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Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

Scattered thoughts are all you will get from me right now. So sorry. Better luck next time.

+ I read with absolute trepidation Canuck in Cancun’s 5 things post. And sure enough she tagged me, so now I need to come up with no less than 20 bits of wisdom to impart to my kid (poor kid). That will take a few days, so be patient. I swear she owes me a double latte for this.

+ I spent much of last week in the presence of a pathological liar with schizophrenic tendencies and signs of an ongoing psychotic break. Something about that experience destroyed my ability to put up with other people’s bullshit. I’ve been on serious bullshit-avoidance since Saturday afternoon, so watch out if you are a bullshitter.

+ I’m having waking dreams about moving back to Colorado. I find myself walking the dog past piles of basura (garbage) and baches (potholes) and daydreaming of the miles and miles of dog-friendly open space trails in Boulder County. When dog-face and I run in the morning we always run through one small park with grass, and while we are crossing that 20 meters of grass it I have life-long daydreams about romping in hectare-wide meadows with my dog. I’m so sick of the lack of parks and green space here in Cancun.

+ My kid, apparently, according to the ex (but on the hush, so don’t squeal), has an almost maybe boyfriend. She told me about him already, but she described him as “a buddy” and “moodier” than she is. Can you say “parental turmoil”? Can you say “sex education”? Can you say get that damn HPV vaccine? Christ, to be 13 again. Maybe one of my points of wisdom to her will be “don’t date people who are moodier than you are”.

+ Life is emptier without that dead cat. You’d think with 10 cats that we wouldn’t miss one. But I’ve been living and breathing the cat-ness in this house since he left us. His mama misses him, his brother does too. His sister is unreadable. The other cats are irritable. And Ariel (one of my two 17 year old sister cats) is telling me that she’s next. Mortality is not for sissies! God damn.

+ My husband is on vacation again, the second two-week vacation in 6 weeks. Don’t ya love governement jobs, they have such sensible policies. It’s great for him, all that time off, but for me it’s hard to get anything done with Mr. Boredom in the house.

+ Yesterday I got some shit from someone who thinks it’s wrong that the people from the U.S.A. call themselves AMERICAN. His problem, obviously, is that the Americas run from northern Canada to the southern tip of Chile. But he’s young and moody (like some other people we know). And I told him that he couldn’t hold Americans to blame for the fact that our country has a really STUPID name! I mean Mexico is actually the United States of Mexico, and so everyone calls it Mexico (in English at least). What the fuck are you supposed to call people from the U.S.A.? United Statesians? I get the argument, but get over it. If you want to criticize the U.S. for it’s foreign policy or it’s war on “terrorism” or it’s poorly educated rednecks then be my guest. But it ain’t our fault that the country is named after the whole continent! The people to blame for that are dead, like my cat!

One Less Cat

Friday, February 22nd, 2008

We are down to 9 cats now. We had one die last night. The poor guy had a tumor on his sternum which was inoperable.

We’d noticed that he’d recently gained a little weight, but we thought it was because about 4 months ago we stopped ever letting him out. So he wasn’t getting as much exercise as he had previously. But it turned out that he had a tumor which was growing pretty fast. And, in the end the tumor prevented him from being able to eat or breathe easily. Poor guy. I think he suffered during the last week or so of his life.

He was about 4 years old when he died. We took him (and his mama and 2 of his brethren) off the street when he was about 5 months old. I’m grateful that he did not die from something avoidable, like being flattened by a car or from a preventable disease.

I’m sad to see him go. But I’m especially sad for his mama, because she adored him. The two of them would each wrap his or her tail around the other’s so their tails were twisted up together. And then they would rub their faces together while their tails were entwined. It was pretty damn sweet. I’ll really miss seeing them do that.

Dogs Do Not Eat Grapes

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

My husband, who wishes he were Bart Simpson, says I should be forced to write over and over that:

Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes. Dogs do not eat grapes.

But someone should tell the dog this! Every time I eat grapes he follows me around until I give him one. Then he chews on the grape and ends up leaving mushy chewed up grape pulp on the floor somewhere.

At least it’s more pleasant to clean up than cat vomit.

How Can You Resist Puppies?

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Remember the other day how I posted about Helping Cancun’s Animals? Well, I went over to the RAP facility last week and took photos of some of the puppies they have up for adoption now.

I couldn’t talk to RAP’s director, Maria Alicia, because at the time of our visit she was out saving the life of a pregnant dog that had just been hit by a car.

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
The RAP animal shelter door, a more permanent sign is on the wishlist.

When I was there they had about 20 puppies in all sizes and colors. They also had something in the range of 45 to 50 adult dogs (and I didn’t meet a single one that I didn’t like).

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
These two are part of a litter of 9 pups that were dropped off while I was there helping out one day. They are beyond cute.

The sole purpose of this post is to nag my friends and readers to help find good homes for the puppies and dogs currently at RAP. RAP needs to get their dogs adopted so that they can free up space to rescue more of the starving and injured dogs we all see everyday in Cancun.

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
Here’s one of their brothers, another cute one.

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
This little guy almost came home with me, I just love those eyes. But I need more land before I get more dogs.

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
These guys were really hard to photograph because they wouldn’t stop playing! Most of my photos of them are just a blur of cute puppy fur.

Ok, have I pulled enough heart-strings yet? Please do what you can to help. You know you want a doggie!

RAP Animal Rescue Cancun
This little guy was at the bottom of the pile of puppies, I finally got a photo of him when he managed to get out from under his siblings.

You can contact Maria Alicia to make an appointment to meet all the dogs and puppies she has up for adoption. Her number is (998) 206-0056 and she is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Visit the RAP Web Site
Visit the CANDi Web Site

Helping Cancun’s Animals

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

I want to spread the word a bit about two charities that are working together here in Cancun to rescue animals and help animals find good adoptive homes. The first is Respeta, Ayuda y Protege, which in English means respect, help and protect (it’s called RAP for short). And the second is called CANDi, which stands for Cats and Dogs International.

The two groups have teamed up recently on a campaign called Project Cancun under which they will be starting a spay and neuter clinic among other things. In the mean time the two groups are busy getting their new facility up and running. And they are also caring for more than 60 dogs they have rescued from the streets of Cancun.

Here are their web sites:

I will be writing more about these groups and this project in the future. In the mean time please send them lots and lots of money and volunteer to help them if you can.

What’s Your Favorite Place?

Friday, December 21st, 2007

I just got an email from a blogger who is collecting photographs of people’s favorite places on earth. I think it’s a great project. I submitted a photo of my favorite spot in the Yucatan, but I’m not sure that I have a favorite place on earth. If I do it’s probably my bed on a lazy Saturday morning when the bed is full of cats, but I didn’t want to submit that since no one else would care. Take a look at Your Lovely Places and be sure to send a photo of your favorite spot.

My Dog Is Not Your ‘Perrita’

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

When I was a kid growing up in the U.S. (where it’s normal to neuter pets) I learned that the way to discern a boy dog from a girl dog was by the presence of that crucial symbol of maleness called the “weewee”. If a dog has a weewee it’s a boy. If it doesn’t have a weewee then it’s a girl. And if it’s too furry to be able to see if there’s a weewee then you have to ask the owner “does your dog have a weewee?”.

In Mexico apparently the presence or absence of a weewee is not part of discerning the boyness or girlness of a dog. The deciding factor in Mexico seems to be the presence or absence of “huevos”, testicles, balls, nuts. If a dog has testicles it’s a boy, if it does not it’s a girl. It’s so simple that even the kids figure it out.

My male, neutered dog and I run together almost daily. And almost each time some kid in the street will yell out “hola perrita” expectantly, as we go by. “Perrita” means female dog. It’s the equivalent of bitch in English (and can be used in the derogatory sense as well). And each time one of these little twirps calls my dog “perrita” I get a little mad.

First I get mad because, DUH, I’m running and I am not going to stop so some little kid can pet my dog. I may be a “perrita” myself for my attitude, but that’s tough. I think it’s a sign of how completely social Mexicans are that a little kid here would naturally expect me to to stop running so that my dog could get petted. But OMG if I stopped for every dog-petting occaision I would never get any exercise.

The second reason, the important reason, that I get mad is because my dog is MALE. I’ve been a responsible pet owner and I’ve had Adriana-The-Wonder-Vet cut off Sam’s testicles so he can’t make anymore unwanted street dogs! But here in Mexico it’s so uncommon for a male dog to be neutered that people don’t expect it! And it’s not just the kids that make the mistake but adults too. In fact I’ve had adults tell me that it’s not healthy for me to have neutered my dog and they actually pity him his missing balls!

This drives me crazy. This is a country full of unwanted, starving street dogs. If I drive to the poor areas of Cancun it’s hard not to hit limping starving mangy street dogs, they are on every corner! And still people think that it’s wrong to neuter your dog?!

Here’s an example of the poor street dogs you see in Cancun:

street dog Cancun Mexico

If more people in Mexico would neuter their dogs maybe there would be fewer dogs suffering like this poor guy.

Blog Tag – A Modern Incarnation Of The Chain Letter

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

I’ve been tagged by Cancun Canuck to play a little blog game. Here are the rules: when tagged link to the person who tagged you, then post the rules of the game, then list eight random things about yourself. At the end of the post link to eight other people’s blogs.

8 Random Things About Me

1. I can’t sleep with either of my ears exposed to the air. Short haircuts do not work for me because I then have to sleep with a pillow or an arm slung over the exposed ear. If I feel air on my ear I wake up. I’m sure this goes back to the recurring nightmare I had when I was 2 years old about the gorilla that would hide in my closet and then come out when it was dark and bite off my ear. I could get therapy for this, or I could just not wear my hair short.

2. When I was a kid I wanted to be a clown, or a detective, or a spy.

3. Now that I am an adult I want to get a Master’s Degree in Application Usability.

4. I secretly like pictures of cherubs and angels, even though I think they are tacky and I would not be caught dead putting that kind of trash on my walls.

5. Within 5 feet of me right now are: a poster from the Pearl Jam concert which took place on November 7, 1996, a book titled “the zen of css design”, a 17 year old cat whose hobby it has always been to throw up daily and a plastic wind-up penguin who hops (but only when you wind him up).

6. I like to do sit-ups. In fact I like to do at least 100 per day, but that doesn’t happen usually.

7. There is someone that I hate.

8. I just, today, named my most recently acquired street cat “Emma” (she is our 10th cat); Emma being short (in my mind) for Clementine or Clementina (have not decided which).

8 Other People’s Blogs

Random Musings

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

Lots of unrelated and discordant thoughts are running through my head. Sorry for sharing the chaos.

First, my friend CancunCanuck has FINALLY started blogging!! It was a good thing waiting (and waiting) to happen. Watch her, she will need only moments to find her “blog voice”, instead of the full year of suffering it takes most bloggers. She is a sensitive and skilled writer with a big heart. (You rock Girl!)

Oh, and one of my cats is driving me nuts. He just wants to go out all the time and he cries sometimes for hours. But each time I let him leave he’s gone for days, and comes back with 3 or 4 ticks on him; not to mention that I have to listen to the husband whine the whole time the cat is gone. So it’s one whiner or the other. Jeez. Get over it guys.

I posted a while ago that I was worried that someone living nearby the condo we bought was a hit man. Well, he was, just like we thought, he got busted, he was forced to move out…so we are no longer watching for bodies falling from the roof. Now someone just needs to get rid of the drug dealer who lives nearby and fills the courtyard with pot smoke 18 times a day.

The condo is coming along. Our renter comes tomorrow to finalize contract language and see the changes. One change being that today we had a stationary gas tank installed on the roof. I hope no one steals it. The stationary gas tank will save our tenant money, since it’s cheaper to fill than the small portable dangerous tanks that most people have in rentals here. And we won’t worry about her blowing herself up hooking and unhooking those portable tanks, the only people messing with the tank will be the guys from the gas company.

And in other news I’ve fallen in love with that orange cat that I took off the street a couple of months ago. My sister agreed to take her, and I could let her go within the family. But I’m about sure that this is one of the best cats ever to walk this planet, so if she doesn’t go to someone in the family, who can continue the love exactly where I leave off, then I won’t let go of this cat.

It’s stunning to think that this amazing lovely creature was starving and alone and dirty living on the street. How could the universe leave her out like that? I can think of some people who might deserve to live under a car in the dirt like that, but not this magic cat.

And that leads me to my motto of the day, and it’s only for today, because it’s mean, and I try not to be mean, mostly. “A friendly cat is better than a catty friend.”

2 Days No Cats

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

I just spent 2 days and 1 night at a high end spa and retreat center. Don’t be jealous, it was for work. And even though I had a gorgeous room overlooking the Caribbean Sea I stayed up half the night worrying over details of the contract. But still, life could be worse, I mean what better place to toss and turn than in that gorgeous room with that amazing view.

But I think the hardest part was not the business stuff, it was the lack of cats. If that hotel had say 20 cats running around, visiting you in your room, sleeping on your feet, sitting on you when you hang out in the common areas, it would have been perfect for me.

I’m so used to having lots of cats around that I just don’t feel normal sleeping anyplace without a feline friend nearby. In fact I’ll bet that half the reason for my tossing and turning that night was simply the lack of a cat anywhere on the bed. It was just too weird and I couldn’t take it.

But now I’m back home, with a cat under the chair, and one in my office window, and one in my paper recycling basket and two more in the hall, and one more wandering around whining about how he should be allowed to go out. And I’m back to feeling normal. And I think I’ve solved the problems with the retreat center contract too, so all is good.

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