Flurries

[pameladean]

Raphael appeared suddenly in my peripheral vision with the remark, "Remember it's vet day." Or "cat day," can't remember. When we did that huge expotition with all three of zir cats, so as not to have to do it again, they failed to give Minou his vaccinations. Then the post office, as is its regrettable habit, stuck the postcard from the Kitty Klinic reminding Raphael that Minou was due for his shots into a catalog that I just happened to decide to look at rather than recycling unopened. Oy.

There was still a carrier in the library after the Great Expotition. I put it in the cat sitting room, and finding Raphael occupied by a work crisis at the worst possible moment, went into my bedroom, scooped the sleeping Minou up off my pillow, and inserted him into the carrier before he really woke up. He had a lot to say about that.

The appointment went fine, we weren't late and it didn't take long, but I felt discombobulated when we got home and forgot to go for my walk. Eric called much earlier than he usually does, sounding discouraged. We had a nice conversation anyway. Then I realized that it still wasn't quite dark, so I bolted outside and went for my walk anyway. No actual snowflakes yet, but a damp brisk wind and the smell of snow. The sky was gray and I'd missed any sunset color there might have been. The city light from downtown was doing a good imitation of sunrise in the north, though. Lovely pinks. I discovered that a house I walk past all the time has very fine stained-glass in four of its windows, and achieved as well numerous glimpses into the interiors of other houses. I don't really want to see any people when I do this; I like looking at the woodwork and the floors and the colors the walls are painted and whether there are any cats about.

I'm still reading Liavek IV, and realized while talking to Eric that I will need to reread "The Illusionist" as well as the five original volumes. Oh, the horror, I have to reread a John M. Ford story about the theater.

Now I remember why I thought of buying underwear at Target. If I don't do laundry, I won't have any tomorrow. Oh, well, at least I remembered to order the detergent with the groceries.

My cat is stretched out on the bare metal radiator, blissed.

Pamela

Comments

[daedala.livejournal.com]

I go for walks fairly often; maybe we could meet up for one on a weekend?

Also, I owe you birthday book. Still. And bad nasty anti-hairball Iambs.

Did I write that? I will just leave that there....

[pameladean]

Oh dear, I wish I could write those iambs.

Theoretically I could get together with you for a weekend walk, but that's when I do most of my social walking, so it will be a couple of weeks before I have an opening, so to speak.

Pamela

[daedala.livejournal.com]

I do not like hairball Iams
I do not like them, Sam I am.

Ok, so maybe it needs some work. But Chinook won't eat them and looks mourfully at me if I try.

[pameladean]

Dr. Seuss Against Iams. Hmmm. I like it.

I should hope Chinook would look mournfully at you if you try to eat cat food, though certainly if you must do that it is better for you to eat the stuff she doesn't like.

Pamela

[daedala.livejournal.com]

No, she'd really hate that. I mean, if she won't eat my food, why would I eat hers?

(But you don't want my food, I try to explain, but she doesn't consider this relevant at all. Also, I'm away at work all the time, which is an infinite number of strikes against me. I even lost her kitten and haven't replaced it.)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"zir"

What would your English Professors say?

B

[pameladean]

Depends on which ones you ask. Some would certainly be horrified, and some would be pleased that I had loosened up my rabidly prescriptive views of grammar.

P.S. *pthbbbbtt*

Pamela

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

Now I remember why I thought of buying underwear at Target. If I don't do laundry, I won't have any tomorrow. Oh, well, at least I remembered to order the detergent with the groceries.

[blink blink]

you wouldn't happen to know your meyers briggs type, would you?

(my family, all infp's except for me, and i used to be one, jokes about buying underwear instead of doing laundry as being a diagnostic test for being an infp.)

[pameladean]

Nope, don't know it.

I hate tests like that, they drive me nuts; and nobody has ever had to make me take it, so I never have.

Pamela

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

can i ask why they drive you nuts?

[pameladean]

I can't answer them truthfully. I've seen questions purporting to be from the Meyers-Brigg test, and they're as bad as any other test of that sort, not in all ways, but in the ways I don't like. I don't like their phrasing and I don't like their hidden assumptions. There are almost never the right choices, and anyway I prefer to footnote all my answers, and that's not allowed.

What, me, cranky?

Pamela

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

hee hee hee!

cranky, and also strong strong strong "p".

[pameladean]

Sorry, I can't recall what the P stands for, though I know some of the other abbreviations.

Pamela

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

perceiving, as opposed to judging. the quick and dirty explanation means difficulty with decisions, because all of the answers are right or none of the answers are right, or some combination of the two.

[pameladean]

But I don't have trouble with decisions in real life. Either I can get the information and nuances I want, or the situation is time-constrained and I just have to do the best I can. Tests like that are a highly artificial environment that pinches just where I need space, and I think what really is going on is that I, at least, can't take a standardized test seriously without some kind of suspension of disbelief, and I cannot suspend disbelief for tests like that long enough to engage with them. The "but this is just stupid" reaction overrides any "but it's fun" or "but see how the ride is first" or even "but you really have to do this right if you want X or Y."

Pamela

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

and i am mostly just asking to amuse myself; i don't mean to make you feel pigeonholed or anything.

[pameladean]

Nope, it doesn't make me feel pigeon-holed, so don't worry.

It was interesting to discover that I approach standardized tests as if they were invented-world novels.

Pamela

[daedala.livejournal.com]

What a neat way of thinking about it. (Swiping another story idea to shelve for a few years....)

[pameladean]

Those are some scary worlds!

Pamela

[daedala.livejournal.com]

<blink>

Yes, it is, isn't it? All the sf ideas are profoundly dystopic at heart. Maybe that's why I have such trouble writing them.

[eub.livejournal.com]

Ooh, footnotes. A few days ago I was rantling about how all such tests should be required to include:

• how many times did you feel you knew better than the test?
  
• how many questions were fundamentally ill-posed or ambiguous?
  
• (did you waver over whether or not to include the previous question in the count?)
  

(And I test as an MBTI "J", even.)

[pameladean]

Heh heh heh. I'd like that. If I didn't suspect they were just going to toss out the answers.

Pamela

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

You know, recently when I said one of my favorite things about summer was that in the evenings people left their windows and curtains open so you could see inside, people looked at my very strangely. I'm not a voyeur and interested in seeing what people are doing in there. I like looking at how the rooms are arranged, and what colors are there, and things they have and stuff like that. Good, there's another one.

I had to buy underwear at Target on Thursday because I'd forgotten to pack any clean ones before the movers took things away. I recently started buying size smaller jeans and so bought a size smaller underwear as an experiment. They felt very odd at first but then I realized it was because they fit. It's very odd the habits we get into without thinking about it. I think I'll throw all my old underwear away and go buy a bunch of new ones all one size smaller.

MKK