Senioritis

A picture to remind me that there’s more to Austin than campus

It’s no secret that I desperately want to get out of school. I’m tired of the culture more than anything - parties, immaturity, people staying up until five in the morning so that when you call at eleven to see what they’re doing for the day, you feel guilty because you woke them up. I’m tired of people still acting like they need their mommies to be able to function at all. I’m tired of people spending their student loans on going out to eat every day because they’re too lazy to boil some water for noodles. I can’t wait to be out of this little tiny apartment and into an actual house where I’ll have the room to move my computer and little television set out of my bedroom. The cats are tired of being here too, already. They’re bored and they hate being limited to my bedroom, a living room, and the bathroom.

I think it’s mostly just walking around and hearing people act like we did back in high school. We all just have cabin fever. This morning Augustus has been whining at the top of his lungs and I have no idea why. Letting him look out the kitchen window helped for awhile but every time someone walks by he gets terrified and jumps down, and then can’t get back up. Sata has been just laying listlessly under my bed, and I know he’s bored and wants to go outside but I can’t let him because of all the weirdos who hang around here and the non-neutered cats who are aggressive and spray all over the place.

And me? I will be very glad when I’m completely done with pop quizzes and dirty carpets and leaky faucets in the bathroom and lack of windows. I always thought I’d love to live in apartments, moving from place to place, never tied down. Then I actually began living in one and it’s killing me (not really - I’m dramatic).

I guess I’m just tired of living the student life. I don’t want to settle down, but I’d like to get out of this area, out of school, and get on with my life. University students, especially the ones here, are so pushy, rude, immature, and self-centered. I get off a city bus and everyone who gets off with me is thanking the bus driver, saying “have a nice day” and all that. I get of a university shuttle and it’s silence. People will yell at a bus driver and then never once say “thank you.” It’s ridiculous. I’m so ready to be done with it. They push in front of you when you’re walking and never excuse themselves, or they bump into you and never say they’re sorry. They’ll talk loudly on their cell phones in quiet areas and expect you to just deal with it.

It doesn’t help that there’s 30,000 of us here. This is a huge university, and you can easily be anonymous or get involved, whichever you want. But either way, you can’t avoid the crowds of girls in shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops, yapping on their cell phone and pushing through, or the frat boys with the stupid polo shirts who walk really closely behind you when there’s no one else around. And it doesn’t help that the university has taken on three major construction projects, cutting off most access routes to the buildings, which increases the crowds along one of the roads so much that you can’t even hear yourself think.

tl;dr? I’m tired. I’m ready to be out of here. Senioritis for the lose.

February 24, 2009 @ 11:32 am . Comments (8)

General — Tags: annoyance, cats, Future, living, school

Appreciation

It’s been the weirdest week ever. It was a kind of bad week but it was more than that: it was just weird. I can’t expain it. It just felt strange, like it would never end, and it was weird because I felt nervous all week.

I dunno. Do you ever have weeks like that? Yesterday one of the cats (Sata) got sick, and was literally crawling across the floor, meowing in a pitiful, scary way. I was terrified he was going to die. He started throwing up and after he had emptied the contents of his stomach he found a corner and just curled up there. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever witnessed, especially because Sata and I have become so especially close in the past week or so. He curls up with me when I go to sleep, and when I wake up he always comes in to greet me.

I was scared, but it really makes you appreciate what you have all the more. He’s a wonderful cat and I’m so happy he’s mine, especially because he just loves everyone unconditionally. Last night I thought I was going to lose him and I hated thinking that. This morning when I woke up, and he came running in to greet me, I couldn’t even explain the relief I felt. He’s just the right kind of cat.

What have you come to appreciate in the past week?

February 20, 2009 @ 8:12 pm . Comments (5)

General — Tags: cats, lessons, pets

Cats!

Augustus - cutest but most annoying cat in the world.

Awhile ago I had mentioned J and I were going to get another cat, because of our currently temperamental cat Augustus. I talked about how nervous I was because I wasn’t sure how Augustus was going to react. He’s always been moody and extremely clingy, and my hope was that with another cat, he’d have something besides us to cling to. I picked up our new cat, which we renamed Sata, from my coworker, and then we were on our way on the cat journey.

Sata is eight years old according to the vet, but I think he’s younger. He’s adorable and quiet. He drinks from the sink and sleeps in there too. He’s completely white all over - as you can see, he’s not tan, or brown, and he has no spots. He’s gorgeous.

The first night, Augustus (who is one and a half and does not know what other animals are at all) was terrified and Sata wouldn’t stop hissing at him. It took three days for them to be in the same room without problems for more than ten minutes, and it took a week for them to be comfortable with each other. But here’s the good news - Augustus is still cranky, but he’s less clingy and annoying. It worked!

I’m thrilled to have two cats. They actually play with each other now and when they’re not playing, Sata tolerates Augustus poking and prodding him and whining. Augustus wants to play ALL THE TIME, whereas Sata just enjoys relaxing. So Augustus will initiate playing, but Sata will just wander off instead of hissing or attacking when he’s not up for playing. I can’t even express to him how much I appreciate him putting up with Augustus’ moods.

So it’s been easier on all of us for Augustus to be able to have someone else to pester besides us. Sure, he still pesters us, but at least he’s not completely alone during the day when we’re all off at work or class, and at least when we are home he can play with Sata too. And it’s best in the mornings when Augustus gets antsy at about six in the morning and wants me to wake up, because he and Sata just chase each other around until I finally do. He still meows impatiently, but it’s not NEARLY as bad as it used to be. It’s just annoying now. Before, it was unbearable.

Success!

Hello!

February 5, 2009 @ 10:54 am . Comments (3)

General — Tags: cats, pets

Nervous

Tomorrow J and I will be adopting another cat. I’m really, really nervous how Augustus will react to a new furry friend in the house. For those of you that don’t know, Augustus has been one headache after another. We love him to death, despite everything, but it’s been hard. We’re hoping that another cat will fix a lot of the problems he’s been having.

We got Augustus in April, and he’s a very clingy kitten. When we got him he had all sorts of problems and was seeing a vet almost every week. Since then his health has improved, but he’s still extremely clingy, and as he’s grown up he’s gotten less affectionate. He meows incessantly and has to constantly be around us. He lives in J’s apartment, and doesn’t let him sleep at night because he always wants to play at about six in the morning, regardless of whether we try to tire him out or not. He’s also obnoxious. He jumps onto the kitchen table then onto J’s bar over the sink, knocking everything into the sink. He tears up rolls of toilet paper. He pounces on people as they walk by.

Now, he’s gotten a lot better since we got him, but there’s still problems. When he’s being a good cat, he’s wonderful. He’s quiet, affectionate, and he purrs all the time. But when he’s being awful, he’s truly awful. We’re hoping that the presence of an affectionate, quiet older cat would help a lot because it would give Augustus a companion during the day, something to play with, and ideally, even a role model to look up to.

So we’re going to try it. I’m not sure how well Augustus will handle another cat, but we have to try. If it doesn’t work out, we can always take the cat back, but I’m hoping it WILL work out. Augustus is one year old as of November, and this is an important time for him. I’m hoping that if he sees how well-mannered and quiet the new cat is, it’ll influence his own behavior. Also, I’ve been reading that a lot of this behavior is due to boredom - a new cat can help to alleviate that. J and I also work during the day, so he just sleeps all day until we get home because he’s bored and lonely.

Do any of you know enough about cats to know if this would work? What kinds of pets do you have? Have they ever given you trouble? Share your pet stories!

January 15, 2009 @ 10:42 am . Comments (9)

General — Tags: cats