Canadutch » Salem

30 Days of Truth: Day 15

Breigh — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:53:13 +0000

Ok first let me get the usual suspects aside. My husband, my friends, my family… goes without saying.

There’s something I have tried to live without that didn’t go very well, I was miserable.

When I first left home when I was 21, back in 1996, I lasted approximately three weeks without any pets. It was horrible! I wasn’t allowed to bring the horrid little dog that I had to the flat I was living in so I left her with my parents. I had no pets, just a dick boyfriend, I needed someone sweet to love.

That’s when Spencer came into the picture, and my life would never be the same again… He is, to date, the longest pet relationship I’ve ever had.

It’s been 14 years and the only time I was without pets since then was when I first got here to the Netherlands and was waiting for the cats to arrive.

Anyway, as I was saying, I could never imagine living a life without pets. They bring so much joy into my life, even if they do get on my nerves from time to time. I love animals and will always want them in my home.

These are the pets that are still living with us right now:

Bailey, our Yorkshire Terrier, will be eight years old this year. You will never find a more loving and faithful dog than he is. I wish I could go back to when he was a pup and do it all again. I never want him to leave me.

Pixel, our Wirehaired Dachshund / Chihuahua mix, will be three years old this year and she still looks like a puppy! She’s lethal and knows how to play us humans like a fiddle.

The Turtles…

Frick, basking as a hatchling.

Lego, our newest addition just after we got him home.

Chip and Sydney, back before they had to be separated.

Sherman, our Greek Tortoise who loves to eat.

Some of the pets that were with us in the past…

Salem was rehomed almost two years ago. I miss him . Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in rehoming him, but when I see the change in Spencer I know I did. They fought a lot and Spencer is a lot less anxious without him here. Salem was happy to accept new owners but Spencer demands to be here with us. I know Salem’s new owners are giving him a wonderful life too, I just miss him sometimes…

Harley was our Africa Pygmy Hedgehog. Quite an interesting pet but I wouldn’t have one again. They are nocturnal and don’t really bother with you. They require a fair bit of space in their cage and can be quite dirty. Still though, he was an awesome little pet while we had him and he was very very cute and photogenic!

Cleo and Molly… yeah, we had rats. Another pet that we enjoyed while we had them but wouldn’t have again. We couldn’t really let them out of their cage because the cats would go bananas. Also keeping up with the cage cleaning got to be a bit much. Most of all though, their short life span is what I don’t like. I don’t like that about mostly all small and fuzzies, to be honest. I hate losing pets and that comes around way too quickly with these guys.

Turtles, some failed to thrive as hatchlings… which is very common unfortunately. Others died for unknown reasons. Always a risk when keeping turtles.

Radar, cause of death unknown. I was very sad when he died as I’d had him the longest.

Cupid, failed to thrive as a hatchling.

Stelo, cause of death unexplained. He died within a week of Radar. Was a bad week for me.

Phoenix, same species as Cupid and also failed to thrive as a hatchling. I swore to never get this type of turtle again.

Whew, yeah so I think that’s it. This post has made me a little sad to be honest, thinking of the pets I’ve lost along the way. I guess that’s all a part of choosing to have the pets that I do though. When you keep turtles there is always a chance they won’t make it as their care is so specific, and sometimes there are just things wrong with them that you aren’t aware of. With pets like hedgehogs and rats, their life expectancy is only 2-4 years, which doesn’t give you long to enjoy them.

Cats and dogs are where it’s at, they give you a bit better, time wise… I don’t even want to think of what I’ll do when the time ever comes I have to say goodbye to one of the dogs, or Spencer. Seriously, I’ll be a weep machine.

On that note, here’s something that made me giggle with my pets yesterday. Bailey howling his arse off at a siren going through the neighbourhood. Pixel still hasn’t ever howled, she just barks. As long as she makes sure she’s heard. Crazy little shits, they are…

One Week Headache

Breigh — Sat, 24 May 2008 04:35:41 +0000

I have had a headache for that last week straight. Sometimes it’s killer, other times it actually feels like it’s going away. I think it’s all the stress since we came back from holiday, but thankfully all the things we’ve been stressing over have been sorted out.

Some things aren’t worth mentioning, so I won’t get into them. I do have an update on the cat situation though.

Lets recap… a week ago Friday the cats went to the shelter. 24 hours later the shelter calls telling us to come get them because Spencer has gone bezerk. Friday night a lady calls that found the cats on Marktplaats (a site where I had advertised them) asking if I’ve found a home for them. They come and meet the cats, staying at our place till 1am. On Saturday evening we take the cats to them to help them settle in.

On Monday I get an email while at work. Spencer was starting to act out, getting up on shelves and swiping at her when she tried to get him down. I phoned her to tell her that he was probably just scared and that it would be best if she gave him some space and let him come to her. I hadn’t heard anything else for a few days so I assumed they had started getting along.

Then I got this on Wednesday:

Hi Tammy,

Can you please come tonight any time and get Spencer, if you insist Salem too. This morning everything went very wrong when no warnings around to see Spencer attacked again (after the nicest of morning greetings). This time I ended up at the doctor – he decided not to stitch my hand but I got antibiotics and a Tetnus shot… and I think I lost my sun glasses there too. No longer impressed sorry, he’s all yours again.

Linda

Okaaay, so maybe they weren’t getting along so well after all. Dammit!

Xander and I discussed our options at length and after deciding and re-deciding what feels like a million times, we ended up going and picking up Spencer. Just Spencer. The reason being that he is getting older and set in his ways and just refuses to live with anyone but us (seriously, in our house we can swing him by the ears and he’d never flash a nail, never.). We also agreed that it would be easier to maintain a house with one cat rather than two.

It absolutely broke my heart leaving Salem behind. When we were there he was rubbing all up against me and in my mind was saying ‘Take me home!’. Needless to say I spent all evening in tears when we got back home, wondering if we had made the right decision… AGAIN.

Now that a few days have passed I’m sure we did. Salem is getting along great in his new home and Spencer is home with us and quieter than I’ve ever seen him. Maybe he’s scared to death we are going to ship him off again!

I’m not even religious and yet I pray to god that this entire ordeal is over. It may seem like a silly thing to some but deciding to re-home your pets is a big decision and within the last week we’ve had to make that decision numerous times. Now I think we can finally relax and adapt to the new situation.

At the moment the family feels a little incomplete without Salem but I’m reminding myself that he is in a good home where he is the ‘only child’, which means he’s getting a lot more attention than he’d probably get here with us. All I can do is take their word for it that he is happy.

Ok well that’s about all this pounding headache will let me write. Back later with more (hopefully non-cat related) news.

Twist of Fate

Breigh — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:05:21 +0000

Last night at 9:30pm I was sitting on my sofa with the mother of all headaches. The past two days had totally warped my brain and I just wanted the time to go by until bed, so that I could wake up to a brand new day.

Then I heard my phone alerting me that I had a message. When I checked my voice mail I had a message from a lady named Linda asking me if I had found a home for my cats yet and that she and her husband were really keen to see them.

I couldn’t believe it. My head hurt so bad I could barely move but I had to call her back before it was too late. When I phoned her she said she was sure someone would have taken them by now but that she and her husband had moved here a while back from New Zealand and really wanted to get cats. They had to rehome their cats before moving here so they knew what I was going through.

They asked when they could see them and I told them whenever was convenient for them. Before I knew it Xander and I were rushing to tidy up and Linda and her husband were on their motorcycle on the way over.

They showed up at a little past 10:30pm and we all sat down for a chat. They are around my parents’ age I think and gave off a really friendly vibe right from the start. They stayed here chatting with us and petting the cats until almost 1:00am!

The best part? They got to see the cats in their home environment and both cats ran to the door to greet them and purred lovingly between them on the sofa as our visitors lavished pats and attention on them. The second best part is that I got to witness it. I got to see who they are, what kind of people they are and that my cats were not afraid or put off by them. It was quite the opposite really, the entire time they were here one of the two was climbing up into their laps looking for some lovin’.

I loved them, they loved my cats. It’s a perfect situation because we also get to see where they live. Tonight we are bringing the cats and their belongings over to their house and we can help ease them into their new surroundings.

I really really liked these people and she has already said that we can keep in touch and she will send me updates on how the cats are doing. Heck, I’m sure if I wanted to I could even visit them now and then.

Let me tell ya, if I never believed in fate before I do now. If Spencer hadn’t completely lost his shit at the shelter, then we wouldn’t have taken him and Salem home. Then when Linda called, I would have told her the cats were gone already. The cats would have been at the shelter for god knows how long and eventually gone to a home with god knows who, while I would be left to always wonder.

This was all meant to happen, somehow… it was worth all the heartaches and HEADACHES to end up finding these wonderful people who I know will give my babies a fun and love filled life from now on.

So, wish us luck tonight that nothing goes wrong. Mostly, pray for me that Spencer doesn’t go off the deep end again. I’m hoping that when we get there and let him out it will be different as it’s a home and we will be there.

Fingers crossed!!

Money Back Guarantee

Breigh — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:42:53 +0000

Last night I was devastated, this morning I was sad but had already started planning our new catless life. It included curtains, new sofas, plants, fresh flowers, hair-free clothing and a multitude of other things.

I was sitting at work at 10am wondering if I should have Xander phone and check on the cats to see how they are settling in. I decided against it though because if something was wrong I’d just get all upset again.

Turns out I didn’t have to, he called me a few minutes later to tell me that the shelter had phoned him. Their exact words…?

WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH THIS CAT, HE ESCAPED AND BROKE LOOSE FROM THE ROOM AND IS TERRORIZING THE PLACE. WE CANNOT FEED THE OTHER CATS BECAUSE WE CAN’T GET IN THE ROOM. YOU MUST COME AND GET HIM!!

In case you are wondering who we are talking about. It’s Spencer the Devil Cat who does things like drink out of the toilet, climb into the turtle tanks, and pull the doors off the hinges. Our very own red-headed stepchild and demon cat from hell. Why did we ever think, even for a second, that he would go easy.

A cat that usually looks like this at home…

… meaning a total lazy fob who does nothing but lay around waiting to be pet or fed (when he’s not doing that other annoying but harmless stuff). Turned into this at the shelter…

… a teeth baring, hissing, screaming MURDERDEATHKILL feline hellion.

Yeah, you aren’t misunderstanding. These people who deal with all sorts of dogs and cats, day in and day out, year after year, could not handle my big fat lazy cat! Wait, my big, fat, lazy SUPER FREAKIN INTELLIGENT cat. I mean he managed to get his way well enough, didn’t he?

Xander came and picked me up at work because we weren’t sure if he’d be able to sort Spencer out on his own (Spencer was mine for years before he was Xander’s so chances were he’d calm down better for me) and we went to the shelter. It wasn’t long after we got there that we heard Spencer freaking out.

He had escaped from them and was in a small room where they kept the quarantined cats who hadn’t had their shots yet. When I opened the door I saw nothing but teeth and flailing paws. I guess he didn’t recognize me… or maybe he did and was giving me my due for putting him there in the first place.

It took me a while to calm him down. They kept warning me not to let him out because he’d attack me and claw my eyes out and stuff and I was like Pfft, people this is Spencer, I know this cat! Inside I was starting to wonder who the hell they had working there, I mean have these people not ever dealt with a cat who was afraid before?

Long story short, they told us he had to go… and clearly that meant Salem was coming too. After some coaxing I got Spencer to calm down and come out of the room and when I put his carrier on the floor he walked straight into it. I guess he figured it was about time.

When we arrived back home Xander and I were both completely frazzled. It had been an emotional 24 hours for me and first I had to deal with losing my cats, but now I had to deal with losing all my dreams of non-cat life… because clearly the world is just telling us that we are meant to own them forever. The cats, on the other hand, were just fine! They walked out of their carriers and into the kitchen where their food dishes usually are. Spencer gave a meow and a look that said ‘Ok so now that we have that nonsense out of the way, are you gonna feed me or what, ffs!’. It was just business as usual for them.

Can you believe all of this? I am at the point now where I can’t help but laugh. I spent years mulling over the idea of trying to rehome them and when I finally get up the nerve they aren’t even gone 24 hours.

I have NEVER heard of a shelter calling the previous owners and telling them to take their pet back. Of course, if it was ever going to happen it was going to be with me and Spencer. I should have seen it coming. Now we are trying to think of ways to make cat life easier. We’ve started with a bigger litter box for the balcony and a new 2000 watt vacuum! THANK GOD we got all our money back from the shelter.

So that’s it… as a co-worker of my mother said (or sang, rather)…

THE CAT CAME BACK…. THE VERY NEXT DAY!

Heartbroken

Breigh — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:44:19 +0000

As you know, for a very long time I have been at odds with myself in regards to my cats. It’s hard when you love the cats themselves for their personalities and who they are, but hate everything that comes along with them. Every time I cleaned our flat and woke up the next morning to our sofas and floors covered in a mass of hairballs, I cringed. Then I growled. Then I had minor tantrums.

Every time I noticed a guest trying to discreetly pull an airborne cat hair out of his/her food, brush the cat hair from the back of their pants or pretend not to smell the fresh dump one of the cats just had, inside I died of embarrassment.

When I would buy something new for the house and later find it eaten, shredded or smashed I would twitch with anger and frustration.

… but then every time I saw them laying on my bed looking so sweet, I’d melt and wonder how I could ever give them up.

Today I did, and my heart is breaking.

When I wasn’t working I struggled to keep up with the mess they created in the house. Now that I am working 40 hours a week, I don’t have a chance, and the more hair there is in the house the worse both of our allergies are.

I know that they could easily live another 5-10 years and that there was no way I could continue to deal with the frustration and keep putting off the things I wanted to do with our house.

It was time. Deep down I knew it but at the same time I had never given up a pet in my life and never thought I would. They were MINE. I remember taking them home as babies. How could I just suddenly know I would never see them again? How could I make that choice?

I’d spoken to Xander about it a lot, we both knew that giving them up is the right decision for us. I asked every single person I know, I made ads on websites asking people to give them a home… and finally I looked into a dierenopvang (a shelter).

Unlike shelters back home that are run by the government, this place doesn’t put the animals to sleep after a set amount of time. They are there until a suitable home is found for them. The place is run by volunteers and they are part of a dierenbescherming (animal protection) group, so I know they have the animals best interests at heart. We made sure that they would agree to keep the cats together, and we can call later to find out if they have found a home for them. There are a number of cat rooms, each sort of set up with livingrooms but with a lot of climbing posts and stuff and they make sure that the cats that are put in each one get along. They care about animals and aren’t just a middle man between owners. Plus, it cost us almost €200 to put them in there, and will cost whoever wants to adopt them as well… so I know that everyone involved will have what is best for the cats at heart.

When you want to take your pet there you have to call in the morning and find out if they have space. When they do you take the pet in right away. Xander had called the last few days but they never had space. I think deep down I thought the same thing would happen today, so I just left for work like any other day. I didn’t have any kind of goodbye…

By 10:30am I knew they were gone. I spent the entire day at work trying not to cry, and failing at times. I cried the whole way home in the car and haven’t stopped yet. I’m so worried about them, scared for them… I hate not knowing where they are going or who they are going to end up with. I worry that we have made a mistake, I feel guilty for ‘giving up’ on them. I miss them already… my heart is in pieces. They deserve owners who will love them fully though, and for the last while there has been a lot of frustration and resentment mixed in with my love for them.

I know this will change over time, and I do know we did the right thing for us. I just hope it was the right thing for them as well…

This really fucking sucks.

FOAD Devil Cats!!

Breigh — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:03:56 +0000

This weeks FOAD is 100% dedicated to my cats. Don’t be fooled by the photo, they look cute but they are evil, pure evil!

By evil, I mean incredibly intelligent and crafty… and even a little insane.

In the past I’ve had moments where I was sure I was going to crack and give them away, but I’ve had them for 10 years and as much as they drive me nuts I DO love them.

Spencer, my marmalade tabby (on the right) is the ring leader and he gets Salem in on all his evil plans. He’s crazy but he’s clever.

One of the biggest problems with them has been how disruptive they have been during the nights. When we’d go to bed is when all hell would break loose, errr.. and when loads of other things would break as well. Nothing was safe with them around.

Spencer was horrible for meowing as well, day and night. Which the vet told us was an anxiety issue and he’s been on medication for it which does work, thank GOD!

In the beginning when they used to start meowing at 4am or something we figured that maybe if we fed them they’d be quiet until we woke up. So we went out and bought one of those timed cat feeders that would pop open at the time we set it for. You know, like the kind people use if they are going away for the weekend or something.

The first night we used it we went to bed and a few hours later I was woken up by this repetitive clicking noise. It eventually stopped but by that time I couldn’t get back to sleep. When I got up to pee I realized what the noise was… it was their little devil claws working on the feeder! It was laying on it’s side, open and EMPTY hours before the time it was set to open.

This went on for 3 days and we said screw it and brought it back. Our cats may be evil but it should be able to withstand their poking.

There have been numerous incidents like this, but this morning takes the cake.

So lets get back to why I’m FOADing their furry asses…

If you look in this photo I took of the door entering our flat, you can see the white doors that are on our spare bedroom. They are those slatty doors that can open in or out.

We have a latch on the outside to keep them closed. The kind with the little arm that you push down into the U thing.

This has worked perfectly for the past 6 years we’ve been living here.

Last month we moved Harley’s cage into the spare bedroom because it is easier to regulate the temperature in there during the winter months. We also keep the dog and cat food bags in there.

A few days ago I got out of bed and Xander told me that when he got up the spare bedroom was open and the cats chewed a hole in the cat food bag and pigged out.

Great! So they’ve somehow figured out how to unlatch the latch that is at my eye level and get into the spare bedroom! WONDERFUL!

For the last few nights we figured we’d show them and we took one of my hair elastics and wound it around the latch so that it couldn’t be pushed up.

That ought to show them… right?! …. WRONG!!

This is what I woke up to this morning! I walked out the door of my bedroom and this is what I was greeted with.

Our elastic rigged cat trick didn’t work, they outwitted us and just took the door off the hinges. WTF?! How do cats get a door off it’s hinges? HOW does that happen?!

Note the litter kicked out of the litterbox? You would think this was in anger over our trickery but it’s not, it’s just another one of the evil things Spencer does to annoy us.

As you can see, I’ve enlarged his face so you can get a good look. Now, some may blame the flash for this, but I think it’s the face of evil. EEEEEEEEEVIIIIIILLLLLLLL!!!

They may have outsmarted us this time… they may have won this fight… but the war is not over!

Pussy Problems!

Breigh — Tue, 02 Nov 2004 05:58:09 +0000

Look at those faces.. Don’t they look like the most adorable, sweet, cuddly things you’ve ever seen? Well, don’t be fooled! They are the devil’s tricksters sent to my home to see to it that I never get a full night’s sleep. I love them but for about an hour a day and a few hours each night I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. You see, I’ve had these cats for almost 9 years.. I first got Spencer (the orange one) when I moved out from my parents place and in with Jerk-Ex and our friend Chris. He was so cute, the cat I mean, and even as a baby he was obnoxiously loud. I thought the things he was doing were things he’d grow out of, that it was just all part of being a kitten. Oh how wrong I was. From when he was just a baby, if you went in another room and closed the door, he’d dig his little kitty heels in and meow at the top of his lungs until you were annoyed enough to open it again. He would chew, and drag around anything that couldn’t get away quick enough. Like my plants, socks, panties, or any small item left within his reach (btw, he can reach everywhere).

I read that if you got a squirt gun and squirted the cat with some water, they’d learn not to do things. Spencer didn’t quite learn anything other than the cool dodging water game.. which he usually won. If I put down fresh litter for him at night. I’d come out to find his freshly laid shit in the box, and all the litter outside the box on the floor. Aaaah the joys of owning a cat.

So, being the brilliant mind that I am, I thought well maybe he needs a friend! If he has a playmate maybe he’ll not be so dependant on us! Maybe he will play at night or while I’m on the toilet, rather than screaming for me to come back. Sounds perfectly reasonable doesn’t it? Of course, I forgot that this hellcat of mine is no regular feline. What I saw as a distraction, he saw as an accomplice.. Salem came into our home 6 months after Spencer. He is a mutant cat with six toes on every paw and Spencer swiftly took him under his wing. Together.. they are unstoppable.

You’re probably asking why I don’t just leave doors open while I sleep. There’s a good answer for that. I get even less sleep when I let them in. They love me, they want to be as close to me as possible. I mean, who cares if they smother me.. right? Not to mention the purring and drooling. That’s not the worst of it though, it’s the way these Satan Spawns show their adoration.. by digging their nails in me. Like it’s not bad enough, I have to have a cat with extra claws.

So those are my choices, shut them out and try to sleep through the racket or let them in and wake up feeling like a soggy pincushion. Lovely.. They are so lucky I have some deep seeded attachment to them after all these years.

Herpes

Breigh — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 17:32:14 +0000

I really need to get a new memory or start writing things down. Every day I see/hear/read/think things and think oh I must write about this in my blog. Of course once blog time comes around the memories of these things are nowhere to be found.Oh,

Oh! I remember one!! Ok, I got another good blast of “You never REALLY know who you are talking to” the other day. Although I guess you could say it goes for real life as well rather than just on the internet. The other night I was chatting with a friend, just gabbing about various online communities we share and people we know in common. During the conversation I learned one of the most horrific things I have heard in a long time.

I’m really trying to think how to word this but I’m just going to come out with it. (By the way I would never even mention this if I didn’t trust the source 100%). There is a very beautiful and intelligent woman, who many men lust after on a daily basis who shares a community with me online. To be honest I’ve been very envious of her in the past… I’ve read her website and seen her pictures and thought “Wow! I wish I looked like that, I wish I had her attitude!”. Not long ago I spoke with someone who knows her very well, and she had confided in this person that she has herpes, genital herpes. Apparently this isn’t much of a problem for her as the virus hasn’t really ravaged her body as it does with some others. Sadly, this was passed on to her by a former lover who showed no remorse when he found out what he had done. Sad huh? I bet you feel sorry for her. Yeah, well DON’T! Apparently she sees this as giving her some sort of right to do the same to others. Yes, that’s right.. this woman has sex with men without telling them about having the virus. Not only that but she refuses to wear condoms with them. Her answer to why she does it? “Well, someone did it to me”. Isn’t this one of the scariest thoughts you can imagine? Here is this stunning woman who seems to have everything going for her, she has men falling at her feet everywhere she goes, and the entire time she’s keeping this secret. She sees absolutely no fault in what she’s doing and sees it as no big deal.

When I heard this I was absolutely stunned!! What kind of monster knowingly has unprotected sex with people (and I’m sure this lady has no problem finding partners) and infects them with this horrible disease!?! I honestly don’t know how she can live with herself and it disgusts me that people like this can walk around in our society undetected. Why, I’d love nothing more than to show her website here and warn everyone, but believe me it isn’t her privacy I’m protecting, rather the trust of the friend who told me this information.

Yeah, so moral of the story? No matter HOW good someone looks or how cool you think they are, there could always be that little something you don’t know. Scary, huh? People like her should either be dragged by the hair to the square and stoned to death, or in prison. Not out banging unsuspecting dummies who are too hot for her to object to her riding bareback.

So on a lighter note, I’m still completely trigger happy with my camera and it seems the most interesting subjects I can find around the house are my pets. I absolutely love the pic I took of Salem’s eyes. I’ve always found them to be so striking and finally I got him to sit still long enough for me to get a nice pic. It took a lot of “PSSSSSSSST CHHHHA CHHHHHA TOOOOT WHEEE” noises to get him to stare at me long enough to get the pic. Of course, now I have the pic and my cat thinks I’m completely spastic. Oh I’ve also been taking some videos if you want to see them. Oh and before you say anything, my turtle’s water is not dirty! It’s just the light, and the stuff floating at the top is food. :P

Tonight I finally caved in and decided to hook up my gaming computer. I figure it’s about time I tested it. When I took it apart it was like this grand step towards my “new life”, making sure that I wasn’t too busy gaming to start getting the ball rolling for my Dutch lessons etc. Now that I have that, and my little petsitting business underway I think it’s time that I see if gaming can be a healthy hobby for me now. I’ve missed it over the past 5-6 months but have been too afraid to game again for fear of getting hooked and losing track of real life again. I think it will be ok though, I just have to keep my priorities straight. Although one of the priorities should be dusting more, jesus every time we change anything around in this house I end up amazed by the dust bunnies hiding under and around things. I swear, I was so not born to be a housewife.. I really suck at it.

I have been talking to my friend Theressa about starting aqua aerobics. She looked into it and found out that they have it a few times a week at the pool right behind her house, which is an easy bus ride from me, so I think we’re going to go for it. I have missed swimming and my trips to the beach last month really made me not want to stop again. So this will be fun for me to do 1-2 nights a week throughout the winter. Plus, I’ll get exercise and maybe even meet some people. I hope it’s ok to swim a little before/after the aerobics and just arse around in the water a little.

I’ve also been thinking about changing my hair for the winter. I’ve had red hair now for about a year and while I like it, I’m itching for a change. The last few times I’ve gone to get my hair done I saw this girl that worked there. She has black hair with blue bits in it, I say bits because I’m not sure what to call it, it’s not streaks.. more like chunks. Anyhow I have seriously been thinking about going black and purple. I love purple, and I love black and I feel like a change for my hair. I sort of worry that I’ll look like some wanna be goth chickie but I don’t really give a shit. It’s what I like. I don’t want to damage my hair too much either with all the dye. Oh well, we’ll see.