Not the water sports you’re thinking of…

Marine Biologist’s blog, seadate: 130226:08

When my cat got older, I considered getting another cat to keep her company many times. But I was afraid that if they didn’t like each other and wouldn’t eventually get along,  her last years would be filled with aggravation and possibly fights. I didn’t want to put her thru that.

I also wanted to be her best friend and masseuse since I assumed her muscles were getting sore. I could see it in those last months when her grooming habits decreased more and more. And I was able to spend a lot more time playing with her, being home every night.

So, I decided to refurbish the lizard tank I hadn’t used in at least a decade. I took it from apartment to storage areas. The lizard supplies are now rounded up in a box, I’d hope to get more money selling it as a lot on eBay or the flea market, given transpo and a weekend (off) to do it.

I bought 4 skirted tetras (silver with black stripes) and one of them promptly died. I have 4 gallon jugs that I refill with down to uv filtered from the front of the supermarket. Tap water smells of chlorine. So they get the best water for their 10 gallon tank. Sometimes I buy a gallon of spring water to rotate in for the minerals.

The ornaments I chose were basically lizard things, the same multi-colored gravel, a rock with a hole in it that the lizard crawled thru and the fish swim thru. They even hang out in it once in a while.

At the pet store, they had live plants, so I got a few, one is a “moss ball,” that looks like a ball of styrofoam anchored with fishing string to a fishing weight. It’s covered with some kinda planting soil and the moss has grown out nicely to a huge messed up fro.

This is getting to be a lot, I know, but I bought a pump and lid for the tank with lights. I also have accumulated about 8-10 chemicals and medicines for the water, and of course feeding flakes.

I put them on a milk crate so it would be on a lower level near my cat’s bed so she could watch them, like kitty tv. She didn’t react as enthused as I’d hoped, but I did catch her staring at them once in a while.

After my cat died, I decided to get 4 red platys, the fish I wanted to get while she was alive because they were brighter. Same thing happened, 1 fish passed away within hours of putting them in the tank. I don’t like that.

And eventually, I wanted an algae cleaner and found a mini catfish, an albino bristlenose pleco. It’s cool, it’s thorough on going around the tank suckering residue I can’t see on the glass, plants, rock and arch that I have. I read online that it likes wood, so I cut a piece of the driftwood from the lizard structure and Hoover likes it. While I was cleaning the tank once, Hoover let me PET it. Pictures online show people holding them, they seem to accept and like it! Maybe its skin salt?

It’s a surprisingly cold winter for me, and I’m in California climates, still conditioned to no humidity. So I bought a cheap heater (pad) for the fish, too.

There will be a part 2, I crammed a lot of expo in my one page typing.

Whenever I stare at my fish now, I’m happy and sad at the same time that my cat got to have her fish.

Summer status update

Catch up blog, easier date 120721.02
(man, will I have to go back and revise the old ones?)

First, I’m sorry. I know. I’ve been trying to keep busy “in the real world.” I do get caught up sharing political hypocrisy on fb, but I have a feeling it’s on blind eyes. Chances are, most people on my friends list hid my statuses. FB is a cruel bitch, you can have someone on your “friends” list and yet block things you post. It’s probably the most passive aggressive friendships you can have online. I need to check in on there maybe once a day.

Another vice I (have) had is watching people play video games with commentary on you tube. I kinda like it. I watch some guy play batman ark hams while he makes comments that are pretty much Mystery Science Theater 3000. Saves me 1) from buying and wasting months on the game and 2) I don’t have to deal with congesting my computer loading it and finding I can’t get it to work, which happened the last time I bought a game years ago.

I also have listened to pod casts, a lot of them originate from southern California. And a lot of guests have their own pod casts and I listen to those and notice some celebrities do the rounds on all the previous. One I like talk with people in the business that haven’t actually hit it big but they’re also not tabloid exposure whores. There’s a network of stand up comedians, actors, performers and you tube video makers. I look for something like that in this area and I struggle to find a little crazy brash group to have fun with and make a show of some kind. I had that energy before and I’m in much need of cultivating that pilot light again. Playing the pod casts lets me get a lot of filing and my sorting, amazon sales projects done around the living room.

My cat’s health: her legs appear to be weaker. She won’t get up to follow her red light (laser) bug anymore. I try to get her to walk around by putting her food, water and litter in different corners of the condo. I don’t want her legs to atrophy more. She’s also had diarrhea and it appears that today she was constipated. I realize her meat based diet must be giving her gas, constipation and upset stomach, but it’s not like I can get her to eat a salad. She does like ranch, though. There are some cat food w/ vegetable pieces I get and I make sure none of her food has by-products. It’s been a bitch to stay busy because any money I come across is earmarked for groceries and cat food and her needs. Even a daily bus pass is a large dent in finances.

In the morning, I ride around on my bicycle since the weather is cooler and the idiots are still asleep for the most part. It’s too hot in the afternoon. I hate bay area humidity, it makes my clothes stink, I hate itchy sweat. I miss desert heat, just keep drinking water. If I drink a lot of water here, I just sweat it out and stink more.

I have a lot of things on my summer calendar to do that haven’t been getting done. I’ve done a couple of free things, but I need to get out more. I need something to look forward to. I want to save up for a day to take the express bus over the hill to Santa Cruz for the day, costs only $10, but I want to make sure I have money to last more than a meal and actually have some fun there. Plus, I have felt guilty about staying to far away from my cat for too long.

My poor girl has had some seizures that have made her understandably depressed and afraid to over exert herself. I play with her, I use my kid voice and smile, and it probably makes me happier too trying to cheer her up with kitty games.

There’s a problem I’ve been having. Since the present and future are unstable, I’ve been reminiscing about the past maybe too much. I want to make August “future month.” and that also means looking at things that all the current trends I’ve written off. I want to see why people are so into immediacy instead of making things that last. Pop culture is so disposal and to the minute trendy, the internet has become an interactive remote control. I want to keep it a learning place, not a gossip place. I want to keep it educational, not entertainment, or at least infotainment. Things that will help me make money, get a job, not distract me. Tough to find consistency in that area.

I have to keep posting. I let myself get down. This is my message in a bottle to the world, I have to keep sending them out from my deserted isle.