Kevin's Watch

I keep looking at our cats -- one is 11 and the other is 9 -- and wondering how long before we have to worry about all the geriatric-pet stuff.

Anyway -- how do I feel today? Kind of relieved, to be honest. I uploaded the latest book to KDP this morning, and it's now on sale. I still need to format the paperback, but I can do that this weekend. Mainly I wanted it out there before this weekend started, so people looking for a book for the 4th of July weekend might consider picking up a copy.

I've been working on this series for the past four years -- time to do something else!

aliantha wrote:Anyway -- how do I feel today? Kind of relieved, to be honest. I uploaded the latest book to KDP this morning, and it's now on sale. I still need to format the paperback, but I can do that this weekend. Mainly I wanted it out there before this weekend started, so people looking for a book for the 4th of July weekend might consider picking up a copy.

Congrats!

aliantha wrote: I keep looking at our cats -- one is 11 and the other is 9 -- and wondering how long before we have to worry about all the geriatric-pet stuff.

It varies so much. I'd say they probably have a few years before actual geriatric issues start popping up. But just like people, it's different for every cat. I've seen 20-year-old cats at the shelter who still have all their teeth, and young cats with no teeth. I'm probably fixated on feline teeth right now since my middle cat did not pick good genes in that area, and I'm expecting her next vet appointment to be expensive.

Ouch. *sympathetic wince*

Congrats Ali.

I feel pretty good...short day Friday, and the team building thing yesterday turned out fun...the place we planned to go turned out closed, so we ended up somewhere else playing laser tag.

And it was close(ish) to home, so instead of me coming back to the office then leaving, I just went straight home, which made yesterday a short day too, which was pretty nice.

--A

I am feeling bummed. I rescued a dove that had been battered by a well-meaning janitor with a mop. I've cared for him for the past several weeks. I got a huge cage so he could live outdoors, and it was great watching other doves come and visit him today. Well, Stag didn't like where the cage was, and as the cage was getting moved with the droppings tray out, the dove escaped through a hole I hadn't realized was big enough. The cat found him before we could.... ugh. I was pretty fond of the little guy by now.

I know the cat was just acting on instinct so I can't be mad at her (and by the way, she is 15 at least and has lost a fang but still quite the huntress).

Jos is an incredibly boring place to be in the summer. No beach, no lake, everyone with any sense leaves Nigeria for the summer. I was going to go into town and do some shopping but I realized a Friday afternoon near the end of Ramadan is not a good time to go into the city. Yep, African awesomeness.

Well, I am just down about the dove and just feel like watching tv and having the world leave me alone. All kinds of things I feel like I should be doing, like finish writing a book. Aliantha is like ten up on me, haha. I am reading really good books like crazy but we have also been house hunting, which is a real mess here. No MLS, and everyone who sees a white person thinks their fortune has arrived; the price doubles and it's a waste of time. We literally have to send an African ahead of us to find the "real" price out.

Avatar wrote:I feel pretty good...short day Friday, and the team building thing yesterday turned out fun...the place we planned to go turned out closed, so we ended up somewhere else playing laser tag.

That is awesome.

also, I wasn't nearly as tired as I expected yesterday.

Then I stayed up really late again last night.

I'm kind of hyper this morning.. brain flowing with ideas, and my Bible reading for today (well, the bit of it I've done) elicited some tears on account of being so beautiful.

On the minus, I've spent too much time playing this one game like the addict I am.
(But it was fun.)

*reads deer's post*

deer wrote:I am feeling bummed. I rescued a dove that had been battered by a well-meaning janitor with a mop. I've cared for him for the past several weeks. I got a huge cage so he could live outdoors, and it was great watching other doves come and visit him today. Well, Stag didn't like where the cage was, and as the cage was getting moved with the droppings tray out, the dove escaped through a hole I hadn't realized was big enough. The cat found him before we could.... ugh. I was pretty fond of the little guy by now.

Boo. Doves are delightful and lovely creatures.
And when you've gone through all the effort to get the cage and arrange things... and it seems it's just been in vain.

deer wrote:...and everyone who sees a white person thinks their fortune has arrived; the price doubles and it's a waste of time. We literally have to send an African ahead of us to find the "real" price out.

Arrrrrrgh.

Thanks, guys.

Deer, I totally understand wanting to be a hermit after that.

Av, glad your team-building activity turned out better than you hoped it would.

It's the Friday before a holiday weekend here in the States, and true to form, a whole lot of people have already started their long weekends by "working from home." I'm stuck here at my desk 'til my usual time, but I'm hoping the phone calls, etc., peter out pretty soon so I can maybe get some actual work done. Or maybe I'll just color the July page on my calendar.

Hey, coloring your calendar is important!!

Thanks for empathizing with my whinefest. Two hours of some show I never heard of (Justified) took my mind off things. Going shopping tomorrow. I want to get Stag of the dawn cloth so he can get a new Reverend shirt sewn for his birthday (with the collar that holds the white thing). It will not be easy combing the cloth shops for plain blue cotton, good quality. Monday we leave for Ghana to stay at the beach for TEN DAYSSSSS!!!! We have never taken ten days vacation, ever.

EDIT: I anticipate a truly horrifying flight with Arik Air, infamous even in Nigeria for all-around bad service; late flights, filthy planes, cancellations (they are the ones who marooned us in Liberia at the beginning of the Ebola crisis). But they're the only way to get to Ghana except by driving, and we have heard of too many horror stories about that.

That's rough, Deer - sorry.

Have a great vacation.

Thanks, Sorus. It's supposed to rain every day. It is, actually, rainy season in West Africa; but Stag really wanted to do Ghana. I wanted to go to England but I suppose you get rained on there as well, yes?

England will always be there. Although maybe not quite as cheap as it is now. Have a great vacation, Deer!

Got nothing done yesterday. Still need to format the paperback edition of the new book. Guess I'll be doing that today.

I'd regard the rain as a positive (fewer people! no sunburns!) but I realize most beach-goers would prefer sun.

Ah, that answers my question in the other thread anyway Deer. Have a good holiday. Good luck with the plane. Like so much else in Africa, travel is a bit of a craps shoot.

Monday. Meh. Weekend was way too short.

--A

Had a really good day today. Washed all the windows indoors, curtains and nets washed, dried on the line and ironed. Had to move a huge pile of stuff precariously balanced, mostly paper, to get to one window in my study so went through it and it's almost all now in the recycle bin. And I don't feel too tired. I did have a few rest breaks in between windows though. So, clean windows, much tidier office. Must do this more often!

And Deer, it was a beautiful day today, although it is now raining. I hope you have a great holiday in Ghana.

I feel like it was quiet on the Watch yesterday.

And I don't feel like doing any work today.

And I think I need a holiday.

--A

Grouchy and hating everyone. Had a good-ish 3 day weekend though.
Sat - took the kids roller skating for the first time, and they loved it and caught on pretty quickly.
Sun - Went to Cave of the Winds and made a lot of fart jokes. Halfway through the cave tour, my daughter starting crying that she needed to go potty really bad, despite the fact that we brought her to the restrooms before the tour began. I fell on the grenade and took her out while letting my wife and son finish. We were not able to continue the tour but did give a refund, which was nice.
Mon - set off some fireworks too late and now I am sleepy and cranky.

I'm feeling bleh to be back at work after a relaxing weekend. Got the paperback edition of the new book uploaded on Saturday -- and then spent most of the rest of the day formatting a short story collection and doing a bit of (paid! ) editing work.

Yesterday, I ran errands with MagickMarker, then spent the evening doing a jack-in-the-box routine: knitting 'til I heard something outside go boom, then up to check all the windows to see where fireworks were going off. I got a glimpse of maybe five or six fireworks displays, including the one on the National Mall -- and I didn't have to fight the crowds to get home afterward.

From what I saw of the fireworks last night watching "A Capitol Fourth", on PBS, the weather went through several drastic changes during the fireworks. At first, it seemed like the cloud deck was so low that most of the show was invisible, only a few low sparks underneath. A few minutes later, it looked crystal-clear and the whole show was visible. This changed back and forth quite a few times. Very peculiar weather - or the TV audience was given a deceptive production involving old-show footage. One would hope PBS has too much integrity for that...or at least too much competence to have what was broadcast be so inconsistent.

You saw it for real, ali; what was the weather/visibility actually like?

It was supposedly cloudy here, but I didn't attempt to view. Past my bedtime, for what it's worth. My neighborhood is very fond of explosions, and it sounded like WWIII until sometime past midnight.

One plus of my upstairs neighbor's obscenely loud plumbing - cats are no longer fazed by any loud noises. They can sleep through fireworks, Blue Angels, and probably Armageddon.

Savor Dam wrote:You saw it for real, ali; what was the weather/visibility actually like?

Cloudy and rainy all evening. We had a rain-free window during the fireworks, but at no time were the skies clear. And yes, PBS snuck in footage from past years. www.snopes.com/2016/07/05/pbs-old-fireworks-footage/

*tsk* SD.
I told you during the broadcast that PBS posted to FB that they chose to insert archived fireworks footage.