Every Scratch is Worth It

I can be a cold, callous, miserable person. I'm not really a girl who squeals over babies or small children. Most humans annoy me, what can I say- especially the ones that seem only exist to scream in my ear at a restaurant while their mother publicly breastfeeds them, as if saying to the entire dining room, "Yes, I am ruining your dinner and you will deal because I birthed this! HA!" (Sorry, minor rant/pet peeve there). But animals I have a soft spot for, especially those who have been abandoned, left behind, or given up. I worked in rescue as a volunteer, and I know what fates await them. When I heard the DC Humane Society and Animal Shelter was giving away cats and kittens for next to nothing, I knew that meant they were overcapacity- and those not rescued would be killed. My roommate was already adopting her cat, Jacks, a one year old tabby that needed to go home with a friend. I told myself I would not give in when I went to visit, but knowing that the shelter was not a no-kill shelter- and knowing that when shelters are this desperate to push pets out what it likely means- deep down, I knew my fate.

I melted quickly, especially since Roommate B needed a companion for her cat. At first, I said I would only adopt a kitten that looked like my old cat, Clint, who lived seventeen years and was my first pet that was truly mine. But when I got to the shelter and found out he was gone, they asked me to look at Abe, a 2 month old tiny runt tabby kitten. And Abe is now named Link, and he has spent the weekend happily settling in with me. He's cute. He's adorable. He is teething and expensive and a ball of energy and wakes me up throughout the night because he wants to play now, but he's sweet and adorable and I'm totally in love with the cat. So is N, who has become Link's favorite of us since I'm the disciplinarian. (He knows the spray bottle well, though I feel that when I get home my drapes will be done for).

I'm excited to watch him grow up and become friends with Jacks, who he already tries to beat up (Jacks is a good 10 pounds heavier). I say all this now, as I suffer from some major separation anxiety stemming from a slightly OCD mindset that is worried about the kitten alone. Later, once I have given him his first bath- well, I'll still think he's cute as my arms bleed more than an emo kid at a Saves the Day concert. But I really just wanted an excuse to blog a braggy post with pictures and be one of those people.

PS: Want a cat? Ready for a 20 year commitment (okay, approx) with someone who will be by your side, no matter what, as long as you give them the same? Or maybe a dog- a larger commitment and man's best friend that again, wants your love and attention? DC Humane Society is still running specials on adopting. Save a life today and gain a friend, companion, and the unconditional love of a rescued pet. Click here to visit them today.

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Oh, Redskins Fans are Already Whining...

In preparation, a resignation to their own fate, and pure envy, Washington Redskins fan are already jumping on their new team to hate (other than the Eagles and the Cowboys)- my beloved Steelers. Why Skins fans hate a team that is not even in their conference, nor someone they truly play that often used to be beyond me. But, DC Sports Bog cleared it up for me:

Honestly, for a good part of the day, it felt like being at FedEx Field on a certain late fall Monday evening, with a certain black and gold fan base emerging from dark vans like cockroaches, the kind of cockroaches that wear those gloating little smirks and whisper bad things about your treasured civic institutions under their breath.

Oh... so this is about our fans storming your stadium, because God forbid, all the relocated Steelers fans come see a game when it's actually close to them. And then, y'know, they outnumber the Skins fans because most people with common sense that move to this area look at the Redskins' slow death (it's called Snyderitis) and stick with the team they were born cheering for. DC, you have better teams to hate and more realistic rivals. The next jerk who calls me a bandwagoner when I'm in my Rothelisberger jersey and asks if that's my boyfriend's team is going to get socked in the face.*

Seriously, Skins fans (and I know most of you that read my blog are Skins fans)- is this what the hate is about? And what will happen to fans the next time Cheeseheads come for a local game? There are far more Green Bay fans than Steelers fans in this area. You all should be directing your hatred at someone more appropriate, like Dan Snyder, for effectively driving a team that had a respectful record into the ground.

*Backstory: In college, I was wearing my Rothelisberger jersey and shopping at the Burke Center Giant when some jerk comes up and says, "God, another Steelers bandwagoner. What, is that your boyfriend's team Sweetheart?" I told him that calling me Sweetheart would cause him to lose a ball. Then I told him that I was born in Pittsburgh, at Magee hospital and I still have family there and all across PA, so he could suck my proverbial nuts that I didn't "bandwagon" onto a shittier team just to fit in to where I relocated and spurn our family's pride. Oh, and my boyfriend liked the Packers. Wait, I still can say that. Hm.

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Conversations that would happen if my Muse was a real person

Blogger Muse: PSSST. I'm alive, y'know.
Liz (buried under work/stress/wine/Nutella): What do you want?
Muse: Um, a little attention. You were getting so good, you know.
Liz: Yes, well, I do have other obligations in life.
Muse: What obligations? When N's not here you're studying or drinking.
Liz: Yes, and I was hoping that last one would shut you up.
Muse: Haha, FAIL.
Liz: Look, if you'll just let me finish this week, I promise to pay attention to you Friday.
Muse: Unacceptable. On behalf of your readers, I think that-
Liz: *takes out strawberries and Nutella*
Muse: Oooh. Is that more Nutella?
Liz: Yes. And you'll get Nutella if you shut up.
Muse: Friday's good. Hand it over, b*tch.

The End

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Someone Should Probably Do This

We have Texts From Last Night, which has taught me more terms and innuendos than I ever perceived as possible. Why not GChats From This Morning? Because let's face it, most of our Gchats could knock TFLN out of the water.

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Blatantly Copping Out Post

Ever have a day where you feel like a fungi?

At least, I believe these are fungi, which I decided to photograph endlessly while at the Blue House a couple weeks ago. When confined to a small area and banned from wandering off due to the high chances of you losing consciousness again, you begin to obsess over the little things.

Well, more so than I usually do.

Anyways, until my mood improves and I feel less like a potentially mislabeled fungi and more like a cupcake, I'm not posting, at least nothing meaningful or life-changing. I plan on rectifying my currently exhausted and slightly dour mood with cupcakes, wine, and maybe a combination of the two.

In the meantime, ask yourselves- is this really fungi? What do the fungi say to you? Why the Hell am I so damn entranced with pictures I take of inanimate objects?

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Calling All Writers

So, sometimes, I dabble in writing. By dabble, I mean that I am nowhere near anything decent in my work, but I have a wandering mind that likes to dream and craft stories in my head created with an incessant muse on my shoulder that wakes me up at 5 AM to think of said plotlines and characters. It's quite annoying, and I know that the only way to silence the muse is to do what it wants, and herein, I find a problem.

Backstory: I used to write constantly, though I was incredibly private about my writings and no one saw them unless they'd snuck into my hard drive and then discovered what I was typing so furiously. Only a few people know about my plans and what I would like to eventually be able to do (but likely never will). I'm still far-too private, as I frankly will need to accept that if these plans ever from to fruition that I will be forced to have people know that I wrote something.

However, before I consider these bigger and better plans for myself in this game, I have to get past certain flaws that are naturally occurring in my personality and brain (other than my incredible timidness that is only partially shed on this blog). Namely, since I am used to writing short stories that don't require much character development or planning, I am now finding that writing more involved stories are much, much more difficult for my ADD brain. This is why I'm asking all the writers out there- I know there are a few friends of mine that share this same creative drive as me- what their thoughts are. How do you slay this nasty beast? Is outlining and creating dossiers the way to go, or does that disrupt the muse? Should I create a step by step "show flow"? Shorts about my characters? Just run with it and hope it all melds? I would appreciate your thoughts, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one disturbed by my sleeping patterns.

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More News on the Metro Tragedy

The Washington Post continues to carry more stories of Metro's lack to communicate with riders home, particularly the massive amounts of alerts that were sent off yesterday (my Palm is proof of this) that carried little to no relevant information. Many riders said they got information about the crash not from Metro, but from friends and family calling them on the phone.

Metro is also revealed to not have made upgrades suggested by the NTSB, and that the train that crashed into the other train was overdue for brake maintenance, all thanks to the Post, which has done a superb job with their team, from Dr. Gridlock to reporters, on keeping Washingtonians updates and

All in all, it looks like some major introspection (for lack of a better word) at the WMATA is due. From telling firefighters it was a "small incident" to calling the worst accident in Metro history a "mechanical difficulty", WMATA has epically failed in a city that should be excellently prepared for a small or large scale disaster. Metro failed to upgrade trains, maintain trains to be working in a safe manner, and couldn't even be honest with first responders or people stuck at Metro stations wondering what in God's name was going on. I think Metro owes the DC Metropolitan area a lot of answers and it's policies for emergency situations should be overhauled. As a former Orange Liner, I remember when the tornadoes hit and nobody could get past Ballston for an evening- it was an absolute mess, but still, it was better handled than this. While this is far more of a severe sitaution, it shows that WMATA was not prepared and that the heads and people in play at the organization were unable to make solid decisions, or even show critical thinking skills, in the light of an incredibly serious situation.

The Post has also released the names of six victims. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those lost, and the victims of this terrible tragedy.

Finally, FamousDC had this post to Unsuck DC Metro on ways to get home while the Red Line continues to have major delays. If you're affected, check it for alternate routes and hopefully, we'll have a smoother ride home tonight.

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