For nerds only

I love watching Jeopardy, but I never thought I'd find it easy answering the questions (or should it be questioning the answers?).

For the last few weeks it's been the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, with very difficult categories, and these champs are all soooo smart. The three finalists were fairly young too. It's amazing how much trivia they know.

Last night I was only able to get two questions right. But then, maybe I shouldn't feel too bad about that. Ken Jennings didn't do very well that game either, so I was in good company, hehe. In fact, all three of them flubbed a bit. Maybe the two million dollars on the line made them a little nervous.

Tonight I was just rattling off the answers! (and getting them right!) They must have 'dumbed down' the show for us non-geniouses this time, now that they started playing regular games again. Probably to make us feel a little better, after showing us just how much we don't know over the last weeks.

The outcome of the tournament actually surprised me. For some reason, I thought Brad was going to take it all. None of the three made out too shabby though. The third place purse was a quarter million dollars. I could live with taking that prize home!

Yeah, just call me a nerd.

Oh, well, at least I wasn't watching American Idol.

Cat

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go...

Yikes! I haven't written in a long time! It's these crazy new work hours.

I really can't believe that anyone thinks 7:00 am to 3:30 pm is a great schedule, but I know there are people who would kill to get these hours. I mean, waking up at 5:00 in the morning is not my style. It's still dark out, for gosh sake! I'm looking at the moon in the sky as I drive to work. [although it has been very full and pretty the past few days ;))]

Working these hours really makes the days seem short. It seems that by the time I get home, putter around doing a few things, and eat something, it's time for bed already. That is, if I don't want to oversleep.

Can't wait to get a different schedule! Just seven weeks to go...then I can get back to being a "lady of the night". Ahhhh!

Cat

A rose by any other name...

I've been reading a really great blog lately, Waiter Rant .

I've made a few comments to the author at times, and I signed them the way I sign everything else, "Cat".

Imagine my surprise when I looked at the blog today, and found this note from another reader in the comments:

ATTENTION:
Someone has been posting comments with the name "Cat"
on them (like the one above dated "05.15.05 - 9:13 pm").
They are NOT being written by ME, so PLEASE IGNORE
them. From now on, anytime you see the name "Cat" at
the end of a comment, you all will know for a solid fact that
I DID NOT write it, as this will be the LAST time I leave a
comment on Waiter's fantastic blog. Not to say I'll stop
reading it, mind you, but I will never leave another
comment on any post, EVER.
By the way, imposter, I believe you meant to spell
"hottIE", not "hottY", as you have so ignorantly done... and
the REAL me would NEVER use more than one exclamation point.
...and with that, I bid you all a fond adieu, and ask you
once again to PLEASE IGNORE ALL FUTURE COMMENTS
with the name "Cat" on them, regardless of what they say.
Thank you.
Cat (the REAL one) | Email | Homepage | 05.17.05 - 2:49 am | #

At first I just laughed, and figured she must have had a bad day at work or something, but then I felt compelled to respond. I surely didn't want anyone to think that I was IMPERSONATING her every time I left a comment, so I thought I should explain that I would take a different name, and she could be the original "Cat" (by the way, I did not write "hottie" or "hotty". She was reading somebody else's comment incorrectly)

To the "real" Cat...Sorry that my mom named me Cathi
and has been calling me Cat all my life. I'm not really sure
what you're all bent out of shape about, you sound like the
lady lawyer now. I apologize, I didn't realize you had
exclusive rights to the name.

I'll just sign my comments 'Cat the imposter' from here on.
That way you can comment all you like, and nobody will
confuse me with you. I hope your day gets better.

(and by the way, if you had read the comment that you
mentioned correctly, you'd have seen that I did not write
it)

Cat (the IMPOSTER) | Email | Homepage | 05.17.05 - 10:06 pm | #

I feel kind of bad for stooping down to her level, but I read Waiter Rant regularly, and like to comment on it occasionally.

I thought her rant was pretty funny though. :)))) I wonder where all that anger came from? And I do like to use more than one exclamation point sometimes, so she MUST be the "real one" !!!! (I used 4 that time!!)

Cat (the IMPOSTER) haha

A slice of life

I broke a pair of glasses after only a month of owning them, so I took them to get fixed today.

me: Hi. I've only had these for a month, and the little nose thing came off already.
Dr: OK, so you need a screw then?
me: Umm, well, yeah, I guess so.
Dr: I mean, for the glasses. At this time. We'll put something in there to hold the nosepiece on.

Then, later in the afternoon, I called the toll-free phone number to renew the service contract on my appliances. The guy is probably answering the phone for ten different companies.

indian guy: Pride Appliances. (mumbles name) May I help you?
me: Yes. I'd like to renew my service contract.
indian guy: Whaat...?
me: For the next year. I'd like to pay for another year of service.
indian guy: Oh. You'll have to call back on Monday. We don't do that on the weekends.
me: OK, can I do it online?
indian guy: We don't have online services, ma'am.
me: You have a website, you know. The address is on my bill here.
indian guy: Oh. (pauses) Well, ok, you can look around then.
me: Alright, I will. Thanks a lot. (for what, I don't know)


Haha, the little things that happen as we go about our day. ;))

Have a great one!

Cat

This just in...

I guess Tara is trying to make a budget for herself, because she has to put Ava in daycare starting next week, and that is outrageously expensive. I found a piece of paper with her proposed budget on it. Now, remember, we are talking about a person who makes very little money, still lives with her mother because she can't afford to get an apartment and pays no rent.

The budget lists these expenses:
$360 month...daycare. OK, that's a fixed expense.
$200 month...food for Ava. I'm not sure if Ava eats that much food, but maybe. OK
$127 month...braces. Hmmm...she doesn't have these braces yet, and I thought she had decided to put off getting them because she couldn't afford it. We'll discuss that.
$100 month...clothes. WHAT?????? If she can afford to spend $100 a month on clothes, I want to see some of that money in my pocket for rent! (so I can buy clothes!)

No mention of food for Tara, gas for her car, or diapers and wipes. Oh, and health insurance for Ava. Tara is covered at work.

Do you think Tara needs a little coaching in real-life here? I guess it's nice to be young and believe in the impossible, but at some point you have to know your limitations. We'll talk tonight.

Gotta love her, though. I wish I were young again. :)))

Cat

Opportunity knocks?

Well, I have now thought my problem over for almost a week, solicited some advice, and I've made my choice (contrary to all the advice I was given). Now, all I can do is walk straight through it, and hope that I made the right choice.

I don't know what the hidden opportunity is yet, but maybe that will come later. I do know that now my "current responsibilities" include being to work by 7:00 AM for the next 10 weeks. YEECH! That in itself will be quite a challenge, but if I can get through it, I'll have my pick of the schedules after that. I'll just have to remember that every morning when I'm waking up at 5:00, that's all.

Is anyone believing in this horoscope stuff yet? I'd better not read any more of mine. I only read one, and I've been fretting over it for almost a week now, haha.

Enjoy your day!

Cat

I got my problem!!

Can you believe that I actually did receive a problem today? And it is one that might turn out to be an opportunity. A very small opportunity, kind of like an opportunity in disguise, but still, technically it is one.

It came in the mail, of all things. Well, it came by Fed-Ex. (do I have to say copyright?) And, no, it's not a bill. It was a letter that presented me me with some tough choices to make. In reality, it arrived yesterday, but I had put it aside, and then I got a phone call tonight (just in time to meet the deadline for today's horoscope...) that made me have to begin thinking about it.

Maybe there is something to that horoscope stuff, after all.

Or, maybe chances are that everyone will get at least one problem every day, HA!

I guess I had better go and start working on my problem!

Cat

My horror-scope

Here's my horoscope for today (according to AOL):

Just because a current situation needs your attention, this doesn't necessarily mean that your weekend will be unpleasant. In fact, today presents you with a problem that will turn into an opportunity. You will, however, need to face up to current responsibilities before you can magically turn the lemons into lemonade.

Hmmm....So, does this mean that instead of sitting on my butt all day at home, I should go out someplace where I might have more opportunity to find "a problem"? Or, is that my problem? How will I know when I've found the right problem? Will it scream out "hidden opportunity here!"? Or will I just have to confront all my problems, and hope that one of them is that magical opportunity? What responsibility is it that I have to "face up to"? I knew I should have cleaned the house today! Oh, well, there's still time.

Dumb horoscopes. Who believes in them anyway?

Cat

Gone....

Well, he's gone. Temporarily. My roommate, my friend, my partner.

He was offered a job for the summer at a golf club in Southampton, Long Island, and couldn't pass up the opportunity. He's a bartender, and summer in South Florida is not exactly the best time to make money.

So, off we went to Cingular to buy a second cellphone (MUST remember to mail in my rebate coupon!) and upgrade to the family plan so that we can talk to each other as much as we want. Then before we knew it, the day was here for him to leave.

He's been up there a couple of days now, and really likes it. The job is easy, he says, and his room is nice. He didn't realize how far it would be from civilization, though. ;) He says it's almost like being in a minimum security prison, because he flew up there, so has no car, and the closest place to go is about 15 miles away. Hmmm, so I guess you won't be walking to town, then? I'm sure he'll make friends and get rides to town. He's pretty likable.

He has his own Swedish maid. I'd like to have any kind of maid! Maybe that will be the first thing I do for myself when I go back to work.

On another topic, today is Cinco de Mayo, almost an all-american holiday. Only one state in Mexico actually celebrates it. Mexico's real Independence Day is Sept. 15. Now that day is a party not to be missed! Well, go have yourself a margarita or two today anyway. I am. It is a holiday of sorts here, right?

Happy day!

Cat