Geeky Cat Miusings

I am contemplating my vacation to a land where there seems to be a preponderance of species that follow the “if you’re going to be mean to me, then I’ll be mean to you back” mind set. The desert is home to rattlesnakes, scorpions, and cacti which all fall into this category. I’ll try to be respectful of these desert dwellers but one can always contemplate revenge. If a cactus gets mean with me I will make cactus fries out of it or perhaps a cactus margarita, considered specialities in the south. I will be seeking out the teddy bear cholla for the fuzzy teddy bear arms, but I’ll not be fooled! I know that if you touch the spines, you will find yourself painfully stuck to a spiny segment that seems to have “jumped” off the plant. Cuddly from a distance, vicious if you get too near.

I also hear rattlesnake fries tastes like chicken….

Hello, Just a quick note to say I’m still alive and haven’t forgotten you. Will be back.

We all enjoy a hot cup of tea on cold days to warm us up, but we typically like to feel the warmth of the cup in our hands and not the scalding hot liquid pouring over our bellies, which is what happened to me on Monday. I went to a cafeteria to get some tea. I poured the hot water into a styrofoam cup and then walked over to the milk and cream stand. I placed the cup down and as soon as I poured the milk into the cup, it flipped over and splashed all over me. Because the water was really hot, my belly was burned badly over several inches square and blisters formed, most of them popping immediatedly. I wondered if the flimsy nature of styrofoam made it prone to flipping. I usually use ceramic cups at work and so I am used to a cup with more weight to it.

I tried to keep my top from touching the area, but I continued with the meeting that I was attending even though the burn was hurting me. I did see a doctor after the meeting and she applied an antibiotic lotion to the burn and covered it with a high-tech covering after making sure I was up-to-date on my Tetanus shots.

Many people were giving me very different advise on what to do — it seems that everyone has their own prescription for treatment. Some say to apply ice to the area while others say do not. Some say to apply cream or vitamin e and cover it with gauze while others say to not apply anything because it is better to leave the area uncovered so that it can breathe. I am not planning to go around with the area uncovered because it really isn’t bikini weather in Canada. Besides, my friend said that the area will be very prone to cancer now so I should be very careful when I go suntanning. Fortunately, I don’t have any bikini pieces, so I won’t have to give them up. I am also very glad that I don’t have a belly ring –

Thanks for all the advise…

Have a nice cup of hot tea…but do have it the right way.

It is pretty nice to hike through High Park on Halloween night and get away from the crowds and mayhem of downtown. Some people were wearing masks as they walked their dogs while others were dressed as joggers and I was pretty convinced that they were joggers. Good job! They are shooting a TV series in the park and they set up a little cemetary for the scene:

It seems there were other mysterious forces in the park that night. Observe the glowing orb:

As if there weren’t enough scary creatures walking the streets of Toronto on Halloween night….

While waiting for the bus that night, I was approached by a man. He held out his hand and said to me, “I just got out of jail and all they gave me are these two tokens”. Well, are those the best opening lines for panhandling…maybe the words were used to gain sympathy for his plight, but I think a lot of people think this person may be a bit dangerous and willing to do not so nice things to get what he wants. Isn’t that usually the reason why people go to jail in the first place? Yes, frightning people with innuendo’s of potential danger can scare people into giving up their money.

I totally freaked out at the Haunted Adventure this weekend. Not because there were friars who cut people into 800 pieces, or corpses crawling out of coffins, but because I saw a young man dressed in clam diggers and flip flops. Flip Flops! That means no socks and scarcely any shoes to cover his feet. That night the temperature dipped down to about 5 degrees above zero. I was wearing hiking boots and socks and my feet were still freezing and this guy was wearing flip flops. The Haunted Adventure involves hours of outdoor fun, including a hay ride through the haunted farm, so I would really recommend wearing warm clothes.

In the middle of last night while I was asleep I heard a big BOOM that startled me awake. I thought it must be thunder, but it was immediately followed by more booms in quick succession and I knew it couldn’t be thunder. I looked out my window and saw that the sky was pretty clear but there were explosions on the northern horizon — big balls of light, deep booming sounds, and clounds of smoke. I had no idea what was going on so I turned on the radio and television for news updates but there was no mention of the explosions. I heard fire trucks — lots of fire trucks so I knew the city knew something was up. I paced around for an anxious hour, looking out windows trying to see if anyone else was awake. I wanted to share the moment because I was frightened but I didn’t want to waken anyone. My mind raced through various possible scenarios and some of them very dark. It was a very stressful night for me, waiting to find out what was happening and I wondered why there was no mention of it in the news that night. When I woke up in the morning I found out there was a large explosion of propane tanks at Keele and Wilson and people were evacuated from the area. It really bothers me that there wasn’t a news flash on any channels within minutes of emergency crew arriving on the disaster scene to let people know what is happening. Where is the news when you need it?

Yesterday I took the bus home and I kind of noticed that the drive was a bit erratic. The bus driver was hitting the brakes pretty hard and a woman who was standing slightly lost her balance. It wasn’t blatantly bad driving, but you notice it. I was pretty focused on my book and just saw this in the corner of my eye. The woman beside me nudged me and asked, “he sleeping?” I looked at the driver and indeed his eyes were stuggling to stay open. They would flutter close and then he would pull them open. Fortunately we were close to the subway and were getting off, but that was scary.

I’m sorry about not having any time to write to you all, but it has been busy. I’ll be in Halifax so stay tuned for some pics and stories when I get back.

I’m very glad I have the unlimited browsing on my cell phone since I can use it in Halifax…I’ll be able to keep up with the news. I could blog from my phone but I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to look into that.

Currently I’m reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It is a hilarious exploration of the strange lives of bodies postmortem. Here is one compelling quote from the book:

“The way i see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back. The brain has shut down. The flesh begins to soften. Nothing much new happens, and nothing is expected of you. ”

It is a funny coincidence that I am concurrently reading Thank You For Smoking! Smoking is one way to make the final vacation arrive at your doorstep, sooner rather than later.

And one more stiff joke pops up as I read the Urban Decoder:

“Honest Ed’s a corpse, but his prices will never stiff you.”