Jack Bauer the cat

How can I be mad at this?  Seriously, how?

new insight into cats.

I have no idea why my cat pees on my couch.  He doesn't pee on the arm chair... and never has.  But nobody ever sits in the arm chair, except cats.  Anyway, the couch is still a mystery to me. HOWEVER, I might have some info about peeing on my bed.  First off, if I left my bedroom door open I'm almost positive that he would pee on my bed the first chance he got.  However that's not the case.  But I can go for long periods of time without him peeing on my bed while I'm asleep in it... since I leave the door open when I go to bed.  

So, anyway, I haven't been sleeping in my bed since I returned from Arizona on the 17th or so.  I don't know why, but I have been sleeping on the couch.  I think at first it was so Jack wouldn't pee on it, but then he peed on it when I wasn't on it.  Then I took off the slipcover and the water proof pads underneath it (at least I'm prepared) to wash it, and put the cushions in my bedroom where they would be safe from urine.  Then when I went to sleep I could just put a blanket on the naked shell of a couch and sleep there.  That evolved into me just bringing the seat cushions out of the bedroom when I went to sleep and putting them back when I got up.  He never peed on me while I slept on the couch.  But then for the last few days I've been sleeping in my bed.  The first two nights were fine, but then this morning I awoke to a familiar scratching of paw on blanket, the telltale sign of  'you just got peed on'.  With eyes still closed I reached around the bed just to make sure he had peed, and he had.  My hand touched a gross warm wet spot almost literally right next to me.  "God damnit Jack! What is your fucking problem!"  is all I could manage to say... then I just rolled over to the other side of the bed and went back to sleep... I would deal with washing blankets later, when I wasn't so tired and angry. 

Anyway, I think he did this because he decided it was time for me to wake up.  I had set my alarm for 8am, just to try to wake up, and I'm pretty sure he knew what it meant for the alarm to go off, for me to half-consciously turn it off , and go back to sleep.  Maybe he wanted love, maybe he wanted to make sure I wasn't dead and he knew getting peed on would evoke some kind of response from me.  Maybe it was because I had been carrying around my bag all day only to realize it smelled like fucking cat piss like halfway through the day, when I couldn't really do anything about it.  Maybe the smell rubbed off on my clothes.  Maybe I just don't care anymore and I'm doomed to be peed on forever.  Maybe I need to wake up earlier in the morning?  Maybe I need to murder my cat.  I'm doing laundry now.  I hope he doesnt pee on me tonight.

The good news is my building has it's own recycling trash bin thing.  I didn't notice until today when I was bringing out the trash.  I don't know if it's been there the whole time or if I just noticed it because I recycle now... but it's there... and I'm going to utilize it.  

daaahhhh.

Everything I own smells like fucking cat piss!!!

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

That's what the new book is called.  It is 607 pages.

title

I finished the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  It was sooooo good.  Also I finished it in like 2 or 3 days and that last book took months.  That last book sucked, a lot.  My next book?  I forgot the title, but it was a recommendation from a friend.  I hope it's good.  I have been reading a lot because I haven't been doing much else.  I should work until I move, but I physically can't wake up in the morning, which is shitty, and makes having a job impossible.  Atleast for now.  When it's not winter I can wake up fine.  

Fuck winter and snow and cold.  Except last night.  Last night was a good winter night... only because I had band practice very late, and I didn't get home until almost 2am.  After I drove around the neighborhood for a while trying to find a parking spot, I finally got one and parked.  It was really quiet outside and it was snowing a lot, and they hadn't plowed yet, so there was like 2 inches of snow on the roads and the sidewalk and it was really beautiful and silent and nobody else was around.  It made me want to run around... so I did.  I ran down the middle of the road and saw how far I could skid on my shoes in the snow.  It wasn't far, but I did it several times and it was fun.  Then I got to the sidewalk and it was untouched by footprints... so I ran around from side to side on the way to my apartment, making the occasional circle.  I like making footprints.  I like making footprints in the snow when it's late and quiet and nobody else is around and I can eat snowflakes.  I rarely have good moments in the snow, but this was one of them and it was pretty awesome.  I think snow is only good when it snows late at night.  

I have been making more pen drawings of people but I haven't scanned them yet.  I don't know how I feel about them either.  They're kind of shitty.  

So as I said before... I recycle now.  I bought a huge 18 gallon plastic container thing at Home Depot and I've been putting my recycling in there.  Then when it's full I can bring it over to the recycle place... which is by the Peggy something-or-other Nature Museum by the zoo.  It feels good to recycle.  

Also just now I have made a pact with myself.  This is that I'm going to not drink anymore until March 1st.  Atleast until then, maybe even further in time.  I think it'll be a good thing.  A very good thing.  An experiment, maybe.  Also I'm going to only listen to sad songs.  No, just kidding, that would be bad. 

Cactus update:  I think they're okay.  They don't seem to be getting any worse, even though they're also not getting better.  So that's good, I think.

I might be able to get out of my lease by before April 1st.  That would be neat.  I'm waiting to hear from my landlord, though.  Then I need to go find an apartment in Arizona, then come back here and start packing.  So I have a lot to do, and a lot to figure out.  It's stressful, but it's also exciting.  

things.

- I think Trader Joe's is my new favorite place.

- I dropped out of school... for now. 

- I'm pretty sure I accidentally deleted everything on my computer last night.  However, I'm doing a pretty good job not caring.

- Finally finished my horrible book.  The ending was even horrible.  What a waste of time.  I'll probably start my next book tonight:  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. 

- Nachos are probably going to get eaten tonight.

Update:  i ate the shit out of some nachos. however i accidentally bought the refried black beans with jalapeños instead of normal ones. so that kind of sucked a bit.  boo hoo.

Update #2:  i have a stomach ache. possibly from nachos. possibly from nachos and then chocolate chips.  possibly from something that isn't nachos or chocolate chips.  i also have a headache. possibly from it being 3am right now and i should be sleeping.  possibly from reading. i need a new prescription for my glasses... i can't see shit.  the curious incident of the dog in the night time is a really good book. i'm on chapter 71, but the chapters are prime numbers only and they're short.  radley isn't a cat.  he looks like one but i'm pretty sure he isn't.  he buries his face into my hair and puts his arm around my neck.  we sleep this way almost every night.  he is a master in the art of cuddles.  cat cuddles. caddles.  oh... so also, i recycle now.

pen is the new pencil.

- pen is bad if you like erasing things though.

- my mouth tastes like pennies?

- i hate the book i'm reading but once you're more than half done with a book you can't just stop reading it. frustrating.

- will my cactuses not die now since i put them in nice big pots with sand?  maybe? hopefully?

- the power went out in the whole neighborhood tonight. twice. i read my horrible book by flashlight. i also lit a candle. it was exciting.

- these are my new drawings of people. it started with people and quotes they said, then somehow turned into just people, in pen.  looking weird.

back home

I got back from Arizona this evening.  For some reason instead of taking 2 days to drive there and back, I took 3 days each way.  It's kind of an 8, 12, 8 hour-a-day thing.  The drive wasn't too terrible.  Especially on the way there... since I was excited to get out of the cold and snow.  The way back, however, was pretty frustrating.  Counting down the hours until I could just stop driving, but also not wanting it to end because that would mean I would be back home, in the snow.  Driving from cold into beautiful sunny weather is invigorating and awesome, but driving from nice weather to terrible weather is so insanely depressing.  I have been bored and biting my nails since I got home.  Chicago is a horrible place.

For the last 25 minutes I've been laying on my cushionless couch, upside down, looking at the ceiling and contemplating.  Contemplating why my cat loves to pee on my couch so much, but also wondering what it would be like if the floor was the ceiling and vice versa.  Also thinking about what I would have to do to get out of my lease and move to Arizona with an apartment full of crap and two temperamental cats.  I need to find someone to take over my lease I guess...  if that's possible.  I need to ask my landlord.  I need to get a plastic slipcover for my couch also, like an old person who's afraid of dust.  There's so much on my mind right now.  It's terrible.  I miss Arizona already.

Arizona!

So far Arizona has been a success. Lots of doing nothing, being in the sun, not getting stuck in snow, and skateboarding. Arizona beats Illinois in all ways possible.  All ways.

frigid friday.

I always get to wilson right before the sun goes down.  The sun and I aren't really friends right now.

The bowls were out of the question.

So we had a quarter pipe session.

Alex was there.

So was Mark.

And  Jake.

Oh, I was there too.

And did I mention Alex was there?

When I couldn't feel my toes anymore, I left.  I went to my parents' house and painted their bathroom.  Now I have gas money for my trip across the country.  I'm probably leaving Monday.   The end.

NYD

My new year's resolution is to clean my apartment.

Just kidding.

It's actually to kill my cat for peeing on my couch last night.