anyway, Lucy's going to be the star of my children's book, "Lucy Doesn't get it"

Or possibly "Lucy doesn't understand" Or Lucie... that's my wife Michelle's preferred spelling. And she Spells the cat's name "Lela".. Ohwell.

Anyway, when I get the look for Lucy's cartooney-self done, I'll post it. The book is going to tell all about how various things happen, and Lucy didn't get it.

An example of how it's going to be:
---
Lucy's mommy and daddy didn't have fur. Lucy didn't get it.

Lucy's ate food in a bowl on the floor. Mommy and daddy eat food up on a table. It smelled much better, but they didn't usually let Lucy even try it. Lucy didn't get it.

One day Lucy saw that mommy's tummy was getting bigger. Lucy didn't get it.
---

etc. In the end, Lucy meets the newborn Caitlin, and Lucy finally gets it. The finally page will show Caitlin peering at the furry monster sniffing her with its big wet nose.

And Caitlin didn't get it.

---
Next post I'll yap about the only book project I haven't discussed yet, a non-fiction dealing with my life, "It wasn't worth the parking space".

Ooh, I could have posted a pic of Caitlin in this entry, but maybe I'll hold off for the next entry.