Seen on the Road in Vegas

All kinds of vehicles decorated with flames; cars, trucks, vans, Hummers. If you can name it, someone has painted flames on it. I now have a burning need to paint flames on my car. The longer I drive here, the more cars I see with flames. The more cars I see with flames, the more I feel I'm missing out on a wild and exhilarating experience.

Also, cars without license plates. I noticed that the first time I visited. Nowhere else that I've ever been does one see cars on the road with no plates at all, not even temporary cardboard ones taped in the back window. Here, I spot one about once a week.

And Jaguars. Lots of them. Old, beat up, worse for the wear Jags.

As soon as I see a 1980 Jaguar with flames and no license plates, I'm heading for home.

Does she look anxious to you? I think she just looks weird. 

More About The Cat

The vet says the cat is exhibiting signs of stress. The cat is stressed? She's a cat. What's so stressful about that? She has food, water, shelter and companionship.

She doesn't have to look for a job. She doesn't have to face constant rejection. She doesn't have to worry about paying bills.



The cat is stressed.

Head Case

I've been feeling pretty crappy for the last 2 weeks or so. When the coughing and sluggishness wouldn't go away, I decided it was just a by-product of my unemployment depression. I couldn't possibly be sick all that time. It had to be in my head. I pretty much ignored it.

Yesterday, I had planned to go to the gym with J. But at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, I was lying in my pjs on the couch, trying to muster up the strength. Finally I decided I couldn't tolerate it. I skipped the gym and went to Urgent Care instead.

I have bronchitis. And the bronchitis is, in turn, aggravating my asthma. I'm out $300 for the office visit, antibiotics and steroids. The confirmaton that I was genuinely sick gave me permission to feel all the aches and pains. I was completely miserable last night and spent most of today on the couch.

My psychosomatic illness was all in my head.

Wish Me Luck

I have an interview tomorrow with an employment agency. I don't care what kind of job I get. Any job would be good right now.

I've started studying for the GREs. Since nothing is panning out in the job market, I thought I should focus on another goal. It should keep me occupied for a while. And give me some new whining material for the blog.

I think I hate my trainer

He's a hardass. And not in the way one would expect a trainer to be a hardass. He won't let me make any decisions. I can't add reps or weight without him telling me so first. I can't work out more often than he tells me I can. Luckily, I talked him into an extra day of cardio.

And, he won't let me use the cardio equipment I prefer. I like to read while I work out and the stationary bike is the only easy piece of equipment for reading.
No can do. No bike. No rowing machine.
I get to choose between the treadmill and the elliptical trainer. BORING! BORING! BORING! Today I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical. I thought I was going to die. I was wearing 2 sports bras and still I bounced. My breasts were killing me by the end.
(Shameless. I am a shameless blogger.)

The really bad part? According to the gym scale I gained a pound.

"I was just out walking the cat..."

Ok, there are a few problems with this cat on a leash thing.

1. She's a cat, not a dog. Dogs are active. Dogs run. Dogs walk from tree to tree sniffing. Cats lounge. They flick their tails back and forth. They look at stuff. They spend a good deal of time resting. I put Belle on the leash, opened the door and next thing I knew I was standing on my doorstep for 15 minutes while she lay on the concrete, doing nothing.

2. Cats can't be led. Pulling and tugging and prodding did no good in getting her to move from the doorstep. She's in charge, regardless of where she is.

3. She's a long haired indoor cat. A few minutes in the great, wide world and she's FILTHY. And now she's lying on the dining room table conspicuously not cleaning herself.

I Hate Mondays

Mondays suck, even if you don't have a job. If you do have a job, they suck for the obvious reasons. If you don't have a job, they still suck, as they are a reminder that you don't have a job. It's the beginning of the work week cycle for everybody else. But for losers like youself it's the exact same as the next day. There is no purpose, no schedule, no natural order to life.

Now I'm on this downward spiral. Negativety breeds more negativety. I can't get a job because I have lost all faith in my ability to get a job. Some days the effort it takes to even apply for jobs is more than I am able to expend.

Earlier today I was searching job sites, reading blogs etc. I started to get more and more depressed until I was sobbing at my computer. I went to the pool, sat in the sun and caught up on some (non-electronic) correspondence. I felt much better. But I had to come inside after about an hour to eat and get ready for an appointment. 15 minutes later, I was sobbing again. I don't think it's bullshit that the sun is healthy for one's mood.

I have mild asthma. It doesn't bother me too much except in the spring and when I get a bad cold. I thought moving to the desert would be good for it, but it seems to have gotten worse. I blame all the f-ing second hand smoke.

I hate my inhaler. I am offended that I need help with something as basic as breathing.

The Cat

We'll call her "Belle". (Yes, I took my nom de blog from the cat.) She's been acting up. She's bored. I'm covered in scratches. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in a week. I'm on the edge.

This black cat was hanging around last week. Belle followed him from window to window, just watching him. For hours. It got me thinking that maybe she needs a companion. I know it's a little Cat Lady-ish of me, but I think she's jealous of J. I think she wants her own friend. So I started seriously considering the possibility of getting a kitten.

But Belle is tough, I don't know how she'll react. And J is likely to move in sometime in the near future and he'd rather not live with 2 cats (allergies).

So, instead I bought a harness and leash. Hopefully, getting outside a little bit will help tire her out and expand her world.

She didn't like it very much in the beginning. She ran back inside at the first opportunity. So I opened the balcony door and let her take her time. She took a little while, but after a few minutes, she jumped onto the railing and onto the grass. She explored a bit and then went back inside.

Now let's see if she lets me sleep tonight.

On a completely separate note, I've been spammed. I received my first spam comment. Grrr... How f-ing annoying. I've added word verification.

Trying out the harness and leash.