Metamorphosis

Trekkiegirl and I are starting to work out details of the after-wedding plans, and we've decided to get cats. I suggested hitting up the shelters in the area.

Trekkiegirl, who is allergic to most cats and has grown up showing dogs, has convinced me to find a reasonably-priced breeder for hypoallergenic cats. It's not a bad idea, considering her allergies, and it'd be best for house cats to grow up together, so we'll be picking up a pair of kittens.

She has gravitated towards Devon Rexes, as they're relatively hypoallergenic. She originally wanted Sphynxes, but after a couple searches, she fell in love with these cats.

And really, who could blame her?



With the fact that both of us work, a pair of kittens would be best. We'd take time off initially to help them acclimate; my mother can also be conscriped to come catsit for a bit.

I've always wanted to get a pet, honestly, ever since we got rid of our old cat back in 1990. I didn't realize this until I was talking about cats with my family this week, actually, but she was my cat. There is, of course, a story behind it.

I was very little, and my parents used to take us to the adopt-a-pet store in the mall and pretend we were going to the zoo. I was two years old at the time, and didn't know it wasn't the zoo, and would always get very excited about getting to pet the animals.

According to my dad, one day I raced over to a cat and picked her up in precisely the way cats don't like to be held. This cat...did nothing. She just drooped over my arms, purring.

If they were ever to get a cat, my parents figured, this would be it. If she didn't mind being manhandled by small boys. So they bought her and named her Lindy. Or, as I always remember my dad referring to her, Lindy El Gato O'Shea. That was her full name.

She was a very understanding cat. Very forgiving. From the time I was two until about five, I very distinctly remember she would always play with me, and there was specifically one time I remember pulling her tail. I don't remember if it was an accident or not - I was threeish, who knows - but I remember her leaping away, glowering at me, and leaving the room. I was upset, of course, and my parents scolded me and told me that it hurt her to do that.

I immediately rushed to apologise to Lindy. She glared at me, but let me approach her, and I gave her a big hug and she purred. She had forgiven me immediately.

To this day, I don't remember what happened to her. My parents told my sister and I that they had to give her to a friend of theirs when my brother was born, and we were promised to go visit her someday, and we never did. I'm not certain if this was the truth; I was five and my sister had either just turned seven or was about to, and if Lindy had died I don't know if we would have been told the truth. I'm leaning towards it being true, though, and we just never had the time. My parents never really sheltered us from bad things; if she had died, I'm sure they would have sat us down and explained what that meant.

I'm hoping that when we get these Devon Rexes, Trekkiegirl and I can strike a deal. I hope to name one Lindy.

@alliancesjr: So...the term "girlfriend" can't be used to describe Trekkiegirl anymore.
@alliancesjr: On a related note, I'm going to have to get used to the term "fiancée". It's French for "My parents are going to say we're too young."
Twitter: *explodes*

So, I'm getting married.

Woo! This is the last one! No need to worry about me spamming your friendslists now, people who have taken me off! You can add me back now.

*coughRenecough*

One last moment, in great detail
(Special Dungeons and Dragons Version)

( You Shall Not Pass )

Augh. Got laid back by the wedding this weekend. Speaking of, I've got a picture for you guys.

A first, in great detail

That's an easy one. Last month was the very first time I've ever performed stand-up comedy live on stage at a major comedy club

There we go. Caught up; going to get some more work done and then get ready for Trekkiegirl's Birthday Dinner Non-Specific Roughly-Celebratory Day Dinner with her family, which would have been last week except she had a lot of stuff to do so she pushed it back.

Anyway.

This month, in great detail

Huh. Good timing; this fell at the end of this month.

At the beginning of the month, I performed stand-up comedy at a full-scale high-class comedy club. It was awesome. Watch the video, it does a better job "great detail"ing than I do.

Also that week, Trekkiegirl French Taunted a Dragon.

Later, she picked me up a copy of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, and I've pretty much been playing that non-stop - especially since my Warcraft subscription ran out and I've been too broke to renew it.

We recorded an awesome episode of Made of Fail, mostly about Warcraft and StarCraft II.

Last week, my car refused to start. It's still in the shop. It's a thousand-dollar repair job, and it'll be finished tomorrow.

Aside from that, that's about it. Work's been work, I've continued my CSI-thon with Tessa (she's showing me, in return for my Buffythons for her).

A new day, a new segment of this project. This would bring us to:

Your best friend, in great detail

Ouch. That's not going to cause any problems. I have a few people I would classify as "best friends". There's Tessa, my roommate, who travelled six hours northwest just to live with me. There's Patrick, someone I've only spoken to twice in the last two years, but who taught me a great deal about life and those who live in it. I can't miss Dayna, my lovely co-hostess and fellow geek, who I think of as a non-biological sister.

This is probably going to come as no surprise, and I may be pandering to the cliché here, but I think it's time to shed some light on a current (and hopefully, long-term) best friend in the works.

A wise man once told me that a relationship is 90% communication and 10% intimacy. He also told me that any partner in life should also always be your best friend. No secrets, no excuses; this is someone you'll hopefully spend your entire life with, so why hide anything?

I've always agreed with that, and that's how I hope to run my life. (Besides, this is my answer. Don't like it? Don't read it. Simple as that.)

( Let me introduce you to Trekkiegirl. )

This week, I begin Operation: Hip To Be Square! In my late-teens and very-early-twenties, I averaged about 180 lbs. It was mostly muscle, too; years of heavy lifting and long-distance bike riding kept me roughly in shape, even if it wasn't an athletic ideal. I wasn't chiseled by a long shot, but I was healthy.

Over the past year, I've been keeping stable around 235 lbs. Not healthy by far. Years of sitting at a desk job and overeating have gotten me, for lack of a better term, "squishy". The final straw was my stand-up video; the angle makes me look a lot heavier than I am, but it still makes me wince watching it.

My diet hasn't changed in the past eight years, but my activity and my metabolism have. I get a lot of walking done at work now, and a decent amount of heavy lifting, but my weight hasn't changed.

Now is not the time for drastic measures; far from it. I want to keep eating what I like to eat, but I've noticed a few key things:

• I overeat. A lot, actually. I eat until I'm full, which is way too much. Trekkiegirl recommends eating until I'm satisfied, and then once my stomach settles I'll feel fuller. It makes a lot of sense; if you wait until you're thirsty to drink water, you're dehydrated already.
• I drink waaaaaay too much soda. If I cut that out completely, I'll be well on my way.

These two things will make a huge difference in and of themselves. Simply reducing my portions and knocking out soda should get the ball rolling.

Trekkiegirl, although wanting me to stay a "snuggly bear", is very supportive and has practice setting up nutritional plans. She's going to go over my average weekly diet and suggest some replacements, keeping in mind what I like to eat and how finicky my palate is.

Stay tuned for updates.

@alliancesjr: Trekkiegirl just showed up at my apartment with Katara hair. I have pictures.
@alliancesjr: Trekkiegirl with Katara hair. http://twitpic.com/1rxo24
@alliancesjr: "No, Sokka, that joke wasn't funny at all." http://twitpic.com/1rxorx

Debbie and I, early on in the month, decided that we'd go out on a platonic date. She and I have known each other for nearly six years now, and we know that we'd only work as friends¹. But she and I were hanging out one day, and we both were kind of in a slump, so I told her to get dolled up and we were going on a date. No expectation, no anxiety of a real date, just two friends all dressed up and going out on the town.²

( Meeting a girl. )

This story, however? It isn't over.

---

1. If we ever tried to go out, we'd kill each other. Besides, there's no interest either direction.


2. Except without the Gene Kelly interlude that tells us, through awesome yet superfluous dance, exactly what we had already been through not ten minutes before. Also without Frank Sinatra.


3. For dessert, mind you.


4. Those who know me will recognize this, but for the rest of you: I have a thing for girls in glasses. It is what it is.


5. Long story short: Jusenkyo fascinates me.


6. Speaking of the show, SHE HAS HEARD OF IT. She's a reader of Cleolinda, and when I asked if she remembers the podcast that gets linked every once in a while, she said yes though she hasn't listened to it at all. I got to use my podcast to impress a girl you guys.