One Cat, Two Cat; Old Cat, New Cat...

[eregyrn]

Huh. I guess July was kind of a bust for me, update-wise. I should break out of my apathy and actually write up thoughts on the new season of Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis, instead of just posting drive-bys to other people's LJs. (In short: am *loving* SG1's S8 so far; am quite liking SGA.)

But in the meantime...



What? Some of you are saying. A new cat? What was wrong with the old one? Nothing, except Emily was BORED. Well, she AIN'T BORED NOW, I can tell you that!

Honestly, I had been intending to get a second cat after we were settled into the apartment (and since it's coming up on a year, I guess I have to admit we're settled now; although I *STILL* do not have a bathroom window). Emily was used to living with other cats (specifically, my_tallest's Stasha, and flos_campi's Theo), and seemed to like it once they all got used to each other. And I could tell she was bored living by herself.

This coincided with going on 12-hour drives to and from Ohio with raqs's stepmother Linda, who is a lovely person who cannot say "no" to the adoption of cats in need. We were discussing cats -- the way you do -- and I happened to mention the above theory about finding a friend for Emily, to which Linda almost inevitably replied, "Have I got the cat for you!"

Morgan is a 7-year-old calico female who is (telepresence will verify) almost pathologically friendly. (Well, she's friendly; she's also needy and releasing many years of pent-up desire for attention.) Apparently she was, like, omega-cat in Linda's household and was being beat-up on (she came complete with ragged ear, and a bloody scratch across the nose as a going-away present from Linda's son's cat), so she was relegated to a life of hiding and/or pain and terror. Look at this face. Isn't she a sweetie?



I happened to know from Emily's experience with the previous two roommates' cats that she's fairly nonaggressive and mild, so I had a feeling this would be good for both of them. Emily would get a friend, and Morgan would get a cat that was unlikely to beat up on her. (Other advantages to adopting Morgan were: getting her from someone who knows her history, so I could find out about her personality before adoption; and Linda's being willing to take her back if things truly don't work out, which beats getting a cat from a shelter.)

Have had Morgan for about 10 days now. Initially there was wariness, and some territorial vocalizing by Emily. By early last week, though, I was pretty much able to let them be together, without too much trouble. I think some of the lingering problem is that they keep freaking each other out. They will each make some peaceful overtures, but the other will be unsure if it's play or an attack, and puff up, and then we get a spat and hurt feelings for a while.

These pics were taken last weekend, to prove that they had advanced to the point of being able to be in the same room together.





Then, early in the week, further proof of Cat Detente (Morgan on her new cat-bed, thoughtfully positioned for her by telepresence; Emily vultching out the window):



It's an uneasy truce, though. It's hard to tell, but Morgan is significantly smaller than Emily (I can one-arm Morgan over my head; can't do that with the grey cat, who cultivates a certain lead-like density) -- and yet, Emily is such a candy-ass that she's coming off the worse in the spats they keep having. (Including the one at FIVE FREAKIN' A.M. this morning.) Most of the spats I've seen, though, seem to be the result of one or the other getting a little too friendly and freaking the other out, so that leads me to believe they'll eventually work it out and become buddies. I mean, hell, if Emily could become buddies with *Theo* (who, god love her, is one of the spikier little cats I've ever known), I feel sure she can become buddies with Morgan.



So, damn them, they are auctioning off more props from Stargate on eBay.

I think they've done this, like, twice before. And each time I got into discussions with various people about whether in fact I would want a prop from the show, and if so, what. I'm a geek, and there is nothing that I am geekier about than Stargate, really -- but there's actually very few things from the show I'd want to own. I don't want a costume. I don't want something big and impractical and ostentatious. I might want a zat (although, unfortunately, it wouldn't *actually* expand with that cool whiney noise), or maybe one of those little Asgard communications stones.

But from the very start, there was ONE prop I could think of that I had seen over the course of the show that I would, without question, want to own. Not just because it's from the show, indeed is from a favorite episode; but because the moment it was shown on screen, I said, "hey, that's *cool*". I thought it was a neat concept, and at least from the perspective of a TV screen, it looked like a nice design. (I realize of course that film props look better on screen then they do up close and in person -- another reason I wouldn't necessarily want many props from the show, because in real-life, in my living room, they'd probably look kinda cheesy, through no fault of their own.) I watched the previous two auctions with a degree of dread, waiting to see if they'd sell the piece I wanted, but they didn't. Which was probably good because the way obsessed fans bid on this stuff, it seemed pretty certain that the piece would ultimately sell for a much, much higher price than I could convince myself I could afford.

And now -- eeeek! -- they have put it up for auction. WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

(For those who want to know what the hell I am talking about without clicking on the links -- if you're familiar enough with Stargate to recognize these things, it is the circular book-thingie that was found at the ruined "utopian" site in the season 6 episode "Paradise Lost". It got a bit of screen-time, being carried around by Jack, which is why I am guessing it is going to get bid up way out of my range. But even aside from that association and even aside from the fact that PL ranks as one of my top favorite SG episodes, I just thought this circular foldy-out book thingie was *NEAT* from the moment it was first seen. I thought it was a lovely concept for an alien "book", and seemed to have been executed very well.)

*sigh* I'm sure that I am not alone and that whoever does wind up winning the auction will be bidding on it because they think it's as neat as I do, and I guess I can't argue with that.

And it's not even one of the A-list props in this batch of auctions. (And yet, possibly with the exception of the Eye of Ra, I don't desire any of the other A-list props. Although, of the auctions thus far, I have to say that the scarab-beetle pendant seen on Sha're in "Forever in a Day" is kind of cute, and knowing me, is something I would actually wear as jewelry in my daily life, so yeah, I wouldn't mind owning that, either.)

And finally, I got new glasses. Which is meaningless to many of you who have never seen a picture of me anyway, in any sort of glasses whatsoever. But these are much bolder, more stylish, more hipster-like dark-framed not-quite-cats-eye glasses that I would never have had the guts to go with had my_tallest and telepresence not served as my Fashion Consultants at the Lenscrafters ("You've got ABOUT AN HOUR, like it SAYS IN THE AD."). Forget "Queer Eye for the Straight Girl" -- raqs and I think that these two guys would be watchable all by themselves. Certainly the women in the Lenscrafters store were entertained.

Comments

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Kitties! Cute kitties! Yay! I'm so glad they get along. We have Cat Issues at home--our eldest cat died a few years back, and the remaining cat became even more whiny and needy and neurotic. So we got another cat, but things just did not work out, and his main goal in life now is to bite her. Along with still being pathetically needy and whiny and loud and, you know, all those annoying behaviors that become magnified as cats age. He's going on 17 now, and as much as I love him because he was my cat, I am honestly ready for him to move on to that great big litterbox in the sky. I know it sounds cruel, but he's become rather difficult to deal with. (And hey, he nipped ME the other day, which was totally uncalled for.)

Our new pretty girl, though, is the sweetest thing on earth. I do try to divide my affection equally between the two of them, but truth is, I'd rather cuddle with the little girl who is not going to bite me because I have the telephone in my hand.

Anyway, congrats on the nifty new glasses, you hipster you. And that book thingy from PL (mmmm, gorgeous, scruffy Jack) is way cool. But pricy.

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

Morgan is in fact a super sweetie. A bit of an affection crackhead, but I assume that in her new social environment she'll settle down.

Pics of the new glasses? Beuller?

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Maybe. I did take a pic that I sent to raqs, that she said was cute, but, I dunno.

Maybe if you manage to take one I don't hate next SciFi Friday.

[maxineofarc.livejournal.com]

Hee hee! Theo is a spiky cat!

I wish I could get her a kitten, actually, but it would be bad for Tina.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Theo is TOTALLY a spiky-cat. Even now, with 25% fewer spikes.

[erskine.livejournal.com]

Very cute kitties!

E.

[raqs.livejournal.com]

WHAT scarab that Sha're was wearing in "Forever and a Day"? There was jewelry and you didn't tell me about it?

where where where?

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Okay, you see the link to the auctions above? Go there, and look at one of the last-listed. You'll see it.

(Reading the copy, I think it's actually something that had been placed on the shroud of Sha're's body, during the burial scene, in that ep. Hard to tell.)

I think it's pretty. I'd wear it.

[my-tallest.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the request for photos. Mind you, mine haven't make it online yet, so who am I to demand?

Me, that's who.

Anyway, you should also thank narcissisme for his virtual help; I did channel some of his technique in helping me buy glasses back in early July.

[that-cad.livejournal.com]

I have a "technique"?

I'M GENIUS!

[my-tallest.livejournal.com]

Your secret shopping technique is unstoppable.

[my-tallest.livejournal.com]

Oh, and just for the record (and the McC family): telepresence can't be on "Queer Eye for the Straight Girl," as he is STRAIGHT. Really, orca_girl, more careful next time. I'm sure he got a "I KNEW IT!" call not five minutes ago.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

I should have elaborated, but -- I'm saying that the Dynamic Duo of a fashionable but secretly geeky gay white guy, and a self-confessed fashion-challenged geeky straight black guy, are MORE ENTERTAINING as fashion consultants for insecure straight girls than another iteration of "Queer Eye" would be.

[my-tallest.livejournal.com]

a fashionable but secretly geeky gay white guy

To be parsed:
Fashionable,
Secretly Geeky,
Gay,
White,
Guy.

(Not secretly gay)

Of course, I'm not that secret about the geek thing, either.

And I'm not Ted, despite the fact that if I wear the glasses I think you got, I would look like I was... COINCIDENTIALLY.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yes, but your geekiness isn't that brutally obvious, either.

Not, er, that telepresence's is. Not *brutally*, anyway.

The glasses I actually got weren't the Chanel ones, they're the Anne Klein ones. So slightly less Ted-like.

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

"Yes, but your geekiness isn't that brutally obvious, either.

Not, er, that telepresence's is. Not *brutally*, anyway."


Just keep digging dear. :P

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

::SMOOCH!::

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

Happily, it would appear my mother did not tune into orca_girl's comment through the sub-etha. So no worries. Frankly at this point she'd probably be relieved, as it stands I'm just her stubbornly spinsterish son of no makin' the grandchildren.

[that-cad.livejournal.com]

Dude. Which goes better with salmon, Merlot or Cabernet?

...

...

HA! SEE! YOU INSTANTLY THOUGHT "Actually, white wine goes better with fish..." DIDN'T YOU!? DON'T DENY IT!

You are so Ted.

[my-tallest.livejournal.com]

Really, don't presume to figure out how I think.

My thought processes reading your comment were more like:

Hmmm... I can work in the limitation of a red with salmon, as long as it's been grilled and pepper coated. In which case, it's not really a choice, because while I'd personally like the doubly dry experience of a nice harsh Cab with my peppery fish, I doubt Brant would like either. Oh, and some capers would be nice, but he doesn't like those either. And maybe the Merlot might be a sweet change from the pepper in the fish. Shit, I don't know... Oh, it's just a stupid put on. Wait... Brant doesn't seem to know that while white wines go with white fishes, it's not true of all fish. Should I correct him, or does that make me like Ted? Oh, I see he thinks I'm Ted already. Well, I should just reply and let him know he's once again wrong, but use my usual tact so he doesn't kill me. Can't have the assassins on me again; my foot just healed.

So, maybe you're right, given that "so" = "80% match +/- 10% error for those surveyed". Given little other information, I think I might be mistaken for a Ted 80% of the time.

Meanwhile I'd say you're like a 50% Ted. And you really should try some Cab with a swordfish steak; yum.

[that-cad.livejournal.com]

Dude, the whole thought process? Ted. Ted Ted Ted. Meanwhile, I'd say you're, like, 80% Ted, and also? Assassins, man. Since you can't get me the Harvard discount, you're days have become increasingly numbered.

(Also also: "usual" tact? What "usual" tact?)

(PS: Page me later.)

[maxineofarc.livejournal.com]

*I* thought that, and I'm not Ted. A glance around me tells me that much.

But I hear that the red wine/red meat, white wine/white meat thing doesn't necessarily hold.

I don't know. Wine scares me. Which is definite proof that I am not Ted. Or even Ming Tsai.

[that-cad.livejournal.com]

I think, if I had billions of dollars, I would buy the Stargate itself, and make it the, like, entryway into my manion's library or something. Or maybe just put it in the center of my estate's massive garden — that'd be cool.

Also: I'd buy the boy who played the evil Pharaoh alien in the original movie, and make him...um...make me tea. Yes. "Tea."

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

I think, if I had billions of dollars, I would buy the Stargate itself,

Well. Yes, obviously. That is the correct answer.

if only they were real!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

i love how your cats are...looking. right. at. you. heh, love how cats do that.

i keep looking at the stargate props and thinking, well, i want them to be real. just when i get ready to bid on something i cringe. because, when it gets to my house it just won't be real.

although i'm not sure that owning a real zat gun would be such a grand idea. ;)

it is a cool book though.

Re: if only they were real!

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

i love how your cats are...looking. right. at. you. heh, love how cats do that.

Well, I *have* mastered the secret of making the "smoochsmoochsmooch" noise moments before taking the picture, to make them look up at me. Neither of these cats feigns disinterest very well, either.

i keep looking at the stargate props and thinking, well, i want them to be real. just when i get ready to bid on something i cringe. because, when it gets to my house it just won't be real.

although i'm not sure that owning a real zat gun would be such a grand idea. ;)

it is a cool book though.

Yeah, to tell the truth, that's my reaction to most of the props. (Even the ones that proclaim "working prop!" -- by which, I assume they mean, in relation to the hand-healing-device for example, that it actually has a little light-bulb in it that you can make light up, and stuff.) And I *know* that often props look fine on film and you don't realize how flimsy and crude they actually are. (The Magic of Film!)

I suspect, after seeing what The Book finally goes for, I shall spend a lot of time telling myself that it is far better to enjoy the idea of it as "real" within the fiction of the episode, than to have the illusion shattered by crude reality.

Yeah. Yeah, that'll work. :)

Re: if only they were real!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

there is definately an art to timing the 'smoochsmoochsmooch'. i have pictures of my cat where it's clear that she's had just about enough of the camera. heh.

i think you're right about the props...besides....i don't want the 'boonie', i want the guy wearing it! i did wear my farscape comm badge to work today. got a ton of complements on the lovely pin. unfortunately no matter what i did the darn thing was not a working model. feh.

anyway, damn that crude reality, it's always getting in the way of fun! ;)

Re: if only they were real!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

ps. just to clarify....i really don't want the person/character under the boonie...er, i wasn't sure how that attempt at humor came across after i hit enter. yikes. sorry about that! :)

Re: if only they were real!

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

:) Don't worry, I know exactly what you mean. I think we all do the same thing in a casual, not-serious way. I was going to reply to the previous comment something along the lines of:

"Yeah, that's why I'm not interested in the costumes -- I don't want to wear them myself (in many cases, couldn't; wrong size), I want what's *IN* them."

Re: if only they were real!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

i've decided that reality is over-rated. heh.

although i think that it's fun to be a bit of a 'prankster' and test the limits of how much one can get away with: so wearing my farscape comm badge to work is about my limits since i'm a geek and a wimp.