PROLOGUE
At the beginning of the year 2011, I relocated from Los Angeles to the Midwest. Like any major life decision the list of reasons is long and complicated but the most compelling was the fact that my Mother's property had badly fallen into disrepair. Since I wasn't exactly in love with my living situation in Los Angeles and since I could easily continue to maintain clients remotely, I decided to stash things into storage, pack up my computer and my cat and head to the Midwest.
I felt very at peace with my decision and you know all that stuff people tell you about how "If it's the right thing to do things will just fall into place" - it's total crap! Nothing went smooth and nothing went as expected.
First, my cat Billy (aka: City Kitty) was being less than cooperative. It took four attempts and three different cat carriers to finally contain him and get him to the vet for an update on his shots and the mandatory kitty-downers I knew would be absolutely necessary for him to fly. He wasn't going without a fight and on the fourth carrier attempt he head rammed the door until his face bled. I was pretty rattled but decided he was going with me, even if I had to drag his dead carcass on that plane and bury him in Illinois.
Then of course, when I got to the airport on April 27th. I had to deal with an even bigger stooge-fest, the TSA (Three Stooges Assoc.) who insisted I remove the cat from the carrier for inspection. I asked if they were all up to date on their tetanus shots to which Stooge One asked: "Don't they check these things in cargo anymore?" to which I replied "Nah, not anymore, they only stow babies and small children down there.". TSA agents, by the way, are completely lacking a sense of humor and of course, I eventually had to take City Kitty out of the carrier. Luckily he was loaded on Valium. Which was really a good thing because my plane was delayed for over an hour.
Through the whole ordeal I just kept closing my eyes and chanting my stress reducing mantra: I just want to be on the other side of Wednesday, I just want to be on the other side of Wednesday....
At the beginning of the year 2011, I relocated from Los Angeles to the Midwest. Like any major life decision the list of reasons is long and complicated but the most compelling was the fact that my Mother's property had badly fallen into disrepair. Since I wasn't exactly in love with my living situation in Los Angeles and since I could easily continue to maintain clients remotely, I decided to stash things into storage, pack up my computer and my cat and head to the Midwest.
I felt very at peace with my decision and you know all that stuff people tell you about how "If it's the right thing to do things will just fall into place" - it's total crap! Nothing went smooth and nothing went as expected.
First, my cat Billy (aka: City Kitty) was being less than cooperative. It took four attempts and three different cat carriers to finally contain him and get him to the vet for an update on his shots and the mandatory kitty-downers I knew would be absolutely necessary for him to fly. He wasn't going without a fight and on the fourth carrier attempt he head rammed the door until his face bled. I was pretty rattled but decided he was going with me, even if I had to drag his dead carcass on that plane and bury him in Illinois.
Then of course, when I got to the airport on April 27th. I had to deal with an even bigger stooge-fest, the TSA (Three Stooges Assoc.) who insisted I remove the cat from the carrier for inspection. I asked if they were all up to date on their tetanus shots to which Stooge One asked: "Don't they check these things in cargo anymore?" to which I replied "Nah, not anymore, they only stow babies and small children down there.". TSA agents, by the way, are completely lacking a sense of humor and of course, I eventually had to take City Kitty out of the carrier. Luckily he was loaded on Valium. Which was really a good thing because my plane was delayed for over an hour.
Through the whole ordeal I just kept closing my eyes and chanting my stress reducing mantra: I just want to be on the other side of Wednesday, I just want to be on the other side of Wednesday....
What the other side of Wednesday looked like...
Friday, April 29, 2011