A catch-up post because I finally have time to dish

Look at all the pretty pollen! My eyes are all swollen and puffy and it feels like somebody's sticking dull knives in my sinuses. I'm sneezing like hell...

... but at least the pollen looks pretty! ::grins::

Paul and Mike (his lab buddy) are staying overnight in Arkansas so they can give a presentation tomorrow. Can't discuss specifics here (obviously), but he had to confiscate the Vue to haul a 6-foot helium tank. So I get to drive his Taurus. Yippee. The bright side: I'm told it's driving better than it did $1,200 ago. Guess that's my consolation prize.

I asked Jeremy to stop by, but he's sick. Bummer, because I could've used the company.

But Fred's here, and she's loud — she's putting on a one-cat performance of Carmina Burana. Found out recently that she doesn't like to jump ... at all. Even when the jump is low — like the 2-foot-tall couch cushion — she really has to work up to it. She'll back up and make a running start, stop right before jumping, back up and do it all over again. After three or four tries, she'll make it onto the couch ... and it's all so she can sit in your lap or curl up next to your leg.

I've seen her miss jumps before. She fell trying to get onto the roof of my car, and I've seen her fall down a few stairs. I wonder if she has an inner ear problem or something. Dr. Hunt gave her a clean bill of health, but I don't think she was looking for specific problems. Fred gets her stitches out Saturday; perhaps I'll mention it to Dr. Hunt then.

It's actually kind of bittersweet, having Fred around. The cats I had as a kid, Boots and Prissy, are 16 years old now. They're deaf, they drool, and they've lived with my parents since I went to college, but they're still "my babies." They've been in my life since I was nine years old, for god's sake. Seeing their health worsen has brought me a lot of grief lately. Fred acts so much like Boots. ... Eh, I don't want to talk about it right now.

I haven't heard hide nor hair from Google yet about Google Quest. Some of the guys over at the SA forums said the participants will be notified on or before May 15. That's a long time to wait to find out if I got in before the bell. The last puzzle was released at 1 p.m. EDT, and I finished it at 1:03 EDT, so I hope I'm one of the first 10,000 to finish. I'd just like to know either way ... I'm not too good with that whole "patience" thing.

Oh, speaking of being impatient, I'm still waiting for Jeremy's comic book to come in the mail. When I completed the transaction, my online receipt said I wouldn't hear from the seller unless there was a problem or a delay. A month passed and I hadn't heard from her, so I dropped her an e-mail. I don't know which I feared more: having been scammed or having lost the book in the mail. Long story short, there was a bit of miscommunication (to say the least). We cleared it up and she shipped it out Tuesday. The whole debacle was pretty annoying, but my excitement overshadows that.

Well, it looks like Fred wants my undivided attention. First time in days that I've had a chance to blog, but she's attempting to lick each finger as it touches the keyboard. Glad to know she thinks I'm so dirty that she needs to give me an extensive bath. Hope she hasn't been cleaning her butt recently...