Even though it's now 1am as I write this, to me, it's not "tomorrow" until I go to bed and wake up "the next day". So, when I refer to "today", I'm referring to Wednesday (August 14th). Just so you know!
So, let's see, where should I start? I guess I'll start with Yoda, the whiny little spaz. Up until the last few days, he's actually been okay while locked up in the bedroom for his 2-3 hour turn (you'll remember, due to Yoda & Darwin's violent fights, we have to keep them completely separated and do so by putting one of them in the bedroom while the other one has free reign of the house [other than the "isolation room", as we call it] and then we switch them after 2-3 hours). The last few days though, Yoda's been going completely apeshit while locked in the room. He's always meowed for a bit at the beginning, but he quickly settles down and chills out until it's time for the switcheroo. But, like I said, he's going apeshit, he "meowls" (like a cross between a howl and a meow) incessantly and he's figured out how to scratch and claw at the bottom of the door, almost like he's trying to "dig" himself out or something. It really gets on both my and Geno's nerves, it's incredibly frustrating. Now, I know I've waffled a bit on the idea of bringing him to the SPCA, but after having an ad in the local classifieds for the better part of a month with not even ONE response, not to mention the obvious stress he's in when locked in the bedroom (even after we give him Elavil - not on a daily basis, but on an "as needed" basis), it's clear that we have no other option. It breaks my heart because he's the first cat I've had that's really mine, all mine. I've finally matured enough that the cats we have as pets aren't scared of or anxious around me. It took me 29+ years, but I've finally gotten to a mature and responsible stage in life where I respect and love the cat and the cat loves and respects me in return. It's a mutual adoration, which makes it that much harder. But, I just have to keep reminding myself that it's in his best interest, Darwin's best interest and my/Geno's best interest as well (it's pretty stressful, believe it or not). All we have to do now is find someone willing to bring us there (and home, obviously). I was very against me going along, but Geno convinced me that I really should, it is my responsibility after all and he's not wrong about that. So, I guess I'll be going. Geno's going to have to show his ID because I don't have any (can't find my freakin' wallet and the only "ID" I have is a photocopy of my expired in 2007 driver's license, SIN card, MSP [health care] card and an old Visa). Geno said he's fine with showing his ID (not sure why they need it) and he'll tell them "the story" ("the cat" is a "stray" that's been constantly in our yard, we've asked all the neighbours and nobody's claimed him, we considered taking him in but he and our cat don't get along and we don't want to risk any injuries, infections [being a "stray" and all], etc). I know it's terrible that we have to go down that road, but they have a 9-18 month waiting list for surrenders, not to mention, if you surrender, they want you to pay $$ - which, I understand, they're a shelter and they need the $$ to keep the place going, but we don't have ANY spare money that we could put towards that.
I'm sure I'll get judged as a horrible person for admitting this, but once Darwin is neutered (latest Oct. 8/9th) and we've got his behavioural issues under control (mainly his anxiety, that's the biggest one), I am going to adopt a kitten. Well actually, Geno is going to "surprise" me with a kitten as a Halloween present. I told him I have two non-negotiable stipulations: 1) Must be gray (or at least primarily gray, white/gray, orange/gray, pink/gray is fine, but NO black/gray - we already have a black/gray cat [Darwin] and I don't want our cats to look anything alike...I know, weird, but it's just a "thing" I won't budge on) and 2) Must be female. For a couple reasons. One being I plain and simple prefer female cats over male. And second, I think it's in the best interest of both Darwin and the new kitten. Two males, even when both are fixed, but especially when one (in this case, Darwin), was neutered "late" in life (at 18 months as opposed to the usual 4-6 months), is just asking for territorial issues to arise. As we've learned the hard and unfortunate way with Darwin and Yoda. I have a few name ideas tossing around in my brain, but I've decided that I'm not going to settle on a name until I've had her for at least 5-7 days. I want to be 100% sure that the name I choose is perfect and suitable. If you recall, Yoda actually started out as "Chester", but I changed it to Yoda 2 or 3 months later because he just didn't suit "Chester" and the name "Yoda" seemed absolutely perfect for him. And Loki (the orange kitten we had for only a couple weeks - the one that started the whole fighting thing between Yoda and Darwin) was "Dalek" for 9 days before Geno decided that "Dalek" wasn't "right" and together, after perusing multiple kitten/cat name websites, decided on "Loki". The girl who adopted him from us called him "Marley". Cute name, IMO. So yeah, I'll be collecting names over the next 2.5 months and trying my favourites out on New Kitten* before settling on a name after she's been here about a week or so.
I called Revenue Canada and the Child Tax Benefit place, both received our requests for reassessments (income tax on July 18th and CTB on July 29th). So, depending on how the reassessment goes, we should be getting some $$ between the beginning and mid-September. Not sure how much, but once it's processed, I can call them to ask. I'm almost 100% certain that they'll be direct depositing it into my account, which is great because then there's no hold on the funds, we can use it as soon as it's in the account. We have a list of priorities: 1) Paying my mom back (if we get it before August 28th, we'll use it to pay her, otherwise, we'll be paying her when we get our disability on the 28th - whichever comes first is what we'll use to pay her back the $100 she so graciously lent us). 2) Paying Shari back. 3) New couch (getting a pull-out couch, there's one on Jysk that I really fell in love with THIS "Hansen Sofa Bed", it's under $200 and perfect, exactly what we're looking for! We'd just have to decide what colour we want - green, red or brown. I'm not too fond of the idea of having a brown couch because I think it's a bit "boring". I'm leaning towards the red, but not totally discounting green yet either. Ah well, I have some time before deciding for sure.) 4) New bed (most likely getting one from the same place as the couch [Jysk], but we're going to look around, see our options. We definitely need something way better than the shitty 10+ year old piece of shit we're currently sleeping on.) 5) Neutering Darwin (pretty obvious, right?) 6) New laptop (for me!) Of course, this all depends on how much we actually get. We might only be able to do a couple or a few. Even so, I'll be happy with whatever we have because every little bit counts and helps. I have to call the Ministry tomorrow and double check that there's no way they can deduct the income tax or CTB money (the last social worker I talked to said they don't, but I honestly don't trust them to not turn around and refuse to give us a month or two [or three] of rent, saying "Well, you got X dollars, you should've paid your rent with that!". In which case I'll find them tooth and nail. I'm going to tell them straight up that we're using the money for the big extras that we can't normally afford. Hopefully we don't get fucked around in the end, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we do).
Well, now that it's closing in on 3am, I better wrap this up. Oh and I was talking to my home girl, Mel, on the phone earlier and she told me to tell you all that you better "Respect ma author-i-tie!". LOL Goodnight everyone! Sweet (or wet, your choice, whatever tickles your...you know wink) dreams and much love and happiness being sent your way!
Sarah. xoxox
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