International Bad Cat Day -- Musical Version

[pameladean]

I don't always sleep very well. Last night was pretty good to start with. I went to bed around 1:30, petted the purring, kneading, face-patting, wrist-licking, belly-showing Saffron, and was asleep before I looked at the clock to see how long it was taking me to go to sleep. I woke up at six and used the bathroom and actually got back to sleep rather than lying awake worrying about things I can't do much about. Into this unusual sleep, after two and a half hours, came a strong sound of music. I sat up groggily. Saffron was sitting on a stack of storage tubs, swiveling her head around and looking inquisitive. Cassie was sitting in the middle of the bed with her ears back. It was a rather pleasant piece for violin and flute, and I thought that under other circumstances I might recognize it. I got up and went into Raphael's office, since that was, I believed, the closest possible source of music. All was dark and quiet there, however. Both cats followed me, campaigning for breakfast.

I went back into my room and there was the music. I finally remembered that the clock on top of the dresser, which Raphael and I got long ago either in Arizona or in Bemidji, I can't recall, because we needed better weather reports than the Weather Channel could provide when we were planning on being outside all day hiking, actually has a regular radio in it as well. The button that turns on the weather radio is on top, and Saffron has stepped on it before. But I did not awaken to the automated voice describing the weather. I hit the button, and there was the weather radio. When I hit it again there was supposed to be silence, but the music came back. I finally had to turn the volume down all the way because I could not figure out what Saffron had done. The time-setting controls and the weather radio button are on the top of the clock, but everything else is on the sides. She might have been sharpening her face on the sides, I suppose.

I didn't feed the cats, partly because it was only 8:30, but mostly because I didn't want to encourage whatever it was she had done. I wouldn't put it past her to remember what it was.

In other news, we got the final digital files for Points of Departure from the publisher, and I'm going over my stories looking for errors. There is an error spreadsheet one is supposed to use to locate and describe what should be corrected. I had to ask the nice person in Production how to use it, but it's simple enough.

By this time I am extremely tired of "The Green Cat." It being the oldest of the stories, the digital version had not survived translation from format to format and repeated backups, so I ended up typing it all in again not really that long ago. I was a little impatient with "Two Houses in Saltigos" too, but am both pleased and abashed to admit that "Paint the Meadows With Delight" still makes me laugh, even though I wrote it. Then again, Silvertop is not my character, but Emma's; so perhaps that explains it.

Pamela

Comments

[carbonel]

Emily, my first cat, learned that she could open the medicine chest in the bathroom, and either bat it open and closed to make noise or bat items from it into the sink, making a different sort of noise. All this was in aid of getting me out of bed so I would feed her, because she got fed in the morning.

Ever since then, every cat in my house has been fed in the afternoon, after work. I'd much rather have a cat reminding me that it's the end of the work day than that it's time to get up. Especially when the cat's idea of when it's time to get up doesn't accord with mine.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

One step closer to readers getting their mitts on it! . .

[seekerval.livejournal.com]

As Saffron is a cat, you may want to consider wrapping all sides of the clock radio in bubble wrap. The parts you want to manipulate/read could have thinner, strategically placed wrap that your finger could work through, but might cause Saffron at least a few attempts before she can make it work.

Of course, this COULD mean small popping sounds disturbing your sleep now and then...

[graydon saunders (from livejournal.com)]

I am very much looking forward to Points of Departure.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

When I wake up in the night and worry about things I cannot control (sounds like I do this more occasionally than you do), I have a series of scripted kinds of thought patterns that will usually work--like going over character relationships in a favorite work of fiction, or retelling a recently re-read or re-watched thing, or sometimes playing alphabet games (such as taking two people in a couple and try and think of the name of a famous person or a person I know with the first initial of one and the last initial of the other).

This works about 90% of the time, while "counting sheep" or its ilk is useless because too simple.

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

Magical musical cat. I enjoy reading about the exploits of the four-legged denizens of your house, but I am sure they are more fun to read about than experience - especially in the wee hours.

Looking forward to the book!

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

It being the oldest of the stories, the digital version had not survived translation from format to format and repeated backups, so I ended up typing it all in again not really that long ago.

When I was helping NESFA Press to get Fredric Brown's short stories back in print, I did OCR on a couple of the old books. It worked pretty well, much better than I'd expected. The results had to be carefully copy-edited, of course, but it was still a lot faster than retyping the stories.

[cat-sanctuary.livejournal.com]

I'm glad my cats never heard of International Bad Cat Day.

[thinkum]

At least it was a lovely musical sound to wake up to, rather than a clattering, smashing, or blaring one. ;-)

Cats continue to fascinate me. What must they think of us...

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to the book, and loving your musical cat.

Mayhem has the ability to walk across my keyboard and switch on music - different music every time, but always baroque. She likes baroque. (Actually, she really does seem to prefer baroque music, at least where my singing is concerned). I especially liked the occasion when she wandered through on the second Sunday of Advent and switched on Handel's Messiah, which I didn't even know I had on my computer...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

How dreamlike and magical the situation with the music was--honestly, even when you identified the source as the weather-station-playing radio, the fact that it was playing half-familiar, pleasant music, and that it was your cats (you THINK!) who turned it on is ... quite unusual and appealing, and very wonderful not to have all been a part of the dream you were having.

the purring, kneading, face-patting, wrist-licking, belly-showing Saffron

--what an excellent cat