Cats vs. Dogs

I'm a dog person, specifically a big dog person. Now what the rest of you city dwelling folk seem to think of as "big", I usually classify as normal, but to each his own I suppose. There have been a few small dogs I've come across in life that have been cool enough to worm their way into my heart - Taz, Oz, and Mellie come to mind - but I normally don't think twice until your pup hits about 50 lbs. Some day when I'm all grown up with a yard and time to train them I will start with two dogs. The first will be a malamute and his name shall be Atticus. The second, possibly a german shepard (I'm still working out the details on that one), and his name shall be Hiro Protagonist. It will be awesome.

But while I find myself waiting for this grown up life to start, it somehow seems I have become a cat person. Not by choice mind you, well not animal choice that is. See I moved in with a boy that had a cat and with the fact that we are working opposite shifts, I seem to find myself quite often in the company of an orange, 23 lb. pain in the ass named Bill instead of my intended. And, oddly enough, I don't really mind (I mind not seeing the boy as much as I'd like, it's hanging with the cat I'm oddly finding myself okay with just to be clear here).

As the days get darker and the possibility of me getting home from work while there is still natural light in the sky becomes a fading reality, it's nice to walk into the empty house and have something alive and wanting my attention. The extra warmth I get from his constantly wanting to lay directly on my lap helps when your apartment doesn't have the best heating system in the world. He purrs like a diesel engine at times, and it's comforting on quiet nights to have something besides my own thoughts making noise.

But that doesn't mean that I've switched sides. I'm still a dog person, and am confused by cat actions. A few weeks ago when the boy was out of town for the night I woke up at 3 in the morning to Bill making a racket. Running around, mewling, just being a loud ass pain in general. My first thought? Someone is breaking in of course. Because when your dog gets up at 3 in the morning and starts making all kinds of noise it always means something is wrong. So of course I get up and go out, slowly, to see what's happening. Do I find an intruder? Do I find a sick cat in the middle of the floor? No I find Bill wanting to play. That's it, just play. Can you guess who went back to bed cursing up a storm? I'll give ya three guesses and the first two don't count.

And I don't think I'm a fan of all cats. Like my feelings towards kids, I reserve my fandom for a select few felines. I'm also not a fan of litter pebbles tracked all over my wood floors, a habit of walking on my head when the food dish is empty and I'm still sleeping, or having every item of clothing I own covered in orange tabby fur. And it doesn't help that he loves to sleep in the laundry basket. Ah well, this is my life. Internet world - meet Bill (by the way, as a point of reference that basket is large enough to hold about 2.5 loads of laundry.)

A Random List of Smoking Fun Facts

An essay off the top of my head on the inside world of being a smoker.

Random smoking fun fact #1: Smoking is a social bonding experience. Even more so since the country (and parts of the world) has become seriously anti-smoker. Over the past 20 years that I've been tarring up my lungs, I've seen the acceptance of my kind die a slow, legislative death. I'm too young to remember offices filled with smoke, but I do remember being able to smoke in the mall. That was probably the first to go. Next came the smoking sections of restaurants. And the final axe - the bars. Smokers now stand around and tell tales of back in the day when you used to be able to smoke in the X, Y or Z, kind of like when we were kids and we walked uphill to and from school in the snow 9 feet deep year round - that kind of thing.

Random Smoking Fun Fact #2: Smoking is a bumming culture. Somewhere along the line it became not just acceptable but expected to be able to constantly ask your friends to support your habit. And it's not just friends that you can ask. See a total stranger on the street smoking? Go ahead, walk right up and ask him/her if they have an "extra" cigarette they can give you. Trust me, to a true smoker, there is no such thing as "extra" cigarettes, yet still this language persists.

Random Smoking Fun Fact #3: I haven't done enough studies to know if this recent phenomena is city based or increased price based. Further studies (ie going home for longer times) will have to be done. Strangers will now ask you not just if you have an "extra" cigarette (see fun fact #2) but will ask you for the cigarette you are currently smoking. And somehow this is deemed permissible. Don't get why that's weird? Imagine sitting in a restaurant, having a nice enjoyable meal, and a total stranger walks up and says "Hey, that burger looks awesome, can I get a bite?" See the weirdness now?

Random Smoking Fun Fact #4: I've smoked for near on 20 years. I am also literate and watch the news from time to time. What does this mean to you, oh so considerate non-smoker? It means I know its not good for me. I know that it will most likely kill me at worst, and will most definitely make life more difficult at best. So I'm not quite sure why you think that looking me in the eyes and having that serious, heartfelt, "I care about you and your health, and I really wish you wouldn't smoke" lecture is going to make a damn bit of difference. Especially if we don't really know each other, like say you are a random co-worker or a friend of a friend of a friend whose name I will never remember but that doesn't matter since I won't be seeing you again. Also, please do not be so misguided that you think you are the first person to have this little sit down with me. And unless I become a rampantly successful Internet writer and become a total recluse (and have my cigarettes shipped to me), you won't be the last. Sorry if I don't give you the half an hour you want of my time, and sorry you won't be the magic person that makes me see the light and turn my life around. If you are really insistent about teaching me the woes of smoking please feel free to get in line. I'm sure I'll get to you before my smoking kills me.

Random Smoking Fun Fact #5: Cigarettes are expensive. I know this, it's my wallet that opens daily to shell out the $9 (damn you Chicago tax system, damn you!) to my local dealer. And like the days of yore when we smoked everywhere, any smoker worth his salt will be happy to tell you how much cigarettes cost when they started. It's like the price of milk, or gas, it's something we hold onto as we yearn for better days. Point in fact, when I started I could get 2 packs and change from a $5. Not anymore my friend, not anymore.

And there you have 5 random smoking facts from the brain of a smoker. Did you need to know these things? Probably not. Did I have a fun time writing again and sharing my random thoughts? Hell yes. And isn't that what a blog is all about?