Can You Hear Me Now?

I’ve had another fairly busy week. Shawna left on Monday evening, and probably won’t be back again for awhile. I like having her around, I’m going to miss her frequent visits.

Tuesday morning I woke up super early and got started on work right away. By 9:00 a.m. I was finished everything I had to get done that day, so I spent the rest of the morning checking out online data backup services, because my biggest fear is that my computer crashes and I’ll lose all my client’s data. I burn stuff onto a CD once in awhile, but it’s a hassle to do that every day, so this will work much better. So far so good, and it’s only $5/month.

I also talked on the phone with a couple people, went to the mall, got my latte, the usual. I made plans with Jason for him to come by the following afternoon and go over his band’s year end stuff, GST and taxes. I emailed him a reminder that no client is allowed upon my premises (I am soon going to change that to “no person, period” haha) without bringing me an XL French Vanilla/Half Coffee from Tim Horton’s (much cheaper and easier to get than demanding my soy latte from Second Cup. I’m trying to be thoughtful, here).

On Wednesday, Jason called in the morning. Him and Sheldon had stayed in town the night before partying with a couple of the Trailer Park Boys and ended up with a flat tire. They were over at the Walmart near my place getting the van fixed, so, would I mind if they came now? I mentioned the coffee rule again and since they were on foot, Tim Horton’s wasn’t close enough but they would be passing right by the Second Cup in the mall. Jason arrived with my jumbo soy latte in hand and is now my best friend.

We went over accounting and tax stuff and talked and laughed and hugged and kissed. For all the time and stress their piles of receipts caused me the past few weeks, it’s all worth it in the end because I love those guys soooooooo much!! I’m on the guest list for their show tonight and they said they’ll have a cheque for me. Woot!

They left to pick up their van, and Jason mentioned he was going to buy a VCR. Shortly after they left I hopped on my scooter because I needed a couple things from Walmart too, as I usually do, and headed on over. I passed by Electronics to see if they were still around looking at VCRs, and they were just finishing up buying one. Sheldon saw me and said “Hey! You’re stalking us! That is SO COOL!” I went with them to the Tire department and got off of my scooter for a moment to look at some funky keys (oh, so THIS is where you get keys made, and they have all those cool designs!) The second I got off my scooter, Sheldon hopped on and drove off. The next 15 minutes Jason and Sheldon took turns riding around Walmart on my scooter like 10 year old boys, and those of you that read this and know them, can imagine what that was like. (For those of you that don’t, check out their Photos Section and get an idea of their personalities). (OH MY GOD I JUST LOOKED AND I’M IN THERE NOW!!! And Jason on my scooter!! Ahahahahaha!)

That night I filed both their tax returns (unlike some other people I’ve been working with, they are good boys who file every year!) and they are DONE!! Jason is coming by next week to pick up their stuff and take me for lunch.

After I finished their taxes I joined a couple friends for Wing night. We always order the same amount out of habit, but are realizing we eat less and less every week. This time we left over half behind. So, we decided next time we’re ordering a lot less wings and adding a veggie platter to the mix. Every little bit helps!

On Thursday and Friday I did the work for a couple clients who dropped stuff off on Tuesday night. I’m all caught up on work, for now!! I’m waiting on a couple people to bring me stuff, and then April is quarterly GST returns time again, but by my birthday (May 1) I will be able to breath easy.

Unless I turn out to be allergic to my kitten. Yes, you heard me, kitten!!!! I am getting one. I have been tossing it around in my mind for quite awhile now, but the main reason I haven’t had one (and had to give away a cat I had about 6 years ago) is because of the difficulty I had taking care of it, especially with respect to changing cat litter. Pregnant women are told to stay away from changing the cat litter box because of the parasites and stuff, it certainly isn’t a healthy thing, plus the whole getting down on my knees to scoop and all that is hard for me.

However, once I heard there are now cat litter boxes that literally empty themselves, the idea started to grow on me again. My mom told me I should talk to my chiropractor (Al) about it (because he is also a naturopath/ homeopath, all round health guy) and get his opinion. So I did that yesterday.

He was pretty solid with his “no” because more parasites and toxins is the last thing my body needs in the state its in. My mom went in to see him after me, and she said “so, you don’t think Donna should get a kitten?” and he told her the same thing. My mom, in my defense, pointed out that the cat would be an indoor cat and not bringing in germs and things from outside. She also pointed out all the emotional health benefits to having a pet, and doesn’t that count for something? So, he started to warm up to the idea… the more he thought about it, the more he agreed that yes, the benefits could definitely outweigh the negative aspects. I live alone, my health isn’t the greatest, I get depressed and lonely sometimes, and having a kitty would be great comfort during those times. And when I’m talking to myself, at least I could say I was talking to my cat. I’ve read studies that people with disabilities do better with pets. Okay, I haven’t actually read them, but I heard that somewhere.

So after my mom’s treatment they both called me into his office. Al told me I am allowed to get a kitten under these conditions:

• Al and my mom pick him out;
• Al gets to name him;
• He stays indoors;
• He is a short haired cat;
• I don’t kiss him on the mouth or let him lick my mouth;
• I get the fanciest high tech cat litter equipment available;
• I don’t let him eat off my plate.

We discussed the fact that when I take my scooter out, the door is wide open for awhile and the cat could easily run out. Mom said I’d have to close him in my office or something until I’m safely outside, then come back in and let him out. Al said I needed to teach the cat to open and close the doors for me. His going outside, and carrying things back in with him would not be good for me (unless he’s carrying in groceries). I asked Al when exactly he would be available to go kitten shopping, and he finally agreed my mom could speak for him. It’s not like we’d actually get him out for that. Plus, I’m going to pick the kitty that picks ME. It’s all about the vibe. I told him I wanted to name him (I want a him) after food. He now wants me to get two and name them Jala and Peño, but I sincerely doubt it. If I got two, they would be Hummus and Pita!

I’m not going to get the kitten right away (and I do want a kitten… I’ve had cats that belonged to other people before, and I don’t want that again. I want a kitten I raise from Day One, or 6 weeks or whenever they’re allowed to leave their mom’s, so he can take after me and I am responsible if he ends up crazy). I want to have everything in place before I bring him in. Last night after we went for dinner we looked in a pet supply store and my mom bought me the fancy litter box as an early birthday present. Over the next couple weeks I’ll be picking up dishes, food, litter, toys, beds, etc. and making room for it all in my apartment. (Which, by the way, doesn’t “allow” pets, but there are a million cats in here, not to mention the DOG upstairs, so I’m taking my chances).