Day 1 with Kitty

Kitty is a little tooter, I'll tell ya that. She is very playful...likes dangly toys more than rolly toys. She skitters across the floor back and forth. Right off the bat, if I would leave the living room, she would hide under the couch. When I'd come back and kneel down and tell her I was here and she would come out! She checked everything out cautiously, including my fireplace, where she got black soot on her nose. Ha ha. She is also quite the purr-er, which I LOVE!

We watched Fellowship of the Ring together, but I could tell sounds were kind of making her nervous, so I had it down more than normal. The heater coming on and just other house sounds still give her a little pause.

We started out the night with bedroom-only access. I moved the food, water, and litter in with me. She slept for about an hour in the crook of my arm. Then it was play time. Suddenly I heard her meow several times, so I turned on the light and she was laying a huge pile of poop down on the floor. Whoops! So even though I didn't really want to, I made her a little pallet in the bathroom, gave her a night light, and moved everything in there. This morning she was sleeping on the little pallet. I was worried that she didn't eat at all yesterday, but food was gone from the bowl this morning. :)

Most of the morning she sat with me and napped while I worked on the computer. She explores but only if I'm in the room. She now meows if she can't find me. Awwwww. I wanted to test being away from home for a short time, so I went out to lunch for about an hour. Nothing was amiss when I got back, but I'm sure she meowed a lot like she does when she can't find me.

As of afternoon, she hadn't used the litterbox yet...there's gotta be a little peepee somewhere. /sigh But I'm happy to say she just poopied in her box before I started typing this. And boy, does she pack a wallop! If she keeps going, maybe she'll earn full house privileges sooner than I hoped.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. It's fun and I'm happy, but also have some anxiety. I'll come with a name soon, I hope. I'm terrible at it. No seriously. But I do like to name based on personality and characteristics, so if you have suggestions, feel free to share.

Coming Home...Take Two

Original Post:

About three weeks ago, I was meeting with a mentor and friend and the conversation evolved to how life was going. It's been pretty rough, to be honest. I've been in lower point for a season. It really stemmed from losing Scamper this past spring. I got stuck in a rut, tried to start filling what I thought I needed with things that weren't spiritually healthy. And when that is not healthy, nothing else is. I found myself not praying--not even wanting to, my relationships with friends became a little distant, and I could easily find myself trying to get a quick fix to being lonely. Contentment with what I was and had in life was something I had achieved, but when I lost Scamper, it escaped me. I wondered--still do--whether I really ever had it. Seems to me contentment is something that doesn't ebb and flow. It's like joy vs. happiness.

So my friend helped me by sending me some good short studies about how to put a stopper on temptations not by ignoring them, but by replacing them with good things. Long story short, my "assignment" was to get a pet. Have something to come home to. Something to give my attention. Something to build new, happy memories on the old ones that painfully linger. Everything he said made since and I knew it was good, sound advice. And with school wrapping up, it would be a good time for me to be able to stay at home for several days.

So a few weeks went by and the time for me to do this crept up on me. I started to talk myself out of it. Tried telling myself how nice it has been to not have to worry about pet hair/dander, friends who want to come over but are allergic, cleaning poop, and dealing with everything else that comes with a pet. It was beginning to be like my friend never said anything at all.

So today, I decided if I didn't go, I wouldn't. I went to the Little Rock Animal Shelter and viewed the cats, played with them a little, held a few. My only criteria was that I wanted a baby...as baby as I could get it. Optional but preferred things included it being a boy and I was leaning toward a grey color. Playful's a plus. And the volunteer mentioned she likes a purr-er. Me too! :D

The last time I went, I thought too hard and waited too long and got emotional and had to leave. I came to a decision pretty quickly this time and am happy--and yes, a bit anxious; even hesitant--to say this little guy is coming home with me tomorrow. (PICTURE REMOVED)

The shelter gave me a huge gift bag with toys, food samples, and a scratch pad! I was amazed! Tax dollars put to good use! Just kidding...it's all promotional stuff from pet companies, but I still greatly appreciate it.

Name will come soon; I like to name pets based on personality. So with that, he'll be home around 4 pm tomorrow!

NEW POST

So I was out to lunch with my parents and got a call from the vet at the animal shelter. Turned out the little kitten had Feline Immunodeficiency Virus...which is essentially cat AIDS. Unbelievable. I built up the strength and muster to go and this happens. And not only that, I found out they had to euthanize ALL the kittens in that cage (6-8 in all) because it is contagious. As they play, they scratch and bite...and the FIV could spread. Awful!

I went back up there fully expecting to just get a refund. But they encouraged me to go back and look. There were some more that were 6 weeks old...still wobbly and not particularly playful yet. But they were so cute that small. There was also a 12 week old girl who was pretty affectionate and playful. A little older than I was looking for, though. I asked the worker what it is that I would miss out on in getting a 12 week old over a 6 week old. He told me the younger would have to be kept in a bathroom with a litter box for a couple weeks for training. I guess that's a little too young, to be fair. So I ended up getting the 12 week old. She's already spayed and ready to come home.

This Is Why I Worked in Forensic Chemistry

The following is a true story based on actual events that occurred on Thanksgiving Eve 2009.

Wednesday night is "Glee" night and my friend Kim comes over to watch. We get through another great episode and I mention that I have Star Trek and we agree to watch. But as I pop in the movie, she starts telling me about her downstairs neighbor. She mentioned how she thought it was odd that the door had been opened since she left for work that morning and that her mom remembers seeing the door open at 4 am when she got home from work.

An elderly couple used to live there, but in recent months, both have passed away. Their daughter had moved in with the mom, until the mom passed about a month ago. The daughter was apparently quite the alcoholic and would become very angry and have multiple outbursts. Kim and her mom remembers hearing the daughter yelling at apparently nobody about a week ago.

When Kim's mom went to work Tuesday afternoon around 2 pm, she recalls seeing the neighbor sitting on the floor in the doorway, but when she tried to wave, the woman ducked away. And as I said, when she came home from work, the door was open. This time the woman was reclining in her chair. Though odd the door was open at 4 am, she didn't stop to check because of the way the woman acted earlier. Not to mention the anger episodes she had been having.

Well, Kim goes to work around 8 am and comes home close to 5 pm and the door is still open and the open is still sitting in the chair. Now we are caught up to present and we're about to start Star Trek. I suggest we go check on her in case there is a medical emergency. She said her mom should be getting home right about then, so she calls her and asks if the door is still open, the same lights on, and if she is still sitting in the same chair. She said yes. With us on speaker phone, she goes down and knocks on the door and there's no response. I tell Kim we need to go over there and we do.

We get there and the woman is clearly not breathing. She is also very cold and stiff. 911 was called but it was unfortunately way too late. She was gone. I called one of our pastors because we were all kind of freaked out. The ambulance and fire truck arrive, followed by a lengthy wait for the police. They report multiple empty bottles of alcohol on the counter. She was also known to be diabetic. Yikes. Kim mentions that since the lady's mom passed, the daughter has pretty much been shut up in the apartment. With the door open and her body in view, it is not hard to imagine she wanted to be found. The police couldn't find any next-of-kin information. Detectives and coroners showed up and took statements. It was finally cleared out around midnight.

I'm irrationally creeped out by dead things, so I had my own freak out moment. And when I worked at the crime lab, I was always thankful that I didn't have to deal with that aspect of crime scenes. People would ask me all the time if I had to deal with bodies, but I always thankfully said that I only worked drug crime scenes. Walking up on something like that cannot easily be forgotten. Nor can the tragedy of the situation and the sad existence that came to this end. So today on Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I have a loving God who provides strength and significance, a loving and supportive family, and the best friends that can be had.

What's Popping in that Popcorn!

I heard about and read a story this week in the LA Times informing consumers of the healthiness of movie popcorn. If you don't know about this study, you may find it shocking. Read on.

An average medium popcorn and soda is equivalent to eating three Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter!

One movie chain's medium popcorn contains 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium. That does not include the butter. The source? Many theaters pop in coconut oil. Some are switching to canola.

When people complained about the unhealthiness of the movie snacks, one chain tried switching to air-popped popcorn. It didn't take long for sales to plummet because of complaints about taste, and the theater return to their old methods. So what do you do?

On a side note, there is a debate about which is more detrimental when popping popcorn in a microwave at home. The carcinogens in the bag or the unhealthiness of the product...

My opinion? Most people don't visit the movie daily or even regularly...so it is not like it is a constant consumption. Treat yourself when you go!

In Memory of Uncle Orville Sutton

Life has the habit of shifting your relationships. Those high school or college friends who you would never lose contact with are rarely called anymore. Friends who move away and promise you'll always keep in touch....eventually it fizzles out. As a child, I was closer to my extended family than I have been since college. And so most of my fond memories come from that time. My mom and I lived in a Dallas suburb and traveled to Searcy, AR--her hometown--regularly each year to visit relatives. (Funny that all those times crossing over the Arkansas River on I-30 and straining to see the capitol, I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be living here one day.) The first thing we *always* did upon reaching town was to stop at Uncle Orville's shop in the back of an outdoors store in downtown Searcy. Uncle Orville repaired guns there. Mom and him would chat for a while as I eyed all the grimy tools and machinery he used to do his work. Then we'd make our way to Aunt Mary's (my mom and his sister). Eventually, we would visit Uncle Orville and Aunt Imagene again at their house near Sidon. Sure they didn't have a lot, but he made it enough. His kids, Matt and Aaron, took me on many outdoor adventures...good old country boys through and through. And we'd go running together when our mischief got a little past what he wanted. I'd even stay the night with them on occasion, on those trips.

I guess my greatest thoughts of the ways Uncle Orville lived was that he valued hard work and respect. He took his family to a little church down the road. He'd often be working in his garden out front of his home when we would arrive. And he always had his pipe in hand. His influence stretched across all aspects of our family...his kids, his nephews and nieces, and beyond. He was a good man who lived on great values and left that legacy to everyone he came in contact with.

I'm Walking on Sunshine?

This is about the most dramatic weather bulletin I've ever seen...concerning rain. I saw a stat that said the longest we've gone this year without rain is 8 days. Wow! Well here is the imminent doom set before us for the next 48 hours. I've bolded my personal favorites that seem particularly ominous and dramatic. You've been warned.

..MAJOR HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT EXPECTED TODAY AND FRIDAY OVER MUCH OF ARKANSAS... ...PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE COMPLETED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE... MOISTURE HAS BEGIN INCREASING FROM THE SOUTH THIS MORNING...AS A POTENT STORM SYSTEM HEADS TOWARD THE MID SOUTH FROM THE WEST. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP...AND SPREAD NORTHWARD INTO ARKANSAS THIS MORNING.

SEVERAL UPPER LEVEL SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION OUT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING SLOW-MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THE SYSTEMS WILL INTERACT WITH THE SLOW FRONT...AND THIS WILL ALLOW FOR SEVERAL WAVES OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL TO OCCUR ACROSS A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. FOR THIS REASON...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. AS MUCH AS 5 TO 7 INCHES OF RAIN IS EXPECTED IN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARKANSAS TODAY THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL OCCUR IN AREAS MAINLY ALONG A LINE FROM SALEM...TO LITTLE ROCK...TO CAMDEN. IN AREAS EAST AND WEST OF THIS LINE...AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES WILL BE COMMON...WITH ISOLATED TOTALS APPROACHING 6 INCHES.

NEAR-RECORD RAIN HAS FALLEN DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER IN A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE TIME FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT DRYING...WITH THE GROUND SO SATURATED. MANY STREAMS... CREEKS...AND RIVERS ARE ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS FOR LATE OCTOBER...WITH SEVERAL POINTS ALONG THE WHITE...CACHE AND OUACHITA RIVERS ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. THERE WILL SIMPLY BE NOWHERE FOR THE WATER TO GO. WITH ALL THE EXPECTED RAINFALL...AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS WILL BE LIKELY. MANY LOW-LYING ROADS WILL BE FLOODED...AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS WILL BE IMPASSABLE. STREAMS THAT HAVE A TENDENCY TO RISE RAPIDLY DURING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL TEND TO FLOOD THE QUICKEST.

ANYONE CAMPING ALONG THE BANKS OF A STREAM OR RIVER... PARTICULARLY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN ARKANSAS SHOULD MAKE PLANS TO LEAVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE OR AT LEAST MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. COMMUTERS DURING THE EVENING DRIVE ON TODAY AND THE MORNING DRIVE FRIDAY SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS. IF YOU DRIVE ACROSS AREAS NEAR BODIES OF WATER SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING...MAKE PLANS FOR AN ALTERNATE ROUTE. PLEASE STAY INFORMED BY MONITORING THE LATEST FORECASTS AND INFORMATION FROM YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED...YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT.

A Dramatic Week

Friday-Sunday: Looking back, at least the week started out on a high note. My best friends and I went on our 2nd annual camping/float trip in Gilbert, AR.


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We stayed on that white "beach" area just off the road leading to the river. The mild summer and high rain falls had the river up and we were worried the sandbar wouldn't be there, but it was. We went on the longest float this year. It was supposed to take 6-8 hours. The river was so swift, we got done in 4 hours. That was with a few stops to chill, eat, etc. Oh yes, did I mention we came uncomfortably close to stepping on a snake? We saw a cave in the rocks and wanted to climb up to it. Not 10 steps on the shore and Michael goes running the opposite direction, me right behind him. The other guys said they heard it hiss. I didn't, but had I, I might of passed out on the spot. Luckily, I only saw about 1 inch of it and ran. I'm getting nauseous thinking about it, so moving on...

We ended up getting back in time for the other guys to listen to the Razorback game on the radio. It was a beautiful weekend. Couldn't ask for anything better. Well, the country restaurant we got the fabled rooster bullet was closed...that was very disappointing. But overall we had a great time and it was nice to get away. Here's some more photos, taken by my friend Daniel.

Monday: We join a story already in progress. You see, a while back, someone backed into my truck at the school's parking lot. And they didn't leave a note. I finally decided I should get it repaired. The driver side bumper was bent and pushed in the side panel and popped out the light. I was told it would be a two day repair. Monday represented day 7. Apparently the original $800 estimate was off as there was more damage underneath than originally seen. The problem was the supplemental paperwork didn't get transferred and for three days my truck just sat there not getting worked on. In the meantime, I got a car from Enterprise that was chained smoked in, despite their no smoking policy. I got a 2nd car, but my insurance made me give it back since I went out of town for the weekend. The third car I got was nice though. On day 12--that being Friday, Oct. 2--I finally got my truck back.

Tuesday: I recently upgraded to the new operating system on my Mac, Snow Leopard. I also purchased my own license of Final Cut Studio and installed it. After doing these things, and cleaning up some system files, I noticed I was 20 GB of hard drive space down, which was completely unreasonable. I'd been having enough quirks with Snow Leopard that I decided to reinstall it cleanly--meaning a full wipe and start over. So I ran Time Machine to back up my files and took my system to work on Tuesday to let the installers run while I worked. I wiped the HD, installed Snow Leopard, and went to grab my files from the back up. Except the back up folder was not whole. For whatever reason, about 2-3 folders deep into the file tree, Time Machine stopped saving. So, for example, the folder tree for music is: Music > iTunes > [artist folder] > [album name] > [songs]. The back up stopped at the artist folder. No music. Same for documents and photos. Anything saved in a folder was gone. Mildly panicking!

I was on the phone with Apple immediately. He had nothing. He helped me restore my iTunes purchases from my phone, but all music from CDs (when I still used to buy them) could not be transferred. I got on forums and discovered I could retrieve my music and photos (many sentimental ones, particularly of my cats and family) from my AppleTV. Except it is not a simple transfer; you have to break into it--voiding the warranty--and connect the hard drive to the Mac as an external USB device. So I took it up to church and Leslie helped me do just that. I retrieved it all back. In the end I lost documents in folders and some old photos, but they were things I hadn't opened or looked at in years, so I wasn't too upset.

Thursday: Once again, in what seems to occur every semester, I had to face two students cheating on an exam by taking it together. I've become very hardened to this sort of thing. Two years ago, I was so nervous about having to deal with it, my voice would be shaking, my hands trembling, my mouth dry... In fact, funny story...the first time I had to do it, the students came back in tears, apologizing profusely because they could hear the anger in my voice. The thing is, it wasn't anger...it was nervousness! Ha! Well, whatever...it worked. One student fessed up after I presented the evidence. The other was completely flippant and left never really thinking she did anything wrong and saying "it just sucks because everyone does it, but I'm the one that got caught." Greaaaaaat. After fuming for a while and stalking around the building for more potential problems, I just came to the realization that I have as much security in place as I can reasonably put, and if students want to cheat, they are going to. The fact is, it WILL catch up to them one day.

Friday: This is the day I got my truck back. While I was going to pick it up, a friend texted me to apologize for something that happened a couple days ago. A 2-day-later, text apology didn't really sit well with me, so I wrongly sent a terse reply back. That just set things off and we ended up going back and forth and some underlying issues came out. I hate it when this kind of things happen. I wish I was a better person when it comes to dealing with tough things like this. /sigh Oh well, we'll survive.

That catches you up. Today's agenda: Notre Dame football at 2:30 and the Dallas Stars season opener at 7 pm! YESSSSSSS! Hm, may try to sneak some Geocaching in too; too nice of a day to let it waste.