An Idiot and His Cat: A Diary

[tikay]

Boy oh boy, you did well in that quiz thing.

Unrelated, but did you used to be a poster on the Newcastle Poker Forum?

If so, did you know, or know of, a lad named "cowhead"? (Sunderland supporter).

I do know Mr Cowheed.

He is one of my favourite humans of all time, for reasons I can't really explain. Especially with him being a Sunderland supporter.

Ha, "Cowheed", being the regional accent I suppose.

I gather he was not immensely popular on NPF? To be fair, not many were.

Think he one told me - he may have made it up - that there was a thread or board on NPF called "Cow Corner", where they all dissed him.

He's a regular Next Door these days, & we've developed quite a friendship. It was a slow-burner, one of those friendships that started out really badly, we fell out (unintentionally, my fault really) first time we met. Now we are all cooey-wooey. Strange, some of my best friendships started like that.

He has the wonderful talent of saying the most extraordinary things.

I don't remember a Cow corner, but certainly Cowheed stickers. I don't think it was meant badly at all as I think, at least I hope, most people know him as a funny, if not slightly insane, bloke. I'll be a bit sad if he took it all the wrong way. from time to time I see him win or run deep in a BH next door and that pleases me. Especially since he's recently engaged/married.

Ask him about Pet Taxi, Tikay. I promise you, some of the best stories I've ever heard. Guaranteed to make you cry with laughter.

He absolutely NEVER took it the wrong way, in fact I think he was proud of it.

I'll raise the matter of Pet Taxi with him.

[buzzharvey22]

Cowheed's a good bloke because:

A, He is a Sunderland fan.

and

B, He like's getting a bit lash on.

Pet taxi stories were quality.

I had actually forgotten all about the Newcastle Poker Forum until Tikay just mentioned it there, which is quite incredible considering how much time i spent on there from the age of about 18 to 21. No idea why.

[pleno1]

i was life time banned from there, no idea why

[mulhuzz]

Had another Czech lesson today. New person joined group and started telling me wrong things about the English language. She was Italian.

I've now bought private lessons and will practice with the cat, who is 100% smarter than her.

Cat seems to be more teenagery lately as well. Won't be told (like, don't fight with my phone charger, especially when my phone is charging). Any ideas on teaching him?

So far I move him away from it three times then kick him out the room for an hour....

[tikay]

Had another Czech lesson today. New person joined group and started telling me wrong things about the English language. She was Italian.

I've now bought private lessons and will practice with the cat, who is 100% smarter than her.

Cat seems to be more teenagery lately as well. Won't be told (like, don't fight with my phone charger, especially when my phone is charging). Any ideas on teaching him?

So far I move him away from it three times then kick him out the room for an hour....

Good luck trying to train a cat to do as it's told.

Contrary creatures, and that's being kind.

[david3103]

You could

a)try distracting the cat by offering something more interesting than the phone.
Or
b) find somewhere else to put the phone on charge.

Eventually you'll opt for b)

[mulhuzz]

You could

a)try distracting the cat by offering something more interesting than the phone.
Or
b) find somewhere else to put the phone on charge.

Eventually you'll opt for b)

Slowly coming to this realisation.

Typical convo at ours:

Me: 'kocour* - stop that, phone is more expensive than you'
Jil: 'but the cat is irreplaceable' *smiling sweetly* (at the cat, more than me, it should be said!)
Me: *menacing grin*

*czech word for tomcat, and what is basically his nickname.

[vegaslover]

Sounds like he's up for a game. Get a stick and some string, will keep him amused and wear him out at the same time

[booder]

Sounds like he's up for a game. Get a stick and some string, will keep him amused and wear him out at the same time  and tie him to something immovable.

FYP

[tonytats]

My cats had the idea that they could get on the work tops ,till I flicked em round the ears with a tea towel ! They soon learnt

[mulhuzz]

My cats had the idea that they could get on the work tops ,till I flicked em round the ears with a tea towel ! They soon learnt

He seems to respond quite well to 'Oi'. Literally the only thing he responds to mind.

In other news, I've learned today that an unattended cat will:

1. Brazenly sip hot tea from your mug and go back for more.
2. Find, play with, eventually kill and then eat grasshoppers who come indoors because it's freezing outside.

I did not enjoy the sound of the grasshopper being crunched. I am such a city boy.

[Doobs]

My cats had the idea that they could get on the work tops ,till I flicked em round the ears with a tea towel ! They soon learnt

He seems to respond quite well to 'Oi'. Literally the only thing he responds to mind.

In other news, I've learned today that an unattended cat will:

1. Brazenly sip hot tea from your mug and go back for more.
2. Find, play with, eventually kill and then eat grasshoppers who come indoors because it's freezing outside.

I did not enjoy the sound of the grasshopper being crunched. I am such a city boy.

Have you tried calling him by using "Trevor!" yet?   Am fairly sure it must work on all cats even ones born in Prague.

[mulhuzz]

My cats had the idea that they could get on the work tops ,till I flicked em round the ears with a tea towel ! They soon learnt

He seems to respond quite well to 'Oi'. Literally the only thing he responds to mind.

In other news, I've learned today that an unattended cat will:

1. Brazenly sip hot tea from your mug and go back for more.
2. Find, play with, eventually kill and then eat grasshoppers who come indoors because it's freezing outside.

I did not enjoy the sound of the grasshopper being crunched. I am such a city boy.

Have you tried calling him by using "Trevor!" yet?   Am fairly sure it must work on all cats even ones born in Prague.

Will try tomorrow. Usefully, like 'Oi', 'Trevor' is the same in all languages.

Which is helpful because this evening Jil's friends opened a bar so we went for some moral support. They are Italian so a lot of the conversation was in Italian.

I wish I'd brought the cat.

[celtic]

Bump

[mulhuzz]

so i lately I've been lurking on Blonde a bit, for the first time in many a year... Tikay reckons it's about 4 years, and I reckon he might be about right.

Quite a lot has happened in those years, so a brief summary.

1. I am no longer a cat owner. Jil and I broke up in slightly acrimonious circumstances and I haven't see her, or the cat, in a couple of years at least.

2. I am still in Prague and still firmly of the belief that the Czech Republic is one of the real hidden gems of Europe. In the years since I last posted, I've traveled almost everywhere throughout the Republic and discovered how much more there is to the place than just Prague. I now live in a vibrant district of the city which is gentrifying at pace. Sometimes I get concerned that Prague is becoming like $insert_european_capital_here - homogeneous and monolithic, but then I'll find some pub or art gallery or and and and which reminds me how much this place retains many of the things that make it unique.

3. My career has changed quite a bit in a direction I'm delighted about. For a while I had quite a mental period of growth and learning at a very hectic pace (which was probably not-sustainable long term...) and now I've reached a place where there's still lots to learn, grow and do, but at a more manageable pace and I am more in control of my goals and ambitions.

4. I still regret that Mike Ashley is the owner of Newcastle United.

5. I do not speak as much Czech as I'd like, but probably B1 on the European Common Framework of Reference for language ability. I'm working hard to increase my level. I'd like to be C1 (which is 'near-fluency') within the next 5 years -- by which time I'll have been here 10 years and will have the option of Citizenship (if I can prove C1 fluency, which is the requirement). I don't know if I want that, as it's such a visceral question of belonging, nationhood and all that, but I would like the option. They say that Czech takes about 1000 hours of study to reach that level and I am trying to study around 8 hours a week, in addition to using the language where and whenever I can.

Maybe I'll post a little from time to time when my schedule allows. (As we say here, Bez práce nejsou koláče. (Without work, there are no pastries...))

Particularly if there's any interest in learning about the mighty Viktoria Žižkov and their attempts to finally get out of the 2nd Division and get back to the glory days of beating Rangers in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Na zdraví vám všem, Blond'aky!