Thursday, January 11, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #2



Thirteen Ways Living with Cats is Like Living with Toddlers


1. They occasionally disappear somewhere in the house, and you’re never quite sure where you’ll find them. (Okay, maybe I was the only toddler who did this.)

2. They never sleep when you want them to, and they’re always impossible to wake later.

3. You have to be careful opening the front door, because you never know when they’ll make a break for freedom.

4. They get bored of their toys very quickly, but they never seem to get bored of the box the toys came in.

5. You can’t leave anything important out and within reach – inevitably neatly organized piles of paper will be strewn about the room, and anything made of glass you will find shattered on the floor.

6. No matter how well you feed them, they will want some of what you’re having.

7. When you’re insanely busy with something and working under a deadline, they are determined to have your undivided attention.

8. When you are bored and you want to play with them, they are too busy with something else to even look in your direction.

9. They always do their cutest stuff when your camera is in the other room.

10. Completely without intending to, they will cause you physical pain in some way or another at least twice a day, usually by walking over you and stepping on a sensitive spot.

11. At some point in the evening, every evening, they will be inexplicably overcome by a surge of energy, and they will run like a crazy loon through the house for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

12. Your house will always be cluttered, because their toys will always be strewn about the house, no matter how many times a day you go through and pick them up.

13. When you feel most annoyed by them and the havoc they bring to your life, they will snuggle up to you, give you a kiss, and make you forget everything except how much you love them.



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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



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Day 11 of SaBloBoMo: Cujo by Stephen King


T
o contrast the feline topic of my
Thursday Thirteen, I offer you a book about a dog. A really big, scary-as-shit dog. This might have been the first Stephen King book I ever read, but at the very least it was one of the first ones. I was 13 years old, and I was so scared by the time I finished the book that I had to ask my mom to let me sleep in her bed with her that night.

Besides just the chilling terror of the book, I loved King's style of writing. He skipped around a lot between different stories that all tied into the larger plot, staying with one set of characters just long enough to lure you into a false sense of security, then leaving you in complete suspense. I vaguely remember seeing the movie at a slumber party once, and it was lame compared to the book. If you like Stephen King and/or being scared to your toes, I highly recommend this book.

Just don't expect to like dogs ever again.

15 comments:

Teacher Anonymous said...

The A&R household has been slowly making our way through all of Stephen King's books (in chronologial order, because we're anal rententive like that). "Cujo" was the one I read most recently. Although I enjoyed it, I have to say that it was really slow up until the end. Slow even for a Stephen King book, which tend to take their sweet time anyway. I think "The Shining" may have been the book that creeped me out the most, but "Firestarter" and "The Long Walk" are also really good.

Jennifer said...

Your thirteen thursday list had me in stitches!! My cats do all of the same things!

An Ordinary Mom said...

I have had cats and now I have toddlers - very true statements :) !!

Unknown said...

Mine do those as well! Great list!

Raggedy said...

Great TT
Mine is posted as well

CaliforniaTeacherGuy said...

Very clever connections between kids and cats!

Big Sis said...

Since you've not known me for long, you don't know that rambling about my roommate's cats on my blog is a recurring theme. Good list!

*for clarity-sake, let me point out that cats are wonderful, even, usually, my roomie's cats, but a cat is just not the same as a dog (thank goodness, imagine my [former] Great Dane sitting on the fridge!).

Anonymous said...

sounds like my 3 year old, lol.

teachergirl said...

Thanks for stopping by. Don't be a stranger.

Anonymous said...

My cats both have their energy surges just as my husband and I start falling asleep every night. Then we are rudely awakened by the sound of a herd of buffalo barreling through our home.

Great list!

Anonymous said...

Regarding:
#1 Most memorable-finding you asleep under a decorator pillow on your bed (about 2 minutes before calling the police).
#3 A variation- you wandering into the backyard and falling into the pool.
#6 Avocado
#10 Slapping your sister because her face was within reach.
#13 If it's your child, that never ends.

Anonymous said...

My cats do all of those things all the time. One is currently hovering over my mouse-hand, convinced that if he sits upon the mouse, I will stop geeking and be his devoted acolyte for the twenty seconds it will take him to become bored with such shennanigans. (Because as soon as they have your undivided attention, they're off to something else. It's not the having; it's the getting. Meh...)

Lara said...

teacher anonymous - i haven't read "the shining" or "the long walk," but i did enjoy "firestarter." i also enjoyed "carrie" quite a bit.

jennifer - cats: can't live with 'em, can't eat 'em.

an ordinary mom - admittedly, i've never *lived* with a toddler, and i've only been living with cats for a week or so. but i was fairly confident the list would hold true for those with more experience.

amy, raggedy, california teacher guy - thanks much! glad you enjoyed. :)

jill b - so does that mean you're mostly a dog person? even though your roomie has cats? i've never had dogs before either, but they appeal to me, in general, less than cats.

crystal - does your 3-year-old hide around the house like i used to do? if so, i'm sorry. you should consult my mom for advice and commiseration.

teachergirl - um, ditto back at ya, babe. strangers we shall not be!

tense teacher - wow, that must be fun times. every. single. night. i'm glad these cats tend to have their energy surges around dinnertime or a little after. by the time it's sleeping time, they're ready to settle.

mom - did you see my comment to crystal? she may need help. :-P

as to your list, i don't think i knew about falling in the pool, but the others are classic tall tales of lara by this point. yes, folks, i was a little terror sometimes. tee hee.

laughing muse - oh yeah, definitely. nora (one of the two cats here) is always convinced that if she hovers around my hands as i type, i'll get the hint that she'd rather i pet her than type. eventually she gives up and gets really demanding by stalking across the keyboard and leaving a trail of ";afihehjnjvh adha" on the screen behind her.

tpiglette said...

I've heard the avocado story! Complete with sheepish facial expressions. Heehee.

Lara said...

tpiglette - oh! what did i say? "classic tall tales of lara." oh yeah, definitely classic stories. don't i sound like i would have been a fun kid? :-P