Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[smashedagain]

chin up tony. lifes a roller coaster and i'm sure you handle the ride better than most

[RED-DOG]

The B&W reel? Wow! Amazing stuff.

How is your cat btw?

It deffo was amazing. Every time the tiger escaped, I'm thinking "phew, lucky tiger, now, RUN AWAY". But he kept returning for another go, & eventually it looked like it was all over....

Angell is fine. He seems to be getting a bit quirky, a bit funny in the head. He "plays" by wrapping his legs round my arm or leg, his claws are razor sharp & draw blood, & then he bites, & his teeth are like needles, so I get scratches galore. Slighgtly scary, the aggression he does it with. He's only playing, but he plays hard. You can't train a cat, or get it to behave, they just seem to do what they want.

I went home one night last week, at about 1am, & he was round the corner, recognized the car, & chased me up the street howling. He waited at the car door, followed me to the door, waiting whilst I unlocked it (pointedly refusing to use the cat-flap, though he uses it non-stop wehen I'm not there), & then followed me upstairs, still howling (translated into "feed me"), I gave him his cat milk, his biscuits, & his pouches, which he scoffed down. He's VERY well built, not fat, but he is being fed daily, & he is a "good doer".

As soon as he'd golloped down his food & milk, he threw the lot up, as per usual, then came & attacked me, then promptly went out & sat in the garden.

He exercises my mind endlessly. He does not need or want affection, & he costs me a few bob in Cat-Lady fees, (I had to sack the last one, got a new one now, £10 per visit), & when the Cat-Lady is on holiday or whatever, I make a 6 hour round trip to feed him. Does not make much sense really, but I can't seem to bring myself to do anything about it.  

I don't love him like we would love a dog, but I am rather fond of him. To "lose" him would not be a disaster, (I have many FAR worse problems on my problem plate right now), not one bit, but there's a sort of moral obligation it seems to me, not to just "get rid" of him because he's become inconvenient to my present lifestyle & life arrangements.

Major dither ongoing.

A far bigger & more pressing dither presented itself to me a few days ago, a really horrible one. I'm gonna ring you today & see how you'd solve it. It's a bloody nightmare. My hands are red raw from nettle-grasping, & yet none of the nettles are in my garden. I have no idea how these things always seem to land at my door.

I know you'll understand when I say that your moral obligation is to the well being of the cat, not to your conscience.

People hang on to animals long after it is practical to do so. Circumstances change, and if the best thing for the cat is to re-home him, then re-home him. If that means you have to suffer a bit of mental anguish and ignominy, then so be it.

Note: My advice is of little value where cats are concerned, I know almost nothing about them. Feral cats seem just as happy as happier than cosseted cats as far as I can see.  

[RED-DOG]

I've been deep in thought these past few days. Nothing important, just....  Well you know those avenues of thought, those mental trails your mind wanders down when it has nothing better to do? Well mine wandered down one the other day and came back with a bag full of questions.

The trouble is, I don't know how to articulate them....

[Laxie]

Don't try to cover the lot in one go.  Sometimes picking the least pressing one and working your way up makes the bigger one seem like a piece of cake by the time you get there.

[RED-DOG]

We, and when I say we, I mean man, and when I say man, I mean women as well, are at the pinnacle of the evolutionary graph.

As far as mental development goes, to the best of our knowledge, we're it. Yes? Clear so far?

[Laxie]

Theoretically I get it.  Although, not always sure I buy it, but that's another debate. 

Clear so far.  Carry on.

[RED-DOG]

Theoretically I get it.  Although, not always sure I buy it, but that's another debate. 

Clear so far.  Carry on.

Not quite another debate actually Dawn. You must be physic, as my Granny would say.

Can / will you elaborate?

[tikay]

The B&W reel? Wow! Amazing stuff.

How is your cat btw?

It deffo was amazing. Every time the tiger escaped, I'm thinking "phew, lucky tiger, now, RUN AWAY". But he kept returning for another go, & eventually it looked like it was all over....

Angell is fine. He seems to be getting a bit quirky, a bit funny in the head. He "plays" by wrapping his legs round my arm or leg, his claws are razor sharp & draw blood, & then he bites, & his teeth are like needles, so I get scratches galore. Slighgtly scary, the aggression he does it with. He's only playing, but he plays hard. You can't train a cat, or get it to behave, they just seem to do what they want.

I went home one night last week, at about 1am, & he was round the corner, recognized the car, & chased me up the street howling. He waited at the car door, followed me to the door, waiting whilst I unlocked it (pointedly refusing to use the cat-flap, though he uses it non-stop wehen I'm not there), & then followed me upstairs, still howling (translated into "feed me"), I gave him his cat milk, his biscuits, & his pouches, which he scoffed down. He's VERY well built, not fat, but he is being fed daily, & he is a "good doer".

As soon as he'd golloped down his food & milk, he threw the lot up, as per usual, then came & attacked me, then promptly went out & sat in the garden.

He exercises my mind endlessly. He does not need or want affection, & he costs me a few bob in Cat-Lady fees, (I had to sack the last one, got a new one now, £10 per visit), & when the Cat-Lady is on holiday or whatever, I make a 6 hour round trip to feed him. Does not make much sense really, but I can't seem to bring myself to do anything about it.  

I don't love him like we would love a dog, but I am rather fond of him. To "lose" him would not be a disaster, (I have many FAR worse problems on my problem plate right now), not one bit, but there's a sort of moral obligation it seems to me, not to just "get rid" of him because he's become inconvenient to my present lifestyle & life arrangements.

Major dither ongoing.

A far bigger & more pressing dither presented itself to me a few days ago, a really horrible one. I'm gonna ring you today & see how you'd solve it. It's a bloody nightmare. My hands are red raw from nettle-grasping, & yet none of the nettles are in my garden. I have no idea how these things always seem to land at my door.

I know you'll understand when I say that your moral obligation is to the well being of the cat, not to your conscience.

People hang on to animals long after it is practical to do so. Circumstances change, and if the best thing for the cat is to re-home him, then re-home him. If that means you have to suffer a bit of mental anguish and ignominy, then so be it.

Note: My advice is of little value where cats are concerned, I know almost nothing about them. Feral cats seem just as happy as happier than cosseted cats as far as I can see.  

That is all that matters. I'd LIKE to have him there when the time comes for me to return home, once my job finishes, but I could handle losing him. What bothers me more is his thoughts. He's a funny bugger, he is an "outside" cat (Charlie never stepped outside, Angell almost lives outside) & I think he's quite happy as he is now. The thought of giving away a pet to a good home is not a problem, the thought of him being unhappy because I did that is a problem.

Daft, ain't it?

[RED-DOG]

The B&W reel? Wow! Amazing stuff.

How is your cat btw?

It deffo was amazing. Every time the tiger escaped, I'm thinking "phew, lucky tiger, now, RUN AWAY". But he kept returning for another go, & eventually it looked like it was all over....

Angell is fine. He seems to be getting a bit quirky, a bit funny in the head. He "plays" by wrapping his legs round my arm or leg, his claws are razor sharp & draw blood, & then he bites, & his teeth are like needles, so I get scratches galore. Slighgtly scary, the aggression he does it with. He's only playing, but he plays hard. You can't train a cat, or get it to behave, they just seem to do what they want.

I went home one night last week, at about 1am, & he was round the corner, recognized the car, & chased me up the street howling. He waited at the car door, followed me to the door, waiting whilst I unlocked it (pointedly refusing to use the cat-flap, though he uses it non-stop wehen I'm not there), & then followed me upstairs, still howling (translated into "feed me"), I gave him his cat milk, his biscuits, & his pouches, which he scoffed down. He's VERY well built, not fat, but he is being fed daily, & he is a "good doer".

As soon as he'd golloped down his food & milk, he threw the lot up, as per usual, then came & attacked me, then promptly went out & sat in the garden.

He exercises my mind endlessly. He does not need or want affection, & he costs me a few bob in Cat-Lady fees, (I had to sack the last one, got a new one now, £10 per visit), & when the Cat-Lady is on holiday or whatever, I make a 6 hour round trip to feed him. Does not make much sense really, but I can't seem to bring myself to do anything about it.  

I don't love him like we would love a dog, but I am rather fond of him. To "lose" him would not be a disaster, (I have many FAR worse problems on my problem plate right now), not one bit, but there's a sort of moral obligation it seems to me, not to just "get rid" of him because he's become inconvenient to my present lifestyle & life arrangements.

Major dither ongoing.

A far bigger & more pressing dither presented itself to me a few days ago, a really horrible one. I'm gonna ring you today & see how you'd solve it. It's a bloody nightmare. My hands are red raw from nettle-grasping, & yet none of the nettles are in my garden. I have no idea how these things always seem to land at my door.

I know you'll understand when I say that your moral obligation is to the well being of the cat, not to your conscience.

People hang on to animals long after it is practical to do so. Circumstances change, and if the best thing for the cat is to re-home him, then re-home him. If that means you have to suffer a bit of mental anguish and ignominy, then so be it.

Note: My advice is of little value where cats are concerned, I know almost nothing about them. Feral cats seem just as happy as happier than cosseted cats as far as I can see.  

That is all that matters. I'd LIKE to have him there when the time comes for me to return home, once my job finishes, but I could handle losing him. What bothers me more is his thoughts. He's a funny bugger, he is an "outside" cat (Charlie never stepped outside, Angell almost lives outside) & I think he's quite happy as he is now. The thought of giving away a pet to a good home is not a problem, the thought of him being unhappy because I did that is a problem.

Daft, ain't it?

Never mind. Chin up.

[Laxie]

Theoretically I get it.  Although, not always sure I buy it, but that's another debate. 

Clear so far.  Carry on.

Not quite another debate actually Dawn. You must be physic, as my Granny would say.

Can / will you elaborate?

Well, just because we say we're it, doesn't make it so.  Sometimes I think man gets so wrapped up in patting themselves on the back for their latest discovery, they miss the fact that we haven't discovered everything.  And I'm inclined to believe we're actually missing the boat a goodly bit of the time.

Also, we're meant to be so intellectual, yet we're doing a great job of trashing the place.  And we know we are too.  How smart is that?

Bear with me.  Those were the first two thoughts that popped in there and I haven't had my second morning cuppa so they may not have come across properly.  Putting the kettle on now.

[Laxie]

Post cuppa edit - we're just pawns in the Earth's game of chess.  Nature is the Queen and we'd want to cop on a small bit.

[RED-DOG]

Man's brain has developed enough to allow him to appreciate the wonder of the world around him. To take pleasure in the intracity of nature, to marvel at the beauty of a a flower, a tree, a butterfly, a coastline, a mountain, a dessert, a meadow.

The ability to imagine, to be moved to laughter or tears by a piece of music, a poem, a story, a picture.

The ability to empathise. To look at someone and think, "I will help him because I can imagine what it would feel like to be in his position".

In that sense, we are hugely privileged and at the top of the cognitive evolutionary ladder.

[tikay]

The B&W reel? Wow! Amazing stuff.

How is your cat btw?

It deffo was amazing. Every time the tiger escaped, I'm thinking "phew, lucky tiger, now, RUN AWAY". But he kept returning for another go, & eventually it looked like it was all over....

Angell is fine. He seems to be getting a bit quirky, a bit funny in the head. He "plays" by wrapping his legs round my arm or leg, his claws are razor sharp & draw blood, & then he bites, & his teeth are like needles, so I get scratches galore. Slighgtly scary, the aggression he does it with. He's only playing, but he plays hard. You can't train a cat, or get it to behave, they just seem to do what they want.

I went home one night last week, at about 1am, & he was round the corner, recognized the car, & chased me up the street howling. He waited at the car door, followed me to the door, waiting whilst I unlocked it (pointedly refusing to use the cat-flap, though he uses it non-stop wehen I'm not there), & then followed me upstairs, still howling (translated into "feed me"), I gave him his cat milk, his biscuits, & his pouches, which he scoffed down. He's VERY well built, not fat, but he is being fed daily, & he is a "good doer".

As soon as he'd golloped down his food & milk, he threw the lot up, as per usual, then came & attacked me, then promptly went out & sat in the garden.

He exercises my mind endlessly. He does not need or want affection, & he costs me a few bob in Cat-Lady fees, (I had to sack the last one, got a new one now, £10 per visit), & when the Cat-Lady is on holiday or whatever, I make a 6 hour round trip to feed him. Does not make much sense really, but I can't seem to bring myself to do anything about it.  

I don't love him like we would love a dog, but I am rather fond of him. To "lose" him would not be a disaster, (I have many FAR worse problems on my problem plate right now), not one bit, but there's a sort of moral obligation it seems to me, not to just "get rid" of him because he's become inconvenient to my present lifestyle & life arrangements.

Major dither ongoing.

A far bigger & more pressing dither presented itself to me a few days ago, a really horrible one. I'm gonna ring you today & see how you'd solve it. It's a bloody nightmare. My hands are red raw from nettle-grasping, & yet none of the nettles are in my garden. I have no idea how these things always seem to land at my door.

I know you'll understand when I say that your moral obligation is to the well being of the cat, not to your conscience.

People hang on to animals long after it is practical to do so. Circumstances change, and if the best thing for the cat is to re-home him, then re-home him. If that means you have to suffer a bit of mental anguish and ignominy, then so be it.

Note: My advice is of little value where cats are concerned, I know almost nothing about them. Feral cats seem just as happy as happier than cosseted cats as far as I can see.  

That is all that matters. I'd LIKE to have him there when the time comes for me to return home, once my job finishes, but I could handle losing him. What bothers me more is his thoughts. He's a funny bugger, he is an "outside" cat (Charlie never stepped outside, Angell almost lives outside) & I think he's quite happy as he is now. The thought of giving away a pet to a good home is not a problem, the thought of him being unhappy because I did that is a problem.

Daft, ain't it?

Never mind. Chin up.

Behave!

You know my mind better than I do.

I LOVED that random quote you threw out yesterday about people wishing away their days. Genius.

[Laxie]

Man's brain has developed enough to allow him to appreciate the wonder of the world around him. To take pleasure in the intracity of nature, to marvel at the beauty of a a flower, a tree, a butterfly, a coastline, a mountain, a dessert, a meadow.

The ability to imagine, to be moved to laughter or tears by a piece of music, a poem, a story, a picture.

The ability to empathise. To look at someone and think, "I will help him because I can imagine what it would feel like to be in his position".

In that sense, we are hugely privileged and at the top of the cognitive evolutionary ladder.

But why does man think he can claim that title all to himself.  Look at other life on the planet.  They help each other out individually, they work together in groups and they know how to love.  We'd also be ignorant to think they don't know how to enjoy their surroundings.  If it's too cold, they head to warmer climates.  When it gets too hot, they get out of the heat.  Just because man says we're it doesn't make it so.

[RED-DOG]

Man's brain has developed enough to allow him to appreciate the wonder of the world around him. To take pleasure in the intracity of nature, to marvel at the beauty of a a flower, a tree, a butterfly, a coastline, a mountain, a dessert, a meadow.

The ability to imagine, to be moved to laughter or tears by a piece of music, a poem, a story, a picture.

The ability to empathise. To look at someone and think, "I will help him because I can imagine what it would feel like to be in his position".

In that sense, we are hugely privileged and at the top of the cognitive evolutionary ladder.

But why does man think he can claim that title all to himself.  Look at other life on the planet.  They help each other out individually, they work together in groups and they know how to love.  We'd also be ignorant to think they don't know how to enjoy their surroundings.  If it's too cold, they head to warmer climates.  When it gets too hot, they get out of the heat.  Just because man says we're it doesn't make it so.

Right. So let's start looking at the other side of the coin.

Man is aware of his own mortality, and his own insignificence.

He knows that his world is a mere speck of dust in a galaxy that is one of countless millions if galaxies

He knows that his time here, and that of everyone he has ever known, is but the blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things.

If things are good today, he knows that the day will come when they are not good.

If reincarnation were a proven fact, and you could choose to come back as a person, or say, a blue fronted Amazon parrot, (Or some other animal) which would you choose?